Blogs from Mcleod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 35

The hotel put up some Christmas decorations, which seem to have more of a Hawaiian theme than anything else, with assorted fake flowers in orange and pink, though there are a couple of Christmas trees to keep with (English) tradition. One of the employees, presumably the one who drew the short straw, was cavorting around the square in a Father Christmas outfit, with a very un-Father Christmas-like advert for the Asian Plaza on his chest. I was hoping to see the argumentative monks from Namgyal Monastery doing their stuff in the temple courtyard this afternoon, as seen on Michael Palin's Himalaya series, but either I went at the wrong time or they only do it in the summer, as I didn't see even a vaguely irritated monk, let alone one using punches and kicks to emphasise ... read more

The title says it all. Mooched around in MG, chatted about yoga and related topics (of which Debash is a fount of knowledge - this is the man who kept Madonna waiting to get into the changing room of their yoga studio), and put some serious effort into relaxing.... read more

Even though we both had had a good sleep, it was clear that Debash's room was just not up to scratch - both in terms of the draughty windows, as well as the non-heating water boiler. The manager was tasked with finding another room for him. Since the breakfast room was empty and had a strange smell to it, we decided to try to find a sunny roof terrace elsewhere on which to have breakfast. As we neared the main square, an obvious location presented itself. The roof terrace of the Asian Plaza hotel appeared to be the highest point in town and was also bathed in sunlight. We tramped up to the top, found we were there only customers, and chose a table that overlooked the main square as well as being a sun trap. ... read more

Like a crack to a stone, frozen in a high mountain clime, warmed by a sudden release; Tashi, then Loti, and then Shampa came back into my life, as I their's. We met on the streets, upon the steep hills of McLeod Ganj, spontaneously, by the will of what is. It started with an early arrival on the 5th. 5:30 AM, freezing, a small pack and the British Airways blanket cloaked as a shawl. Kicked off the bus at its final destination, I wandered down familiar paths toward Tashi and Gyathar's home. I arrived, half numb, and waited outside with the intent to not disturb its inhabitants. Time ticked; one hour, two hours—I drifted in and out of sleep, haunted by flash-dreams of frostbite until the owner of the property emerged from his room. "Tashi," he ... read more

...the title of a 35 minute documentary produced by International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) in 2004. Devotion and Defiance: Buddhism and the Struggle for Religious Freedom in Tibet is a vivid declaration of religious control in occupied Tibet. Containing footage from inside monasteries as well as from the Lhasa demonstrations in the late 1980s, it reveals what limitations prevail in and out of the "T.A.R." even today. For example, in 2001 the well-known and attended Larung Gar Buddhist Institute, in Serthar Co., Eastern Tibet (Chinese-claimed) was the target of the Communist Party's paranoia. Fearing the increasing interest by Tibetans, Chinese and overseas buddhists, the Party first ordered the downsizing of Larung Gar (a.k.a. Serthar) after approximately two decades of growth. From a small number of students, the institute grew to attract over 8,000 students, includi... read more