Tsuglagkhang Complex
I am living just down the hill from the Tsuglagkhang Complex, usually referred to as "the temple." It's more than a temple, but it's the temples that draw most people to the complex. Well, the temples and the Dalai Lama.




The public enters through this gate. There's a short walk that takes you past the museum where the history of the Tibetan exile is explained. A bit further you pass through a security check, and then you step out into this courtyard. The courtyard is being covered so that when the Dalai Lama gives teachings people are protected from the weather, or at least we think that's the reason. The doors to the left are to classrooms where I have seen monks at study. Straight ahead behind a closed guarded gate and stretching up the hill, it looks like there is housing. I think this is where the Dalai Lama resides and perhaps the Namgyal monks also.

Across from those buildings and to your right as you face the courtyard there are the temples. On this floor though and through those wooden doors is a large raised seat. It is covered now, as are those in the temples upstairs. From these seats teachings are given.

Upstairs are the two temples. The one on the left behind the closed doors you can enter around the corner. Photos are not allowed in this temple. The front walls are covered with mandala paintings, like a mural.

The temple on the right with the open door may be photographed. Here is a picture from that door. Last week this room was filled with large colorful robes, mats, instruments and desks like the one the monk in the back left is sitting at. I was surprised to see the emptied room this week. The shelves on either side of the Buddha are packed with Buddhist scriptures. In an alcove at the front left are 2 statues: one is the goddess of compassion, the patron deity of the Tibetans, and the other statue is the Indian scholar who brought Buddhist teachings to Tibet. Notice the covered seat in front of the Buddha.

As I was taking these photos I realized kora, the ritual circuit, was being performed around the two temples. There are even prayer wheels in the back. One of my conversation students says she likes to perform kora there.


There's another place for kora. It's outside and circles the complex and more. I have walked this kora several times. For me, it begins half way up the hill from where I live. There are always others on the path. Some are intent on their mind, body, speech practice. Some come with a friend and are a bit more social in their approach.

Here are some photos taken along the walk. People have left prayer flags, engravings and other symbols of their hopes.

As you finish the outside kora you come up to the Tsuglagkang buildings. The first one houses the Namgyal Cafe where the Namgyal gompa/monastery provides vocational training for Tibetan refugees. They serve a great pizza.

A bit further on will be the gate where the public enters the complex. A few pass the gate, walk half way down the hill and begin another, and perhaps then another, kora.

The Dalai Lama is not here this week. He left on Sunday for America.

I too am leaving. Saturday, April 25, I'm going to Delhi to meet up with Jolie. We will see Delhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra and then Varanasi- a very holy place for Hindu. On May 6 Jolie will return home and I will return to McLeod Ganj for another month of teaching before I return home. Watch for more postings after May 6th. Until then I'll be checking e-mail only.

Love to all........

At Lha and More

This first week I was at Lha Charitable Trust, or Lha, for 3 activities. I co-taught a Beginners level English class. I joined conversation circles. And on Saturday I helped distribute clothing.





Here's the class I'm co-teaching with Linn from Australia. The class meets for an hour Monday through Friday. It's the second level of Beginners so they know some. They're all adults. I believe they're all Tibetan. Most are Buddhist monks or nuns. None are from monasteries/nunneries in McLeod Ganj/Dharamsala. They've come from Tibet, other places in India or who knows where. Some come and go every few months. Some are here for several years. That probably depends on where they are from. They come to study, mainly English, and to be near the Dalai Lama.

From 4 to 5 Monday to Friday Lha has conversation circles. Anyone is welcome. They like to have one native speaker for each circle. Generally there were 5 in my circle. This past Friday my circle was these 4 young women and one young man. The girls came from Tibet 7 to 8 years ago when they were 10 to 12. One came with her family, two with older sisters, and one by herself. They are finishing high school and want to attend college. The young man came 2-3 years ago. He studies English on his own but likes to come to the conversation circles. The girls are on summer holiday now and came for the extra practice. I learned about Tibetan issues on Friday.

On Saturday the classroom became a clothing distribution center. When I arrived at 10:30 the hall was already full of people. Soon after10:30 we began letting people into the room in groups of 2-3 but eventually let more in at a time to relieve some of the crowding in the hall. Each person was allowed 3 items for themselves and 3 for each of their children. We had a steady stream of customers until about noon when the door was shut and the last 20 to 25 people were allowed to take as many items as they wanted. Shoes were the most popular item and there weren't many of them. I know Leann brought some of the donated clothes with her from Arkansas. I'm not sure where the rest came from.

After the crowd dispersed we all went for lunch before tidying up the classroom. Do we look a bit frazzled?

I think I've already mentioned that Lha is a non-profit social work organization whose main aim is to help Tibetan refugees. They are in the middle of a raffle that ends this week. If you'd like to know more about Lha, to know more about the raffle or to participate in the raffle, go to www.lhasocialwork.org.

This morning I made the 2 km walk to Bhagsu. It reminded me of McLeod Ganj but much much smaller. The monks in Monday's conversation circle were right...there is a pool for swimming there. But they were also wrong...I saw only men swimming in it. Further on was a waterfall but more remarkable was how clear and cold the water was and how the monks/nuns were washing and drying their robes.


