Tibet, Mcleodganj, Dalailama and more.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Here lies the Dalai Lama's residence, monastery, museum, library etc.It is easily accessible adn everybody around is very warm and collegial.One is free to go anywhere except for Dalai lama's residential areas. Here you'll always find people busy with their daily prayers, It's a joy to see them praying. I must say the way they prey is a good physical exercise and might be the reason for their athletic bodies. Every time they recite a mantra , they bend and do a complete push up of entire body and by the time they finish praying,they would already have done 1000's of push-ups. If not traveling, the Dalai Lama gives occasional public audiences. A huge population of Tibetans ( born after 1959, the start of the exile) live in India as refugees, Majority, more then 80% of which have not applied for Indian citizenship, hoping one day to return to Tibet. ************************************************************************************* Join the Free Tibet campgain and let's help them in their struggle for freedom. (Enlarge the pic.. )
McLo ,here I come...
Mcleodganj ('Ganj' means market and McLeod, a Scotsman.) is truly special city. An impromptu trip again . Till I boarded a bus to Dharamshala , I wasn't sure , if iam going to make it or not .But I knew this was happening, finally.
Mc Lo is known as the Headquarters of Tibetan Government in Exile . This is a picturesque small colorful city throbbing with tourists ,some of the them foreigners and often celebrities (Richard Gere is often spotted here)wanting to explore and spread tibetan culture and buddhist philosophy.
I spent a considerable part of my growing up in lush green picturesque Doon valley and We have lot of Tibetan colonies there (Clement town and sahastradhara Road),They migrated there decades back. I was always fascinated by the T
ibetan culture, food (momos and thukpas),markets(I still don't know ,where they get all that stuff from.People say China or Nepal but I seriously doubt that) and their lifestlye .I did foray into their monastries a couple of times and liked the way they offered prayers . So there was always an element of surprize and desire to know more about their culture .
Tibetan monastry near my home @ Clementtown,Dehradun ( pic--->)
As i grew up .I studied about Dalailama ,Heinrich Harrer,Panchen lama's incarnation and eventual escape , about Lhasa ,the lost capital, Saw Brad Pitt in "Seven years in Tibet" and immensly enjoyed it .
I saw them holding protest ralleys at Rajpur road , Dehradun for their freedom struggle , distributing flags .I had a Tibetan friend Tenzing Rapgyal whom i spotted recently in Delhi and we talked about some good times we had together in valley and it felt great .Yes it really did.
Coming back to Mc Lo, these wer few places I was able to discover the little time that I had in my hands.
Dall Lake
This is the one lake that captivated partly because of the gree
nery of surrounding deodar /pine trees which reflect in the lake water (See the pic, i took). Situated a couple of kms from McLo, this lake is easily approachable ,infact just next to the connecting road. Some consider it as starting point for trekking and this road goes high up in the hills,surrounded by trees on both sides . The greenery of the conical trees and the beauty of the park make this place a very very good picnic spot. Apart from the scenic views, one can also take a dip (I dont recommend though) as there are lot of fishes red,brown all types.There are also a few tea stalls here.So all in all a very very good time guranteed here.
St. John's Church
*Bulit- 1852
*Reconstructed in 1929
*Popularly known as Church of St. John in Wilderness
This is a living example of excellence of British architecture , which also houses a memorial of Lord Elgin, the British Viceroy who died in1963 and also an old graveyard
. An old bell hangs down from ceiling . Sorrounding the church are thick deodar trees where one can easily locate the great himalayan black face langoors. One almost looked at me , as if he is going to snatch my camera .this church has some fine Belgian stained glass windows donated by Lady Elgin.There are otherplaces i covered like the Bhagsu nath temple which is a quiet temple with a pool in its vicinity .A visit is considered a must if you go to mcleodganj .
TsuglagKhang complex/The Dalai lama Monastry
They slide their body in a peculiar manner (right pic) and have a special robe to protect their palm from gettign bruised due to the fiction caused due to sliding .It's advisable not to ask anything while they're praying adn I must say it is a joy to watch them doing that . Even if you ask them anything ,most of them wouldn't answer as they primarily speak with tibetese with smattering of Hindi and English; their monastic education is entirely in Tibetan.