More about Dharamsala - III

It is not an unknown fact that Chinese invasion of Tibet forced many people to leave their homeland, many people to lose their belongings, their source of livelihood, or even their lives.

Many shops in the town had a sign proclaiming "We do not sell goods Made in China". Some buildings bearing a poverty-stricken look, housing the offices of societies for welfare of Tibetan nationals, requested people to contribute to their cause. It was a deeply moving experience.

A Tibetan Co-operative society [aiming to provide employment to elders and education to poor children and orphans] also ran a few shops - for souvenirs, garments, and carpets. We went into the carpet one, which had its workshop right there. We were encouraged to visit the workshop part, and so we did. There were many looms, and people [mostly ladies] were painstakingly weaving carpets of pure wool. It was deeply engrossingly to watch them weave multiple colored threads weave into a single line, which took quite a few minutes to do. We watched carpets being made, in different stages of construction, though didn't click pics to avoid disturbing the workers further than we did by our presence. We saw the finished articles too, and what magic did they create! With their colorful, intricate patrerns! We asked for the price of a 6'X4' carpet that we really really liked, and were amazed that it only cost Rs 6000. And more so, when we learnt it would typically take 20-30 days to make a carpet of that size and intricacy! We made up our mind to buy it, but were deterred by the fact that its color scheme would not have suited our decor, and it was difficult to carry one back. When they told us that we could order one from their design book, even online, and they can ship one to us, we were really amazed at their savviness. We promptly collected their brochure and address and promised ourselves to order one later [which we haven't got around to doing yet though].

Peace to the world!

More about Dharamsala - II

First Glimpse

We looked for a suitable hotel near the main market. It frequently happens that the hotels in central place in small towns are not ideal, with regard to the facilites and the view their rooms offer, but we have learnt from past experience that it is better to stay in the central places in small hill towns like this. You may get a luxurious room with a magnificent view in a resort in one of the neighboring villages, but it limits your options specially if you are not in a group or do not have your own vehicle - you cannot venture out after the dark, you cannot take walks in mornings and evenings, and you have no option but to have your dinner in the hotel itself.

So, after a few tries, we found an acceptable hotel, and a room facing the open valley. We had planned to take some rest after the long journey, but after freshening up, we felt it was not a good time to sleep, and ventured out to have brunch and look around. After a sumptuous breakfast of 'paranthas', we strolled towards central circle. This was where the taxi had dropped us earlier, and which also serves as the bus stand [though there is hardly any place for a bus to stand ;-)]. From this centre, many radial roads extend in different direction.
- The main connecting road to Dharamsala (and the outer world!)
- One through the tibetan residential area to dharamkot
- One to Bhagsunag
- Two through the market, one of them leading to more residential areas
- One by the side of the hill to the Dalai Lama temple
- One narrow, steep lane to a monastery (couldn't catch the name) in the valley
- One small road that was being used as the local taxi stand, but which which continued to the villages beyond

McLeodGanj

We took one of the roads - at that time, we did not realize where it was leading to. We like walking in the hills, and started on it just for the pleasure of catching nice views. We saw lot of tibetan homes, with tall colorful prayer flags.

A distant temple framed by branches

A little while later we realized a lot of vehicles - autos and cabs - were going in the same direction, away from the town. There were a few coming back, but they didn't have passengers. There were no pedestrians or locals to ask, so we assumed that this way led to some point of interest. After walking for about 1 km, we found a colorful entrance - it was the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts. Unfortunately, they did not allow visitors.

Tibetan institute of performing arts

On the way, and later as well, we saw a lot of trees bearing bright red flowers; it was later that we learnt that these were 'Burans' [Rhondodedron].

Rhondodedron

At one point, I heard the sound of water flowing through rocks, and after a little search, saw a waterfall in the distance.

Waterfall in the distance

After we had walked for almost 2.5 kms, the road came to an end - we had reached Dharamkot village. This was the starting point of one of the major treks into the higher hills. An almost broken road led to Bhagsu village in the valley. Not feeling able to walk almost 5 kms to Bhagsu and back, we sat down for a while before starting back.

Flowers blooming on the rock at the hill side

Tibetan ladies knitting in the market

There is a village called Naddi about 6 kms away from McLeodganj, famous for magnificent views of sunrise and sunset. We could hire a cab which would take us to the place and bring us back, and wait there for half an hour, for 200 Rs. This was something we found quite commendable there - the rates for taxis and autos for different points were fixed by the local auto union, and none of the drivers tried to make a quick buck by quoting a lower price. Even if we approached any auto or taxi driver, he would tell us the "rate" and ask us to get a receipt from the taxi operators' office.

View of the Dhauladhar range from Naddi

So, off we went to Naddi. A bumpy ride took us to the top of one of the hills which was taller than the neighboring ones, and offered an unobstructed view of the snow-covered Dhauladhar range, and of the Kangra valley. We clicked a lot of pics of the mountains, and waited for the sun to set in the valley. Almost an hour later, the sun showed no signs of setting soon, and a mist started settling. Since the driver started cribbing about the time as well, we gave up on lean hopes of a gorgeous view of sunset and returned.

And some more mountains ...

There was a small Tibetan snack bar, which had a seating on the open terrace - a terrace that overlooked the valley. The menu didn't have much to offer us [being vegetarians], but we ordered, even though with hesitation, a plate of momos and some tea, just to be able to watch the views. And it was from here that we got our sunset view!

The sun sets ...

And the day is over ...

More about Dharamsala - I

Our long-planned trip finally materialized in the last week of March - to Dharamsala. This was one of the rare times when we had no reservation - neither for stay, nor for travel. We had gathered information from the net about places to stay (and shortlisted two of them), but did not make reservations because the trip stood to get canceled till the very last day.

The road distance to Dharamsala is over 550 kms, and we learnt that buses are available which cover the distance overnight. So, on Friday evening we reached the Kashmiri Gate ISBT, and looked for a bus. There are three kinds of buses plying on the route - the regular roadways bus, the deluxe bus, and AC Volvo bus - operated by Himachal Roadways. It was there that we learnt that the frequency of Volvo is once a day (at 8 pm). For sometime it looked that there may be a difficulty in booking seats in it, but finally we managed to find suitable seats (one should not opt for the rear seats in buses, definitely never for long journeys). The bus was expected to take abut 10 hours for the journey, reaching Dharamsala at about 6 am. It was scheduled to make a stopover for dinner, but since that was going to be rather late, we bought some burgers and cold drinks, and settled down.

The journey was uneventful, except for the hindi movie [Jaani Dost] they decided to show. Despite having an impressive cast [Dharmendra, Jitendra, Amjad Khan], it set an abysmal standard of nonsense that is difficult to beat. It was a big relief when they switched off after playing the first CD. [You might be wondering how this is relevant - well, I'll come to that too].





I found the journey quite tiresome, as I cannot sleep easily in a bus. By 6am I just could not wait to reach the destination, but it turned out that we were still some distance away and would need another two hours to reach. We were in the high hills though, so I watched out and enjoyed the lovely sights in the early morning.







The bus dropped us at Dharamsala at about 8:30, almost 12 hours after we started from Delhi. We took a cab to McLeodGanj, also called upper Dharamsala, which is about 10 kms from the main Dharamsala town. McLeodganj is where the Tibetan people, exiled from their country by fear or by force, have established their domicile. This is where the Tibetan government-in-exile is established, and where His Holiness Dalai Lama has established his headquarters.