An Intro To The Tibetan World in Mcleodganj/Dharamshala, Named The Little Lhasa Of India, Prior to My Trip Spanning Tibet Landmass Upto The North Face Everest Base Camp.
Blog number 9. 21.11.2020. nguptatravelscrapbook.blogspot.com
An intro to the Tibetan world in Mcleodganj/Dharamshala, named the Little Lhasa of India, prior to y trip spanning Tibet Landmass to the North face of Everest Base Camp
The World doesn't belong to the leaders; it belongs to humanity, By His Holiness The Dalai Lama.
Current Covid -19 Status: The second national Lockdown continues in the UK. This week there is the proclamation of Moderna Covid Vaccine to deal with Global pandemic.
Before my travel to Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh state was relatively unfamiliar to me in terms of travel routes, its geographical dispositions and rural health facilities, etc. I familiarised myself with local history and the geographical aspects of the area by going thru the following books.
- Related Pages from the Lonely Planet Book, The master Book of travel
- Related Pages from Eyewitness Travel, India
- Freedom In Exile, The Autobiography Of Dalai Lama Of Tibet.
The train took nearly eight hours covering a distance of approx 550 km exploding thru the states of Haryana, Punjab and finally reaching Himachal Pradesh. As the train neared Pathankot in the early hours of the morning, they served us tea on board. As a damp chill clutched me, prompting me to wrap up in my shawl, I sipped my tea and looked forward to the unknown venture lurking ahead of me.
My fellow passengers kindly helped me to unload my heavy suitcases (stuffed with medical supplies) off the train, waving goodbye to me. On one of such trips, my son Akash Neil Gupta, an Investment Banker, accompanied me when we took an overnight bus from Connaught Place, New Delhi to Pathankot Bus Station, taking almost the same travelling time.
It was another two hours by a road journey to reach Rakkar village, Sidhbari, Dharamshala. The taxi driver stopped en route for a delicious breakfast of Parathas and Masala tea at a roadside Dhaba. The glorious morning sun, lush green farms, the rural settings and the snow-capped Dhauladhar mountains merged to form a quaint landscape for me, out of a paint book, enthusing me with a passion for my oncoming professional highlight of voluntary medical work.
Day Break marked the road ascent into the mountains on winding roads with the occasional distraction by stray monkeys along the roads. I reassured myself that my trip was going to be full of enactments and gratification at its best. At each of my visits, I stayed in Rakkar village properties, curtsey of Nishtha Clinic. I have narrated my purpose of working with a voluntary medical project at Nishtha and Jagori Grameen Rural Development in my previous blog.
Tea terraces and waterfalls etc
While experiencing the world of the charitable medical background, I continued to explore Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh, in my free time or over the open weekends. Here I invite you to Dharamshala / Mcleodganj for the experiences of esteeming mythological Himalayan mountains, the rippling and cascading waterfalls, the Kangra tea garden terraces, the virtuous Sadhus in the ancient and diverged Hindu shrines with chiming bells, the spinning Tibetan prayers drums, the chanting of Om Mani Padme Hum (In Sanskrit ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ) reverberating in the monasteries of The Little Lhasa, and the delicious street food: The steaming hot momos!
Hindu Temples
A mixture of colonial glory and the elusive Tibetan enigma, blended with local Pahari populaces of Kangra valley that we come across today in Dharamshala, is a remarkable chapter of history in the hills of Himachal Pradesh. They stationed Erstwhile Viceroys and high British Officials at Dharamshala and Shimla (another hill station in the foothills of the Himalayas) during the Pre Independence East India Days. The nearby Kangara tea plantations and Dhauladhar Himalaya ranges lead Viceroys to contemplate Dharamshala as their summer capital at some stage, but Shimla took the favourite over.