I did spot the guesthouse on the other side (left) behind the big tree. Looked like a lovely spot for a quiet retreat. In the distance must be Dharamsala and on the right is the path back to Bhagsu.

Finally...it's confession time. I was misinformed, not paying attention or misled...willingly, I think. Those mountains I see from my room? They are not the Himalayas. They are the Dhauladhars. I would have to cross them and one or two other ranges before I'd reach the Himalayas. So it's from behind the Dhauladhars that the sun rises and it is the snow on them that reflects the sunset...as in this photo.

P.S. Late yesterday afternoon two monkeys walked by my window. They were on the half wall of the balcony. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture. And I did check.... the kitchen door was shut.

Living in McLeod Ganj/Dharamsala

After 3 days in a hotel I've found a new home. Seems I've had a few of those this trip. I'm now living in the Lha housing. Lha is a non-profit social work organization. I may be living here the month and a half I'll be teaching for Lha. Or not. There are some groups coming from the U.S. during the summer so I may need to move. But for now, because I'm teaching for Lha for over a month, I can live in their housing.

I pay Rs.200 ($4) a night for this bedroom with 2 twin beds, a desk, shelves, a bathroom and a kitchenette with counter, sink and more shelves. There are solar panels on the roof so we have hot water continuously. And, yes, there is a line on the roof for drying wash. I find that is one of my top 5 requirements now. There's a candle on one of the shelves in the bedroom. I think I should know where my flashlight is.

This housing also includes a well-equipped shared kitchen so I can cook...if I want. I was told to always close the kitchen door when I leave. Monkeys got in there once and created a mess. On my walk this morning I saw 7 monkeys not too far from our building. I will remember to close the kitchen door.

We also have a shared lounge. Not sure I will know what to do with all this space!

Here's the view from my door and window. Those snow covered peaks are the Himalayas.

And here's a view of our height from another location. We're at 1770 m.

By moving to the Lha housing I've escaped some of the bustle of McLeod Ganj/Dharamsala. The guidebook says the population here is 20,000. That doesn't include the tourists who are numerous, especially on weekends. I'm actually living in McLeod Ganj which is 4 km above Dharamsala.

Here's one of the 5 main streets in McLeod Ganj.

And here's behind the street. This picture was taken from the hotel where I first stayed. Most, if not all, of these buildings are hotels or businesses dedicated to the tourist business. It's a busy place but closes down by midnight.

Where I am now is much quieter and less busy. In fact where I am now is just down the hill from the complex where the Dalai Lives.

In the Travel Zone

My just over two days in transit from Kolkata to McLeod Ganj seemed uneventful until I thought back on the time. I had gone into my traveling zone, "just do it," and so took no pictures but it was rather interesting.

First, on the sleeper train from Kolkata to Delhi there was a Kolkatan family going to visit their eldest daughter who's been working just outside Delhi for six months now and still misses home. The younger daughter is finishing 9th grade and was curious to learn if her impressions of the U.S. are accurate. She read quite a bit of my Lonely Planet guidebook because "it gave good balanced info, which she doesn't think she is normally receiving, and because it had useful info for a trip they will take next month. They shared their snacks with me and so I tasted some new foods and tried chewing on a clove. The daughter wore knee-length pants and her mother a sleeveless chudia thar top. I would never have seen either in Tamil Nadu.

In Delhi I decided to continue on by train instead of bus and so needed to wait 12 hours for the train. The drive from the New Delhi Station to the Old Delhi Station was another harrowing autorickshaw experience. My driver inched across on-coming traffic in a cat and mouse game that involved who's chicken and also relied on another rickshaw on our right to blaze the way. Then he went the wrong way in traffic to get around a traffic jam...But we reached our destination and I don't think my hair is much grayer.

I ventured out from the Old Delhi Station twice in search of Internet, but it seems you need to be in New Delhi for Internet shops. I did see a park named after Mahatma Gandhi that no one could use because it was closed off to the public. People slept and rested at the wall surrounding it. Then I saw a street closed off while perhaps 200 Muslim men in maybe 8 rows prayed.

At the Old Delhi Station I was entertained by two monkeys in the rafters. They were actually little smart alecks.

Then a 19-year old college student who has been studying in Delhi for 2 years and was going home to Uttarahand for a 5 day break sat down to chat while she waited for her train. She wore jeans and a sleeveless Indian style top. Her father is a doctor and her mother a beautician. She's the eldest of three children. She's bored with her school's food and thinks only in India are daughters not allowed to travel to far away places on their own. She likes to cook but agrees I won't be able to make authentic India food at home because I won't find the right ingredients.

I also chatted with a young engineer briefly. His father is working at an archaeological dig near Agra. As we watched too many people crowding into 2nd class non-reserve train cars, he told me there is never a limit set on those cars. That's why with my suitcase I have taken to always traveling sleeper car where seats are reserved. The young man originally sat down when he noticed me watching 6 Muslim men get off a packed train car, come over near my bench, spread a blanket and pray toward Mecca. His first comment was, "Only in India."

