Naropa Festival ends in Ladakh with world record in dance
Leh, Sep 21 : A total of 299 women dressed up in traditional Ladakhi wedding attire danced together to mark the last day of the Naropa festival and also created a Guinness World Record in the process.
The women, aged between 18 and 60, wore heavy coat-like 'gongchas' with 'perak' headgear as they danced on Thursday at an altitude of over 4,500 metres above sea level at Hemis, a Buddhist monastery situated 45 km from Leh.
Swapnil Dangarikar, Official Adjudicator, Guinness World Records declared the dance performance as the 'Largest Ladakhi Dance' by Live to Love, Pel Drupka Charitable Trust and Young Drukpa Association Ladakh at Hemis.
"They have broken the record with 299 successful participants. This is a new Guinness World Record title... With this I declare that all of you are officially amazing," Dangarikar, who looks after records happening in India and Southeast Asia, said on Thursday.
Thousands of people from across the Himalayas gathered at Hemis to celebrate the life of Buddhist philosopher and scholar Naropa, who lived between 1016 to 1100 CE, in their tradition ways with singing and cultural events.
The five-day festival, started on Sunday to celebrate 1,000 plus years of the life of Naropa, also witnessed unfurling of 85-feet thangka -- Buddhist painting on cloth -- which the monastery claimed to be "the largest silk-embroidered brocade of Buddha" in India.
Situated on a hill-top, Hemis is a calm place which only witnesses crowds during the festival season.
Famous as the Himalayan Kumbh, the Naropa Festival is celebrated after every 12 years of the Tibetan calendar.
The festival, however, took place this time after two years as many of the devotees could not attend it in 2016. The monastery is also planning to make it an annual event from this year onwards.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, one of the members of the organising committee said that the festival is a platform to "showcase the rich and divine heritage of the Himalayan region".
"It is a platform for all to come together and to encourage our people and artists.
"It is a platform to meet and interact with the followers of the Drupka Lineage from India, Tibet, and other parts of the world. It is also a platform to exchange the teachings of the Buddha dharama. It is also a platform to learn the culture of Ladakh," he added.
The celebration included teaching lessons of Naropa, prayers and religious performances by monks and nuns.
A traditional archery competition, fashion show and performances by local and Bollywood artists, including singers Kailash Kher, Papon and Sonu Nigam also took place during the festival.
The holy relics of Naropa -- whose life is celebrated during the festival -- were brought in a grand procession to the Naro Photang, situated three kilometers from the monastery.
The followers of Drupka Lineage from India, Tibet, and other parts of the world queued for hours to see the relics put on display.
The holy relics are the six bone ornaments of Naropa and are one of the most revered relics of Buddhism and historic symbols of the great Himalayan odyssey. Naropa wore the rnaments upon achieving enlightenment.A
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'Homebound' makes it to Oscar shortlist for best international feature
Mumbai (PTI): Neeraj Ghaywan's much acclaimed "Homebound" is among the 15 films shortlisted in the best international feature category at the Oscars, moving a step close to the final five nominations and maybe a win.
The movie, inspired by a true story that became the basis of a news article during the pandemic, has been creating a global buzz since its debut in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival this May.
Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese is a fan and has come onboard as an executive producer ahead of the award season.
Produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, "Homebound" is Ghaywan's second movie after "Masaan".
"Homebound" will compete for an Oscar nomination alongside Argentina's “Belén”, Brazil's “The Secret Agent”, French drama "It Was Just an Accident”, Germany's "Sound of Falling” and Iraq's "The President's Cake".
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The other movies in the shortlist include Japan's “Kokuho”, Jordan's “All That’s Left of You”, Norway's “Sentimental Value”, Palestine's “Palestine 36”, South Korean hit “No Other Choice”, Spain's “Sirat”, "Late Shift" from Switzerland, “Left-Handed Girl”from Taiwan and Tunisian drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in a release on Tuesday.
The award for best foreign film, now re-categorised as best international feature, has so far eluded India.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category -- Mehmood Khan’s “Mother India”, Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s “Lagaan”. Deepa Mehta’s “Water”, starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
Gujarati film "Chhello Show" in 2023 was the last film to get shortlisted.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to get an Oscar, bagging the coveted prize in 1983 for the film "Gandhi". Other than her, A R Rahman, Resul Pukootty and M M Keeravani have also won individual Oscars.
Team "Homebound" celebrated the shortlist news with posts on social media.
"We made the shortlist... Way to go team Homebound'!" Johar shared in Instagram Stories.
In a post, the producer said it was difficult for him to articulate how "proud and elated" he was with the news.
"All of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography... thank you @neeraj.ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true... from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film! Upwards and onwards...."
Ghaywan also shared the news on X.
"#Homebound has been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards! We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we've received from around the world," he wrote on X with a special poster of the film.
Jethwa, who plays one of the two friends in the story opposite Ishaan Khatter, said the moment feels "surreal and incredibly humbling".
"To see 'Homebound' being shortlisted and progressing towards the Oscars is something I could have only dreamed of. I am deeply grateful for the love and support the film has received from audiences around the world," he said as he acknowledged Johar, Ghaywan and co-star Khatter and the rest of the team.
Khatter also shared the news on his Instagram stories and wrote, "Oscar ab dur nahi".
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"Homebound" is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article “Taking Amrit Home”, also titled "A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway".
The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.
The Academy on Tuesday also announced shortlists in 11 other categories, including the newly added casting Oscars, animated shorts, cinematography, documentary feature, documentary short, original score and song, sound and visual effects categories.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Twenty-four categories will be awarded at the 98th Oscars. Each category has five nominees, except for best picture, which has 10.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
