Sunday, March 4, 2018

Musings from Mcleodganj



Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” ― Gautama Buddha



A refuge for the Tibetans, a place where temples jostle with monasteries, priests intermingle with the monks and locals live harmoniously with the refugees. Scores of Tibetan shops, selling everything from curios to woolens line the street here and Momos & Thupkas are a more staple diet than Achar & Paranthas.

Mcleodganj
Welcome to Mcleodganj or Upper Dharamshala, as some prefer to call it! Located 10kms further away from Dharamshala and much higher it is nestled in the lap of the Dhauladhar range, a part of the mighty Himalayas. This small hill station is no match to Shimla, Mussoorie or Ooty, but 
Happy monks
manages to hold its own on the strength of its unique character, a little Tibet in India. 





The presence here of His Holiness - the Dalai Lama  makes it different from other Tibetan settlements elsewhere in India. Even though he wasn't in his usual abode at the time of our visit, his presence was felt everywhere whether it was in the curios shop, the restaurant or the bookshop. His photographs or books authored by him or about him seemed were omnipresent. The Buddhist monks with their unique reddish maroon robes were seen everywhere reminding us of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader & symbol of their peaceful struggle for independence & even existence. 

Losel dolls
Being a mini Tibet, monasteries are in abundance. 
A place not to be missed for handicraft lovers is the Norbulingka Institute which is located about 4kms down from Dharamshala. An institute for Tibetan arts, we got to see first hand, the artists and weavers at work, displaying colorful Tibetan 
A weaver at work
paintings, hand made cotton and woolen dresses, scarfs and carpets. It has the world’s largest collection of handmade dolls here called Losel Dolls. This is alone worth a visit. The monks construct a doll's body of wire and papier maché, and then affix cast metal hands. The heads are sculpted of fine clay, the faces painted, and hair attached. Dressed in tailored clothes of cotton, wool and silk, the doll is completed with jewelry and other accessories. The shop inside sells handmade paintings, handicrafts and dresses, which are prohibitively expensive, but justified due to their uniqueness and the efforts taken to create them.


The mouth water egg fry in the making
Mcleodganj is a haven for foodies. The Jogibara road and Temple road , especially the former, is lined by eateries serving local Himachali to Italian and everything in between including Japanese, Bhutanese & of course Tibetan cuisine. We tried every specialty on each of the day we stayed there and weren't disappointed ever. Oh yes and I forgot to mention the street food.
The taste of the humble omelette-pav at the roadside stall in the chilly morning mountain air will keep tickling my taste buds for a long time. Deep fried boiled eggs coated with a spicy masala from a tiny, easy to be missed shack was another mouth watering item which won't be forgotten easily. 

Mcleodganj at night
Come dusk and the  crowded streets of Mcleodganj turn into a glittering maze. The neon sign boards and lighting on the shops can give any big town street a run for money. The numerous pastry and ice cream shops made their presence felt as the lights switched on. A late evening stroll post dinner for the wonderful desserts should not be missed.

Trekking to Triund


For the adventure enthusiasts, trekking to Triund about 9kms from Mcleodganj and at an altitude of about 10000 ft. ASL, further down to Ilaka to see the snow line & then up to Indrahar pass over 3 days is an option. We trekked up to Triund, which took us about 4 hrs. one way, before the weather turned bad. The mist set in rapidly, visibility turned to just about a couple of feet, temperature dropped down to about 5°C and a hailstorm started, progressing to heavy rains lasting for about an hour forcing us to descent down to Dharamkot, about 2 kms from Mcleodganj. 
Reminiscing now, sitting in my hot & humid city of Mumbai, trekking in the cold, fog covered mountains, the tall Deodars looming through the mist over us seems heavenly.

Paragliding at Billing
Billing, touted, as one of the top places for paragliding in the world is again a must-go and must do. About 45 kms from Mcleodganj, it takes about 2 hours to reach the takeoff site and then waiting all strapped up for the right wind to blow, teeth chattering partly due the cold and mostly due to nervousness, but putting on a bold front is again an experience to cherish. Flying above the birds, sometimes with them, in between the mountain peaks, rustling of the cold mountain air through my ears, as I looked at the village below, I realized what a real bird's eye view is.


Finally, being in Himachal, can temples be missed?
Jwalamukhi temple
Of course not! Himachal Pradesh, the land of temples, has them at every turn, many of them ancient, and with lovely mythological lore’s explaining there significance. We managed to visit a few. The Aghanjar Mahadev temple, near Norbulinga, where Arjuna meditated and was blessed by the boon of victory by Lord Shiva, was the first one in our list of many. The Baijnath temple near Palampur, Chamunda devi temple at Chamba, Bhagsunag temple in Mcleodganj which has a large fresh water underground spring flowing beneath it and on our way back, the Jwaladevi temple where there is an eternal flame burning since centuries, were a few that we managed to visit.
Each of these places thronged with devotees, each one entering with faith & devotion, some to thank the almighty for a wish fulfilled & others to get a wish fulfilled. As far as we were concerned, our objective was to have a spiritual experience.

The location and architecture of these ancient temples done at a time of meager technical resources always intrigues me. The sites seem to be always chosen carefully, at a height commanding panoramic views of the surroundings, the stones carved and laid with love, precise engineering bearing the brunt of multiple insults whether in the form of nature's or man's fury, making sure that they last an eternity. 

As we made our way back to the airport at Chandigarh, each one of us satiated from our adventurous trip, I marvelled at our country’s diversity not only in our language & culture, but the geographical variation from place to place. India will never cease to surprise me. And so far the surprises have always been pleasant.


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