The locals

Monks, music and mountains

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November 21st 2006
"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 pr ... read more

Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Mcleod Ganj

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The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab in... ... read more