McLeod Ganj
Upper Dharamsala, India
After 14 hours on a cold overnight bus over hairpin curves, bumps, and potholes I disembarked to a swarm of disheveled men grabbing for my bags. I never did get to see where I was or get my bearings as I gave up and let one man take me to a telephone to reach my contact for the location of my apartment. Then this very same man carried all three of my bags down hills and stairways along the mountainside until we arrived at my little ‘place’. All the while I was trying to keep up with my torn medial collateral groaning with every step – I can only think it was good exercise for the knee.
My apartment is quite nice – I guess it would be considered an efficiency with one large room, a small kitchen area and a rather huge bathroom which combines the shower, sink, and toilet. There are large windows across the front and a nice balcony that wraps around the entire unit. I’ve seen some incredible birds including Plum-headed Parakeets and raptors while looking out my windows. I’ve heard the monkeys but have not seen them yet here at the apartments. I have, however, had the pleasure of seeing monkeys all over the central part of town – they hang out on the ledges of the upper floors of buildings. The electricity comes and goes throughout the day and it’s just a part of life here – everything goes on as usual. The only discomfort is the cold – there is no heat in the apartment, in restaurants, etc. – actually no heat anywhere. I have rented a small electric heater but it only has one tiny element and only heats whatever is directly in front of it. I’m surviving by snuggling down in my fleece liner and down mummy bag and wearing an Alpaca hat I bought at Common Ground last fall. Incredible but I only brought two layered outfits – once I’ve surveyed things more I shall have some warm clothes made. I made the mistake of washing one of the outfits and nothing is drying. I did spy a place where I can drop off laundry for next day service – I’ll give that a try.
I’ve reconnected with Cary and Meg who I met in Majnu Ka Tilla, Delhi and have spent a bit of time running around with them and going out to eat. I also reconnected with the really nice Irish Tibetan Monk, Lobsang, who introduced me to some young Tibetan men who he assisted in establishing a bakery. The five young men crossed the Himalayas to freedom and have not seen their families since. A French chef trained them and the monk raised money for them to have a shop. One of the men took me to get a Sim card for my cell phone so I can make and receive calls.
It rained horribly for two days when I first got here – a new phenomena for me was a thunderstorm that lasted from 8:00 PM until about 10:00 AM the next morning. And I mean a huge, loud, continuous thunder. My friend Tashi, originally from Ladakh, said that yes, this is quite common. The rain doesn’t stop all the busy comings and goings of the multitudes. And did I say it was cold!
One of the first things I did beside purchase groceries was to go to security and get my pass and ID for the Dalai Lama teachings which go from March 4th – the 15th . There are over 10,000 lay people, nuns, and monks who come to take the teachings. Most people go to the Temple a few days early and lay out their spots for the teachings – which a few of us did right away - we have a fairly good view of His Holiness from our area. When I went back to check on our spot the entire area had been marked off by people so we were very lucky to have gone right when we arrived. The Dalai Lama teachings are in Tibetan so foreigners can tune in to translations on transistor radio – different channels for each language.
Stories: Every Tibetan I meet has a story about how they escaped Tibet and the genocide committed by the Chinese (which, by the way, is still going on). Their stories are sad and will be imprinted on their memory for a life-time. If you are interested in an example of the raw experiences faced by the Tibetans an excellent tie-in book is:
Sorrow Mountain by Ani Pachen, Adelaide Donnelley, The Dalai Lama, and Richard Gere
It’s an easy, captivating read and should appeal to both high school students and adults.
Ethical Issues: Here is an ethical question I am facing and there is no right or wrong answer here – maybe good fodder for all you high school students to contemplate. There are beggars everywhere and they are relentless. A mother holding a tiny malnourished baby, dirty children sent out to beg, people with deformed and mangled bodies. So do you give to each and be out of money in very little time. Do you give to some knowing that you’ve helped to do your little part? And if so, which ones do you give to – how do you make the decision about who might be more needy when they are all needy. Or do you opt out of giving to any beggars. This has been a hot topic of discussion among foreigners here. What would you do under these circumstances?
March 8th: The weather has been absolutely gorgeous since the Dalai Lama began his teachings. He gave a preliminary session on the morning of the 3rd directing much of his attention to the hundred or so people who were given Visas from Tibet to come visit their relatives here in Dharamsala. Everyone was given the opportunity to take refuge in the Buddha, the teachings, and the spiritual community from His Holiness (extremely special for the people visiting from Tibet). Beginning on the 4th the Dalai Lama began the regular teachings which go from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and 1:00 to 3:30 PM every day until the 15th of March. Each morning he serves us all breakfast, usually a roll and butter tea and in the afternoon butter tea with honey. Everyday he hands out 70 Rs (Rupees – approximately 43 Rs to a $1.00) to every monk and nun and also feeds them lunch. There are people from all over the world who have come to take his teachings: Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, German, Swiss, French, Canadian, Tibetan, Spanish and so on….Everyone is friendly and respectful. Security is heavy during the teachings and so we have our bags searched and our bodies searched every time we enter. There are armed guards around the podium area and there are guards in front of and behind the Dalai Lama as he walks in through the crowd. He smiles and sometimes waves and touches some of the people as he passes. He’s very close and accessible to us. I can see him from my seat (I’m actually quite close) but there are several floors of people so some watch on wide screen TV. They have a fairly sophisticated set-up for media throughout the temple. All the teachings are videotaped and the translations are recorded and made available for purchase in MP3 format. It’s very hard to explain what it feels like to be in the presence of H.H. The XIV Dalai Lama but it’s very special, calm, serene, simple yet complex, and he projects a big aura that seems to encompass us all. He’s very playful but also imparts a very strong and serious focus on the teachings accented by wonderful hand gestures to send the message home. You may ask what are the teachings? The focus has been based on two books which I have listed on my Website. They are basically about personal discipline, mindfulness and developing a spiritual practice.
