... but the memories are there to stay

Well, all the details of the trip have been logged, but I have some more pictures to share.

A local kid playing with water

Wild flower - I still dont know its name!

Vegetation amongst rocks

Dharamsala and Tibet

Mridula linked one of my posts on Dharamsala at BLOGBHARTI, where sirensongs provided some insightful (and lesser known) information about Tibet and Dharamsala.

Copying this discussion/information here -

Sirensongs:
The memorial in the churchyard was for the British Lord Elgin, who used to live there and is buried there.

You wrote: "it was the first time I had heard about" (all the atrocities of the Chinese invasion of Tibet).

Yes, those of us who live in Dharamsala and breathe this stuff every day do not realize that many people are not familiar with the situation. I had Indian tourists in Dharamsala come up and ask me (sincerely) "why are all these Chinese people here?" (meaning, the Tibetans)! Thanks for caring, and please tell other visitors to Dharamsala not to miss the museum.

Me (Sigma):
- Thanks for providing the correct information about the memorial.
- It was not the first time I had heard about it. It was the first time I learnt the gory details. You are right, the outside world does not have a clear picture or perspective of the plight of the Tibetans. I am trying to increase the awareness in the way I can - by posting the info I have. Would be glad to link in further info that you might have uploaded.

Sirensongs:
Another thing of which many, many people are not aware is that the Tibetans did not just run to India without a fight. There was a fierce resistance movement, in part funded by the American CIA, and it only ended completely in the 1970s. Problem was not valour, just that there were not enough Tibetans numerically (compared to Chinese). I can?t remember whether this is depicted in the museum, but there are some books about it (Fire Under the Snow and Buddha?s Army).

There are a number of Indian pro-Tibet support groups which emphasize not just "the poor Tibetans" angle but India's own enlightened self-interest in being aware of the issues involved with Tibet and China. Friends of Tibet is one; the Core Group is another. I will try to get the info and post it here and to your blog. Thanks for caring.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Sirensongs, the museum does mention that there was a resistance, and the Tibetans lost it because they were too few in number compared to the Chinese army, and not trained well at that. It also mentions that the Dalai Lama fled only when there was a risk to his life there, and many of his followers risked their lives to help him escape.

Goodbye, Dharamsala!

Tara

We started another day with stroll in the streets, waiting for the sleepy town to wake up [and provide us with breakfast ;-) ]. We went to the small temple once again - a peaceful and beautiful place, in the not-yet-busy street. The temple has beautiful, miniature paintings of goddess Tara on the pillars, and those of Buddha/Bodhisatva on the wall, all around the periphery. The colors, shading, and miniscule details that are carefully attended to, in all these paintings make one wonder at the patience of the artist(s)!

Bodhisatva

Different colors used to depict Bodhisatva's have significance - wrt the aspect of life they are believed to bless [eg, health, prosperity, learning, etc, though unfortunately I do not remember the details now].

The Temple with the Prayer Wheels

This time we were also able to take a picture of the entrance of the temple, though only the side that faced the street - the adjoining buildings/shops hid the rest.

Wild flowers
(can someone tell me what are they called?)

Himachal Tourism department has a guest house right at the end of the twin streets that constitute the main market. Though this guest house does not look very modern or comfortable, but it is much more spacious compared to the private properties around, and more important, has a vantage point in terms of location - located on the side of the hill, it has lawns one can walk in, or even have tea etc, while enjoying a view of the mountains, but undisturbed by the general traffic. We took a walk in the garden [perhaps we shouldn't have done it, but there was no-one around to tell us that we couldn't ;-)]

Contrast

At around 11 we checked out of the hotel (but left the luggage in their cloak room), as our bus was scheduled to depart at 6 pm in the evening, and we were to remain outside for most of this time.

Monastery in the valley
(This was visible from the lobby, didn't catch the name, perhaps it is Namgyal)

We decided to walk to Bhagsunag temple, an ancient temple of great religious import, dedicated to Lord Shiva. This required a 2.5 km walk, up and down the slopes, amidst scenic views and rhododendron trees. There was a lot of activity at the temple. There was a small market, almost like a fair, outside the temple. A pool, where water collected as it flowed down the mountain streams, and where people took bath before offering prayers. There were some parts which really did look ancient, but most of it was (relatively) recent construction. No pictures, unfortunately, of the temple :-(

Waterfall, as seen from Bhagsunag Temple

Taking a turn along the street, we sighted the waterfall we had glimpsed earlier from afar. The side of the rocky hill had been cut and paved with stones, to create a walkway to the waterfall. A signboard warned that the path was risky [due to previous landslides, that broke down the paved walk in some places, and blocked it in some others.] Morover, it was 1.5 kms long, and looked decidedly steep. We were in a dilemma as to go to the falls or not, as it seemed difficult to make it uptil there, and also to return to McLeodganj in time for the bus.

Waterfall - closer to the goal
In the left is the part of the path we walked

It's beauty really pulled us, and the attraction won over the misgivings :-) We decided we'd walk on, and return back if at any point we felt too tired, or seemed to be getting too late.


The only thing that marred the amazing beauty of the place was a few little shops to sell snacks and cold-drinks, two of them right at the foot of the fall. Worse than their sheer presence was the litter caused by apathetic shopkeepers and vistiors - the former washing dirty utensils in the hitherto pure water, and the latter throwing empty packages, cans and bottles any which way.


