Folk dance performance in Ladakh during the Singge Khababs festival in Leh. The Singhey Khababs festival, earlier known as the Sindhu Darshan Festival, is a festival held annually / every year in the town of Leh, in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, North India. It is held every year on full moon day (on Guru Purnima) in month of June. It stretches for three days. It was first started in the October, 1997 and continues to be held every year since then, attracting large number of foreign as well domestic tourists. The Sindhu Darshan Festival, as the name suggests, is a celebration of River Sindhu, also known as the Indus. The main reason behind the celebration of Sindhu Darshan Festival is to endorse the Indus River (Sindhu River) as an icon of the communal harmony and unity of India. The festival is also a symbolic salutation to the courageous soldiers of the country, who risked their life to save ours.


Every year, a large number of participants from different parts of the country participate in Sindhu Darshan Festival. They bring water from the river of their own state in earthen pots and immerse these pots in the Sindhu River. Consequently, the waters of all rivers mingle together, thereby symbolizing the multi-dimensional cultural identity of the country. The first day of the Sindhu Darshan Festival witnesses a reception ceremony for the participants, organized on the banks of Sindhu at Shey. This reception ceremony is conducted by a joint association of committees of various religious groups namely, Ladakh Buddhist Association, Shia Majlis, Sunni Anjuman, Christian Moravian Church, Hindu Trust and Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee, to promote national integrity. As a part of the ritual, fifty senior Lamas conduct a prayer on the banks of the river. A series of cultural programs is also presented by the artists from various states of the country.
A sightseeing tour is organized for the participants and the day comes to an end with a bonfire at night. After the cultural programs and sightseeing trip, a Puja is organized on the second day of the Sindhu Darshan Festival. On the third day, the participants get ready for the departure. Leh is jam packed with thousand of tourist, who visit the hill town to be a part of this grand celebrations.


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