Favorite Places to Eat:
A Taste of India: My favorite cuisine is Northern Indian but I have never had such food as this – it’s other worldly. They also give cooking classes so I hope to do that when I have some free time.
Lung Ta: Japanese vegetarian – exquisite.
Snow Lion: Excellent Tibetan Cuisine
Some Places to Recommend:
Tibet Tours and Travels: Now located on Temple Road, it is an honest and reliable place to make travel reservations.
Moonspeak: Located on Temple Road they have a cafe, professional photo studio and processing and an Internet business.
East Home Apartments: Nice short or long term apartment accommodations, out of the fray, with private balcony and small kitchen area.
Kongpo House: Owned by a Librarian at the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, this guesthouse is very close to the Dalai Lama Temple/Tsuglagkhang Complex. The rooms open out to a nice deck with views of the mountains.
H
ere are some protest Rally posters that I thought really spoke to the issue of a Free Tibet:
3/11/07 It’s very difficult to fit everything into a day = lots of things to do here and the pace is much slower than the average American lifestyle. Usually in the evening on my way home I pick up fresh fruits and vegetables from the various stalls so I can cook an evening meal. Some nights I go out to eat with people I have met here but I am trying to keep my expenses down. One night while eating at my favorite restaurant The Taste of India I got to watch MTV India - it’s amazing - so much better, colorful, and imaginative than our American MTV. Can you imagine Indians in saris doing hip-hop to sitar music and drums - quite spectacular. The ads are better as well. Lays potato chips makes a Masala flavored chip - hot and spicy. All the major companies market products here but they are flavored for India taste buds. I’ve taken a liking to Fanta Orange which I used to drink when I lived in Spain a million years ago - it’s wonderful with the Masala flavored chips.
The other major experience I had when I first got here was having my new digital camera stolen by a beggar. The next day I brought her all sorts of food and asked her to keep an eye out for the camera to no avail - duh! So I hired a taxi and went 8 kilometers to the Police Station down the hill. There they gave me tea and said I had to go down another 8 Km to the district court and file an affidavit. When I got there I had to hire a lawyer to write my story and get all sorts of official stamps and then have it authenticated by the court. This took a long time and lots of up and down stairs both inside and outside but my driver stuck with me. Then we had to go back up the hill to the Police Station again so they could file a report - this was all hand done - making a copy of the court papers to give to me - now where was a photocopier when you need one! Then my dear driver took me back to where we began. The end of the story is I bought a new camera - an exact replica of the one stolen and lived happily ever after. Thus these pictures were all taken with the new camera.
Another book that some of my older adult women might enjoy is:
Madam, Have You Ever Really Been Happy?: An Intimate Journey through Africa and Asia by Meg Noble Peterson
I guess you could ask my mother how the book is as she made it her weekend read recently. I’ve been hanging out with Meg and her daughter Cary since I got to India.
Tomorrow I begin an Indian cooking class following the teachings of His Holiness. It’s two hours a day for three days. Sure hope we get to eat what we make - it’s spectacular food. I’ve also signed up for a 10 day Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation retreat at the Tushita Centre (please refer to the first blog for a link). It is a 10 day silent retreat up in the mountains which will be refreshing after all the hub bub of the city. I think a Buddhist Nun from Spain will stay in my apartment while I go to the retreat as she has to give up her room there for the participants. We got to know each other on the overnight bus to McLeod Ganj.
If any of my Gardiner Area High School students are keeping up with this journey, please feel free to ask questions either in the comment area or you can e-mail me at tblesh@maine.edu
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
The apartment is basically all one room with a large attached bathroom that has a shower, toilet, sink, vanity and mirror. The hot water has to be turned on an hour before using it and there is not enough hot water for an entire shower - it's the get wet, turn off water, soap up and then rinse technique. Meanwhile the air is cold. My sleeping bag and fleece liner are a saving grace. Thanks Mountain HardWare.
The kitchen works well - Indians & Tibetans do not use ovens. They cook their breads on a flat pan and then throw them directly on the burner to puff up. I've made a number of vegetable stir fries with crispy noodles or rice using all fresh vegetables and Indian spices. I store filtered water in a 2 1/2 gallon water jug and use that for cooking, drinking, and brushing teeth.
