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Published: November 23rd 2006
The locals
Gotta love this place"Namaste", the monk says with a shy grin on his face, as he passes us on the road, thumbing his prayer beads and reciting mantras to himself. This is the only place I've been, where that word does not come with some level of spiritual pretension, where it is said frequently and with friendly openess.
Mcleod Ganj, sitting on a mountain ridge at 1700m, looking over Dharamsala in the valley, and presided over by the snow-capped Himalayas, is a true anomaly. A haven for Buddhists, hedonists, environmentalists, tourists, artists, spiritualists and activists, but definitely not communists (Chinese that is ), this place is a hive of activity and culture.
At first, the sight of so many monks and nuns, with their red robes and kojac hairstyles, along with the enterprising Tibetans going about their business and selling wares, makes one forget they're in India. One is brought back to stark reality, however, by the pleas of the many deformed or maimed Indian beggars, which are a way of life in this country. Still, it is an oasis of friendliness, smiles and compassion.
Sitting at the main temple at sunset, watching a procession of hunched old monks, with faces
like leather handbags, rolling the prayer wheels in reverence, a sense of respect and tranquility washed over me. One can really feel the positive vibes of this little mountain top village, and of course this applies to the tourists too, who hold the ideal of respect and friendliness. This is so evident at a local community cafe, where anyone can play music, read poetry (did that..bloody nerve-wracking) or just sing.
I decided to break the stress of the chaotic city life and early morning yoga sessions (lol) with a trek in the mountains with an American friend from the meditation course. Naively, we thought we could climb over the mountain pass (4350m) and into the valley beyond with only our rudimentary map. Later we would learn that this was impossible with the amount of snow this time of year. We had to abort the summit too, as it began snowing as we approached about two-thirds of the way up. Cest la vie..we had a great four day trek in the mountains, with a guide to help us avoid the black bears, who abound this time of year.
The most striking and emotional aspect of being here however, is
the plight of the Tibetans. Listening to accounts of a recent escapee, who survived torture and having all his teeth smashed by the Chinese (for watching a film about the Dalai Llama), or talking to the members of the English conversation class, one realises how the West has forgotten the terrible repression these people endure. Every year, thousands of refugees arrive at Mcleod Ganj, having walked through the mountains (5500m high), with little or no food, inadequate clothing and fear of execution by Chinese soldiers. The guys in my class each told me how they walked for 30 days through the snowy mountains, of children having fingers, toes and limbs amputated due to frostbite, of people fainting from hunger after not eating for 15 days.
Whether it was a day long hunger strike in the main square at protest to Hu Jintao's visit, or the members of the youth council chanting at a candlelit vigil, one cannot escape the poor tragedy of these wonderfully peaceful people and the great injustices they have and continue to suffer. Even sitting in an internet cafe, some guys have been proudly showing me footage of activists in Delhi disrupting the Chinese delagation, while
another sadly looks at footage of Tibetan refugees being shot by soldiers in the mountain snow. I went to watch a show in support of recent unemployed refugees, who perform traditional dancing and singing. Be it the melodious ululations of the nomad's singing, the wonderful talent of the little village girl or vigor of the refugees dancing, one feels at the depth of your heart, their positivity, their hope.
It's an apt description of the state of the world today where a country with the most peaceful and spiritually rich people live under a regime that surpasses that of apartheid in cruelty, but where the great powers turn a blind eye, in the name of economic prosperity. How much integrity and virtue have we forsaken, in favor of greed and personal gain? How much futher must be fall, before we realise the folly of our selfishness, before we learn again to respect, to love?
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