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Matt here-

In the northern state of Himachal Pradesh at the foot of the Dhauladhar mountain range, part of the outer Himalayan chain of ranges, is a town called Dharamsala. The area that really piqued our interest is the town's hill station suburb of McLeod Ganj, named after a Scottish governor of the Punjab, this seemingly quaint settlement unto itself is situated at 18,500ft and overlooks the basin of the Kangra valley as well as its’ surrounding snow capped mountains - a world away from the polluted fog and congestion of Delhi.

People come to McLeod Ganj for several reasons. Traditionally it was used as a holiday home town for ex-pats at the bidding of the British Raj, an escape from the sweltering heat of the infamous Indian summers, not surprising considering the mellow climate, scenic views and gentle pace of life. The British and fellow western contingent is still making its’ presence known albeit not so much in the form of the stiff upper lipped ex pat but more so in the preserve of the dreadlocked soul searcher on the four week plan to enlightenment, this unfortunately explains the perpetual Bob Marley soundtrack that can be heard throughout even the most sanctified parts of town. However after the initial British crowds had discovered Dharamsala another not so leisurely migration followed.

In 1960 after Mao’s expansionist intentions in Tibet had sadly come to fruition the town was to assume host to the Tibetan Government in Exile and its’ still incumbent leader the 14th Dalai Lama, a subsequent diaspora of Tibetan refugees swiftly followed suit and to this day McLeod Ganj is a revered safe haven for those continuing to flee the occupying Chinese government in Tibet. There is a well developed infrastructure of Tibetan provenance. Tibetan schools, temples, businesses and cuisine are all very much apparent on the streets of McLeod Ganj as too are the large amount of monks and pilgrims who have come to town in order to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama himself, a privilege we were briefly afforded as he was returning from a rather important engagement in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama had stepped out to catch some cricket. Indeed this week it seems that most people are here for the cricket…

I was quite unaware that Cricket, the beloved sport of public schools, of village greens and patient fans in it for the long haul had manifested itself into a commercial beast as gaudy as a WWF Royal Rumble. Forget Geoffrey Boycott muttering away on a Sunday afternoon whilst the grounds play host to a crowd who looks more as if they’re enjoying a twee family picnic and a sneaky Pimms cup as opposed to a nail biting sporting event. We are talking cheer leaders (predominantly imported white busty stock), sponsorship deals galore and a back from retirement debauched Shane Warne adorning the front cover of every gossip magazine from Bengal to Bangalore. 20/20 Cricket as it is called (each team is given one inning of 20 overs) is a rather different affair from what you might expect. IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket as it is otherwise known is composed of teams such as the Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians each competing in arenas that have more in common with Yankee Stadium than the comparatively subdued stands of the Oval. Indeed it is one such newly opened arena that has brought throngs of IPL fans to Dharamsala for the weekend, 22,000 of them to be precise, the towns resident population hovering around 18,000 people, you can imagine at times it was a little bit of a squeeze.

That said we were lucky enough to get settled into Jagatram Niwas, a beautiful family run guest house that would be home for the next five days. Perched on the side of a mountain above the small but bustling village of Bhagsu it was a nice 20 minute or so walk down the hill to the more central McLeod Ganj. The guest house was a truly lucky find, not only were we greeted with a warm welcome by our host Bavinder Singh and his family but more than once we were fed their wonderful home cooked food. Writing this a few weeks later and several guest houses down the line by far and away was this the best accommodation that we have had. http://www.jagatram.com/

Despite our rather dramatic surroundings it was the company of the vacationing Ramachandran family that proved to be highlight of our sojourn in little Tibet. One couldn’t hope to meet a more gracious and friendly bunch. Ram (Dad) spent much of his (no doubt) well earned holiday time on our account eloquently explaining the Indian psyche, rationalizing what at times in the view of western eyes can seem like quite obscure behaviors; the non-issue and absolute lack of any ill will toward the seemingly exonerated colonial bigotry of the Brits being an example. Distilling such attitudes down to patience and understanding, two apparent and perhaps not so apparent (where train stations are concerned) hallmarks of Indian society, was very much at the crux of his explanations. Annapurna (Mum), which befittingly translates as the bestower of food, was happy to provide mouth watering descriptions of various cuisines to be found throughout the sub continent as well impart a fraction of her somewhat encyclopedic knowledge of Hindu folk lore and legend. There is a vain hope that someday in the future we will be sat at a table in front of a bowl of one of Annapurna’s freshly stewed concoctions. Arun (Brother) and Aparna (Sister) besides being very amiable social companions, were able to enthusiastically give us an idea of that modern, young and on the move India that we had heard so much about but unfortunately had not witnessed in Delhi, turns out we were just a rickshaw ride away. The families’ willingness to patiently provide knowledgeable answers and explanations to the bombardment of various questions and inquisitions we had in store for them provided an invaluable insight into the culture, traditions, history and social fabric of India especially given that we were not even a week into our trip. When our five days at Jagatram Niwas were up the two of us were incredibly sad to say goodbye to Dharamsala but perhaps even more so to the Ramachandran’s. We shall hope to stay in touch with our new friends from Delhi.

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