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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| 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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