Surrounded by lush and strikingly beautiful Pine and Deodar forests, we divide Dharamshala municipality into the Upper section (which is essentially Mcleodganj about 4 kilometres north) and Lower division of the principal town with an interstate bus terminus. Practically, Dharamshala is synonymous with Mcleodganj. Tourism is an important industry in McLeod Ganj. Many people come here to study Tibetan Buddhism, culture, crafts, etc. The area is also jam-packed with bag packers, single travellers and mountain hikers who start their adventures here. There is a noticeable café culture here with the gentle whooshing of red /saffron-coloured robes at the table next to yours as monks and nuns visit for their daily cuppa. Restaurants boast of regular Hollywood patrons, from Goldie Hawn to Pierce Brosnan, and often have their pictures up alongside inviting international cuisine from Italian to Punjabi to Tibetan delicacies and now most of the fast-food giants being represented. Mcleodganj attracts Buddhist from across the world, including Hollywood actor Richard Gere, who has a private housing here for his stay while involving himself to Richard Gere Tibet Foundations.
His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, took refuge in Dharamshala in 1959.
Under the brutal communist regime and fearing for his life and those of his people, the spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, made the hard decision to lead his people into exile to, Dharamshala, India in 1959. He arrived in Dharamshala on foot after trekking for weeks across the Himalayas. Since then, some 250,000 Tibetans have followed in his footsteps, settling in Dharamshala, Ladakh, Darjeeling and other rural mountainous communities of India. The government of India granted political asylum to the exiled Tibetan leader, building his headquarters (the Tibetan Govt-in –exile) in Mcleodganj, Dharamshala in 1960. Since that time, in exile, The Dalai Lama has devoted himself to the plight of his people and has promoted world peace through an unwavering policy of non-violence, leading him to be honoured and awarded with Noble Peace Prize in 1989.
Today, thousands of Tibetan people have made this scenic Kangra Valley, their home drawing with them the different Tibetan flavours of Lhasa, henceforth, now popularly known as the Little Lhasa of India.
Mcleodganj
As the Free Tibet Movement gathered momentum here in Dharamshala with the Tibetan refugees, this place became the hub of Tibetan news and politics. International tourists, Tibetan souls, monks and nuns, along with the indigenous Pahari folks combined to make Mcleodganj Dharamshala, a meeting place for a political chit-chat, food devour, coffees and teas, exchange of holiday experiences and shopping extravaganza. I enjoyed the shopping in Mcleodganj having its bohemian appeal. Kotwali Bazaar, Jogiwara Road, & Mcleodganj Central Square are well-known shopping areas in the district selling anything from Tibetan carpets, antiques, rugs, & exotic sculptures to semi-precious stone jewellery and knitted woollen shawls and garments.
Tibetan Buddhist temples, Prayer Drums and chanting sources in Dharamshala:
The focal point of Mcleodganj is Tsuglagkhang Complex, at the southern edge of the town, which contains the residential quarters of The Dalai Lama (it does not allow visitors), The Namgyal Monastery where monks can be seen performing their daily rituals, including debates over. The famous temple is in the form of a simple hall with a dais where the Dalai Lama delivers his sermon, etc. The temple has a beautiful deity of Avalokitesvara: we believe the Dalai Lama to be a reincarnation of the same. The whole precinct echoes and resounds with the famous Buddhist chanting of Om Mani Padme Hom, bringing oneself in the overwhelming reflective mode.
Andretta Village and Palampur Agricultural University, Dharamshala.
Andretta is a village and an artists' colony in Palampur, Dharamshala since the 1920s. An Irish couple founded the town with a flair for Punjabi theatre as the backdrop and later on helped to establish Palampur Agricultural University. At one stage they named the village as Mem Da Pind (Village of a Memsahib).
Another family in later years instituted a famous Andretta Pottery here which is still a prominent scene in the village, marketing the pottery ware in outlets all over India. I visited the Palampur University and had tea with the Andretta Pottery owner along with my colleague Dr Barbara Nath. One would come across dense Kangra tea plantations in this area, and famously the tea overbearing added medicinal values.
Norbulingka Institute to witness the Creative power.
It is one of the offbeat neighbourhoods here, founded by The Dalai Lama. They established it to teach and preserve traditional Tibetan arts of Thangka paintings on paper and fabric, statue making, embroidery and wood carvings apart from knitting and sewing crafts, etc. It sets amidst Japanese influenced gardens with carved out pathways, wooden bridges and dainty waterfalls. I visited this famous place transporting home-baked bread loaves from Nishtha complex to the authorities here who earn an extra income by selling the bread to locals and tourist.
