Lavi Fair
The Lavi Fair officially known as "International Lavi Fair" is fundamentally a trade fair held in Rampur Bushahr, Shimla. The main attraction is the cultural night function starts from 11th to 14th November in PGSS boys' school. While the trade fair runs throughout November in Part Bungalow. This fair is the outcome of signing of the trade treaty between the erstwhile Bushahr state and Tibet in the end of the 17th century (1679-1684).It is mostly called Lavi Mela. Historically, it is an important commercial fair and is attended by tourists from all over the world. It is  the most significant trade and commercial fair (Mela) of Shimla as well as of Himachal Pradesh. The Lavi fair is happening in a little symbolic sense(at small scale), since the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Meaning of word "Lavi" in Lavi Fair. The word Lavi is derived from the word "Loe" which means ""A sheet of woolen cloth"". Another meaning of Lavi is ""Shearing of the Sheep"". These word meaning clearly indicates the trade of something woolen or sheep. History. Lavi once served as a major trading centre and the stopover point on the old trade routes that led to Kinnaur, Tibet , Ladakh and Afghanistan. The fair that takes place there also finds a mention in the records of the erstwhile state of Bushahr. The Lavi fair started after trading treaty between the Hindu raja of Bushahr, Kehri Singh (1639-1696), and the government of (Tibet) Lhasa (dGa' ldan pho brang) headed by Bio bzang rgya mtsho, the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682). Historical ties between Tibet and Bushahr go back to at least the 17th century, when the princely ruler of Bushahr, "Kehri Singh", sided in 1679 with the Mongol commander "dGa' ldan tshe dbang" on a Tibetan-Mongol punitive expedition  against the kingdom of Ladakh. The result of their mutual cooperation during the war was a sworn agreement stipulating that no taxes be levied on Bushahri and Tibetan merchants when trading on each others' territories,an official delegation from Bushahr should be sent tri-annually to the towns of Tsaparang, Purang, Dawa, Ruthog and Gartok in western Tibet. For the small Himalayan state of Bushahr, the Tibet-Bashahr treaty of 1679-1684 was undoubtedly of great economic importance. Historical documents, testify that tax-free commerce between Tibetans and Bushaharis should be observed in perpetuity. Similarly, the Kinnauri oral tradition preserves  the formulaic expression that the treaty was meant to last until the "Sutlej goes dry, crows become white, horses get horns, and stones - stated to be at the borders of both the States and on which the treaty was written - produce hair or wool". Concerning the origins of Lavi Fair of Rampur Bushahr, the "Census of India (1961)" reports: In earlier time, traders from Tibet, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan used to do business at the International Lavi Fair. They used to come here especially with horses including dry fruit, wool, pashmin and sheep. In return, traders used to take salt, jaggery  and other rations from Rampur. This salt was brought from Gumma in Mandi district. ""Chaumukhi""(also called Chamurthy) horses were also traded at the Lavi Fair. References.