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Published: September 13th 2013
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Gurshanu
The view as I approached from the road “
If your life isn't holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned” Its 4 am and I am awake. I go outside and take a look at the night sky and its dark (the new moon has already set here in the mountains), crystal clear and cloudless – so the stars are amazingly bright. I go back to bed and lay there to see if I can get back to sleep.
Yer nai sacta he, so I get up and go about my morning routine: meditation,
chai, catch up on some emails, and then think about yoga and breakfast and washing.
But I look outside again and the sky is blue and cloudless, so I decide on a trip up the mountain to Bahu to catch possible glimpses of the distant snow capped
Himali. I dress in fleecies and coat, grab my gloves and beanie, hop on Gladys (the bike) and ride up.
Close to Bahu I notice this lovely looking structure out on the edge of a ridge and wonder how come I have not noticed this on previous trips. I reach a point in a switch-back
turn where a small road leads down in that same direction and decide to take it. I ride for a km and where the road converts into a small well kept path. I can now see the structure and its obviously a temple.
As I approach the spot I am taken by the beauty of this village (called Garshanu). There is no rubbish around and each turn presents a perfect picture of form and light.
I reach the temple and its obvious now that this is a new structure still to be completed. The carpenter/carving artist greets me warmly. His name is Puran Chand and he comes from generations of temple wood carvers in a village called Thachi Dadwas (near Mandi and about 100 kms from here). He himself is 32, married with a son and a daughter, and has been working as a temple carver for the past 10 years. He has been working on this temple for about 6 months and expects it will be another 6 before its finished (including down time in the middle of the coming winter). He sleeps under the makeshift and un-walled workshop and returns to see his family one day
a week.
Puran shows me some of the panels of intricate figure carving he has completed for installation in the temple. He says that each figure takes him 3 days to do.
A village elder (the village has commissioned the building of this new temple) is there with his grand-daughter. I am offered
chai by another villager. Then Puran invites me to share a 'special'
beedi that he prepares and we smoke with due reference to and reverence for Shiva. I ask him how he works after this and he says it gives him “very clear mind”.
I explore the village and walk further down the track leading out. Its just beautiful and the distant mountains are very clear – I can make out some snow in the distance, and deep down in the valley I can see Aut. I return and sit watching Puran at his work. After some time I leave, pluck and eat a juicy apple from a tree beside the path (we are in the middle of apple season), and return to my faithful steed Gladys.
When I reach my cottage, its only 9.30 am (mind you I did stop for a
Puran's work
A panel ready for installation chai): still plenty of time for my yoga, breakfast and washing. Oh... and perhaps a little nap.
The fullness of emptiness never ceases to amaze.
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sarita
non-member comment
Lovely to see India through your eyes Paul....