With some difficulty [my stamina is really poor!] we reached the falls, and the sights we were rewarded with, were more than worth the trouble we undertook. We would have liked to climb up the mountains to the top, from where the water was falling down, but time [and stamina too, to some extent] did not permit that at all.

Tiny white flowers growing in the rocks

We spent close to an hour there, though it was a place one could have spent hours on end, without tiring of the scenery, and there seemed to be a lot to explore around. I would have liked to walk down the hill to the stream that the waterfall transformed in to. But again, the fear of missing the bus prevailed :-)
Reluctantly, we dragged ourselves back, and started back. Coming down to Bhagsunag was much easier. And walking back to McLeodganj was not difficult either. In fact, we reached back with more than enough time in hand, and rued not spending more time in the falls!

And then, we had a bite to eat, collected our luggage from the hotel, and bid adieu to the Little Lhasa.

Goodbye, Dharamsala!

We found our bus was the same volvo we had come in [two buses ply on the route, starting from each end in the evening.] A few passengers boarded from McLeodGang, the majority were to board at Dharamsala. It is really a tough task maneouvering the huge bus on the narrow road on hair-pin bends. At one place, the driver realized that he had gone too far to turn, and reversed it, with the helper directing him about the wheels' position - this excercise actually scared on passenger off the bus! She hurriedly climbed down, and didnt climb back up until the driver had completed the turn! There was quite a wait at Dharamsala, but finally, after all the passengers boarded and settled down, the conductor switched on the movie - and imagine our extreme frustration, when a few seconds later we realized that the movie was none other than 'Jaani Dost'! Yes, the same hopeless nonsense one that they had shown on the onward journey!!

More about Dharamsala - IV

The exhaustion of the journey and previous day's excursion took its toll, and we were not able to wake up early and go for a walk towards the higher hills, as we had originally intended to. The sun was already up by the time we walked out, and looked for a place to have breakfast. In case you are wondering, we usually prefer to have parantha [a kind if Indian bread] at some dhaba [small eating joint] enjoying the activity in the streets, instead of having breakfast at the hotel, in small places like this. Surprisingly, hardly any restaurant was open even at 9:30! This was only lazy town - shops didn't start opening till 10 am or so, and started closing down around 7:30 pm [including some of the restaurants!]

Temple in the central circle

As mentioned earlier, there are two narrow roads running through the market, separated by a single row of shops, many of which opened at both ends. At the starting of these two roads near the central circle, is the booking office for buses. Next to it is a temple, which is not really a temple, but it just houses a set of Buddhist prayer wheels. It was very colorfully painted in gold and bright hues, in the characterstic style. Due to the narrow roads, there was no possible way we could capture the front or the side of this temple in a single frame. We captured a part of the front in the morning light.

Prayer wheels in Tsuglagkhang complex

Finally, the town started to wake up, and we managed to find a place to eat. Then we walked to the Dalai Lama temple, called as Tsuglagkhang complex. From the outside, it does not look like a temple. We entered through a gate, a cluster of buildings, protected by a boundary wall. There were a few shops, a small building housing a museum on Tibetan history, and many closely constructed buildings. Small signs led us to the entry of the temple; hostels for monks were also housed in the complex, and visitors to the temple were advised not to venture there. The temple itself is a large building, with a lot of open space, which one could not have imagined looking at the complex from outside. The place was sparse, but very neat and peaceful. Taking pictures was allowed, and to our great surprise, inside the main building as well.

Lord Buddha - the main prayer hall

Though I wonder what were these sacks for. Is there a fear of a terrorist attack?

Avlokiteswara

Tara

Padmasambhav

Prayer/Meditation hall

While coming back, we visited the museum. Although we had heard and read about the Chinese invasion on Tibet, it was perhaps the first time we learnt of the extent of torment the Tibetan nationals had to bear. Many people lost their lives, and many suffered grave injuries [including amputations due to frostbite and gangrene], trying to escape the atroicities. It was really heart-wrenching to learn about their troubled past [as well as present].

The streets were lined with people selling stone [including semi-precious stones] jewellery, souvenirs, decorative pieces and good-luck charms. Most of the shops also carried the same things - this is the main source of income in a tourism-driven economy.

Selling knick-knacks outside Tsuglagkhang Complex

An ancient church, known as 'St. John's church in wilderness" is about 1 km away from the central circle, on the main road to Dharamsala. In the afternoon, we walked towards the church. This time, walking was made difficult due to the heavy traffic along the road, including buses, and shared taxis. They emit a lot of diesel fumes, and drive at a break-neck speed that may be considered as crazy given the narrow, steep, winding roads.

Tree-lined walkway from the entrance to the church

The church is hardly visible from the town, or even from the gate at the pathway that leads to the church, such is the dense growth of Deodar trees around it. I can imagine that more than 100 years back when it was constructed, the area must really have been a wilderness!

Church of St John in the wilderness

A memorial in the church compound

(I think it was for world-war soldiers)
(Btw, this picture is not taken/manipulated in B/W)

The church itself is small, and made of stone, and looks every bit the ancient part. Inside, it has a few pews, but beautiful stained-glass windows.

Stained-glass windows

Yet another shop in the market:

Treasure-house?

Beautiful end to another beautiful day

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.

Glimpses from Dharamsala

By now I have quite a few travelogues waiting to be written down. Hopefully I would get around to doing it some time.
In the meanwhile - some glimpses of my recent trip to Dharamsala ...