“Nobody is being creepy or weird”: Why this Arunachal water festival is winning hearts over Thailand’s Songkran

Each year when April rolls around, thousands of tourists travel to Thailand in order to participate in the Songkran water festival, which is well-known throughout the world. However, one tourist believes that she discovered something even better, and possibly more heart-warming, and not to mention much closer to home.

Recently, Ankita Kumar (@monkey.inc on Instagram) posted about her experience at the Sangken, a water festival celebrated in Arunachal Pradesh, which she described as one of India's most wholesome festivals. According to Ankita, one particular point of her trip really stood out: "Nobody is being creepy, nobody is being weird, it's just harmless and amazing."

(Photo courtesy: Tropical Namsai/Instagram)Ankita's post showcases children running through the crowds of happy people splashing each other in water using buckets, mugs, and water hoses while the elders simply stand by smiling.

Everyone, without exception, seems like one big family during this celebration of joy and unity. Unlike other wild festivals held solely for the purpose of having fun, Sangken seems to have a special charm and warmth surrounding it that is felt by tourists.People responded to her post with comments like “See how women aren’t being harassed, touched inappropriately.” One comments, “The best part is actually the sad part. Watching this video I was literally thinking if it’s safe and then you said it. It’s so sad that basic things like safety feels like the “best part.” Another one reads, “I want to do thisssssss!!! What fun! “This balance is possibly what makes Sangken unique in its own right.

Everyone is very excited, but there isn't any aggression or discomfort associated with such crowd events. Men and women, young and old, single and with families all seem equally comfortable getting into the partying spirit. It must have come as an enjoyable concept for many people watching online from home.

Sangken is an annual three-day festival, which is marked on April 14 to 16 each year, predominantly by the Buddhist populations of Arunachal Pradesh, including Namsai district.

This festival heralds the traditional start of the New Year and involves religious ceremonies conducted in monasteries, wherein followers perform ritual water sprinkling with a blend of sweet fragrances onto statues of Buddha to signify washing off the sins, misfortunes, and burdens from the previous year.This might be the reason why this particular festival holds so much importance in many people's hearts. Not because people enjoy being drenched in water but because this festival is symbolic of starting anew – laughing at their worries, embracing others without chaos, and coming together as a society rather than separating themselves in individual groups like they do for the Songkran festival in foreign countries.