TIPA as an institution is highly focused on celebrating and promoting the Tibetan religion and culture in India. Owing to this, the cultural training institution organizes the Yarkyi Festival to promote the Tibetan culture and highlight the rich vibrance of the Tibetan musical heritage among people. The festival occurs on an annual basis and is essentially the anniversary date of the formation of TIPA.
This particular festival transpires in the summer months and was initially started in Kalimpong, back on August 11, 1959. It is an internal competition where participants from two houses compete, specifically Ngonpa and Gyalu. The names of these houses come from two famous characters in Tibetan Opera and dance. Both of the groups separately research the folk dances of Tibet. Later, they come up with one solo and one group song each that they have to perform for the competition.
The participants take part in the competition, and specialists chosen from different fields judge their performance. As for the date, the competitions occur on the founding anniversary of TIPA. Imminent guests, as well as the dignitaries from the Central Tibetan Administration, are the main audience of this particular festival. Moreover, the competition occurs live in front of the regular spectators and is later recorded and produced for DVD.
In terms of protecting an ancient culture, this Dharamshala-based Institution promotes the land’s arts and heritage well. Overall, it is celebrated each year to uphold the classical art forms of Tibet.
In 2019, the Yarkyi Festival at TIPA marked the 60th anniversary of the promotion and preservation of the excellent Tibetan Arts as well as the culture in exile. The competition lasted for 2 hours and included performances centered around cultural songs, Tibetan opera, theater, and dance.