Masroor Rock Temple
Masroor temple ruins, the infamous truck etc.
Few visitors are aware of the ruins of Masroor rock temple, situated very close to Mcleodganj.
It is an ancient temple devoted to Hindu Deities, with intricate stone carvings set amidst beautiful scenery, on top of a hill. Quaint views of Dhauladhar mountain range on a clear day add to the charm of this place. The staff at Nishtha clinic arranged a picnic trip to Masroor on a free afternoon, overjoyed by us all. Anna that you see in the picture here runs regular holiday road trips to Manali via Rohtang Pass, in her rustic truck through a recognised rugged and challenging territory. She kindly volunteered to lumber me with her to her journey to Manali via road in her truck. I had a reservation for the long and formidable road journey in the uncomfortable truck that you see here in the picture and consequently and politely excused myself on the pretence of time restraint.
Momo makers of Mcleodganj.
Tibetan food is the most traditional food available in every outlet, cafes, bars, restaurants and street stalls in Mcleodganj and around. The most popular item on the menu is the pervasive Momos or dumplings made of plain flour and water dough. After rolling them out individually, they are shaped desirously by fillings of various kinds. These get served piping hot, out of a barrel-shaped steamer with an accompanying fragrant sauce. Ama-La's momos (mum's momos) are always referred to the homemade momos sold by Tibetan women donning their warm smiles on the streets, squares and corners. The momos could have fillings ranging from spinach, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, (flavoured with garlic and onions) to chicken or pork or mutton. There are cooking classes held in the area offered to visitors to learn the art of making momos. A prevalent and busy activity embraced by most visitors!
Other ancient and Hindu temples visited by me in the area throughout my trips here.
Kangra valley is one of the best examples of Dev Bhumi (God's Land), where the temples, big or small, new or ancient are ubiquitously present at every corner of the land.
Chinmaya Mission Temple.
Baijnath Shiva Temple
Chamundi Goddess Temple
Brijashwari Goddess Temple
Jwalaji Goddess Temple.
Future of Tibetan refugees in India.
I was surprised to see the skills and beauty with which the Tibetans refugees have attempted to recreate their traditional, religious and cultural institutions away from their homeland in the rural sects of India. Over the last ten years, the Tibetan refugee community in India has dropped by almost 40%. Many young Tibetans are migrating for better opportunities to counties like USA, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
But while the numbers of young Tibetans in Dharamshala may decline, the commitment to the cause of more freedom for Tibet remains unwavering in the hometown of the Dalai Lama.
With the currently portrayed disposition of Tibet, I intend to narrate our trip, taking a courageous and most arduous road trip spanning the vast Tibet Landmass. Finally reaching the Everest Base Camp on the North Face side. I would go thru the bundles of my handwritten memoirs to outlay my blog. I thank you for reading my blogs.
A very enticing and enriching experience tale. I remember very clearly your trips to these medical camps during different seasons of the year form Delhi. Your accounts on return would be full of accomplished tones but still in pain because of the plights of women , due to medical reasons, on one hand and the efforts laid down by them towards their empowerment.
ReplyDeleteI had visited this part of Himalayas with my students in October 2010, primarily to CSIR-IHBT, Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, at Palampur. This place is 40 km form Dharamshala, and then further uphill is McCleod Ganj. we were stationed at a hotel in McCleod Ganj for two nights. I still get goose pimples thinking of the bus climbing very narrow road upto the hotel from the base. With adult teenagers to look after, I could not lay my hands on Tibetan art pieces, so a next trip should be on the TO DO LIST!
Dear Malti
DeleteI am indebted to you for your well chosen words, enthusing me. Take care of yourself. Much love.
As usual an amazing trip enjoyed your blogs I was at the base camp in Oct 2008 & can relate to it.
ReplyDeleteThats great Shobha. I am reading my hand written memoirs at present before summarising the experience in the form of the blog. Thank you for your encouraging comments. Much appreciated. See you back here soon. Covid Vaccine news is a real breakthrough in the field of Medicine.
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