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!