On the sleeper train from Delhi to Pathankot I met an interesting couple. She was from Ireland living in Thailand and he from Colombia living in Sweden when they met in Dharamsala two years ago. They now have an 11-month old son with reddish blond hair, blue eyes and cherub cheeks. They said he has pimples on his cheeks from people wanting to pinch them and the have started refusing photo requests. Twenty a day was invasive. The father is a textile teacher in Sweden but has just learned to hang glide which is what they are doing in India this trip. He's wondering if he can make a living giving tandem rides. I didn't offer to be his first customer.

On the bus from Pathankot to Mcleod Ganj I sat next to a young man who was going home to his village near Dharamsala. His brother was getting married. My seat companion has been working in Delhi for a year. He works for Cognizant, an outsourcing company. His branch of the company is called Market Rx...they analyze the sales records of pharmaceutical salesmen in the U.S. He and the young engineer wore jeans and plaid cotton shirts. This was something I never saw in Sivakasi.

I saw many military trucks and a large military base as we left Pathankot and mentioned how close we were to Pakistan. He said not that close. I showed him the map and said it looks close. Yes, but it is 300 km. OK.

When we reached Dharamsala the bus stopped to have a tire fixed. It was losing air while we took those climbing curves. While waiting I met a woman from Germany who in her mid 30s has quit her advertising job because she was working 60-80 hours a week. She wants to find more meaningful work or a job with more normal hours so she can have time for something more meaningful on the side. She will travel for 3 months: half in India and half in South America. She arrived in Delhi from Germany and after 3 days was overwhelmed and on edge so decided to get away to Dharamsala/ McLeod Ganj.

It is more peaceful here. It's smaller... a population of 20,000. The air is fresh and clean and crisp. The view down the mountain is beautiful and the fact that I can/have seen the Himalayas amazing. Today there was only a peek through the clouds but yesterday on the bus I saw quite a bit of the mountains.

What was unique about these past 3 days was how many people I met who spoke an English I could understand relatively easily and so conversations flowed. Debashmita, the 9th grader, complimented me on my clear and easy to understand English. I had to smile.

Morning Volunteer
I know there are well-to-do in Kolkata. I see them. But let's face it, I came to this city expressly to see the work Mother Teresa began. So my focus has been on the not so well-to-do. They have been easy to spot living on Sudder Street and walking to my volunteer placement.

People who were here 10 to 20 years ago say the Missionaries of Charity work has changed. I can only tell you what my mornings have been like....and what I have done in only a small piece of the Sister's work. I had seven choices of placement ranging from young children to the dying. The Sisters also have their community outreach work, etc.

But here was my morning....

I left the hotel at 6:30. The first two streets were relatively quiet. A few people were still sleeping on the sidewalk so I needed to watch my step. This morning a few young men were hurrying to the Maidan for an early morning cricket game.





Every morning there's a car wash on this street and men bathing behind the line up of cars. This morning there were hundreds of people lined up for a breakfast of bread and some other food stuff I didn't recognize.






These cows are usually tied up here. In the afternoon there's sometimes a herd of goats, too.






I pass through this neighborhood market with its meats and vegetables. Today a young man was bottle feeding a goat.











Eventually I'm at the Mother House. This is where Mother Teresa lived and where her tomb is. This is where the sisters and trainees live, study and worship.










The volunteers are served a breakfast of bread, banana and chai here. I estimate 70 volunteers most mornings . (There is an afternoon shift too.) They go to the 7 placements throughout the city. Most are young. Most are from Europe or Asia. Some are from Kolkata. Some stay for a day. Some several months. Some have been here a multiple of times.



After breakfast and announcements, we disperse. Those of us going to Shishu Bhavan have a short 5 minute walk from the Mother House.











From this entrance we will pass through a small courtyard to a building on the right. Shishu Bhavan is a care home (think of it as Kolkata's foster care) for babies to maybe 10-year olds. The floor I've been on for 8 days and the portion of that floor is where the less active "handicapped" reside.





The volunteers begin working at 8. The kids are ready for Hellos. Rinku, Bobeta, Lokhan, Nibhia, Deborsi, and Lota sit ready for the day.





After Hellos we make the beds. There are 30 to 35 of them.










The volunteers are at Shishu Bhavan to assist the massi (women in saris) who are the backbone of the operation. Rumor has it these woman were once beggars. They have a no nonsense and loving approach with the children. There is a sister in charge and several sisters in training (in white and blue) working along with the massi and us. With all the languages in this room, the kids could be multilingual.


Mornings we give the kids a drink of milk, a drink of water, a drink of juice and lunch. Between the water and the juice is mat time. (I apologize for this picture. For some reason the color is off. ) Mat time is physical therapy and play. There is a notebook for each child that explains what activities he/she needs. Mat time also includes massage.




Some time after their juice, the volunteers have a chai/tea break. Today we sat on the roof with the drying linen and nappies/diapers. As in all of India, I do believe, this wash is done by hand.
Miky on the right was happy when more Japanese volunteers showed up today.
And, yes, that is a wading pool in the far back left. In the afternoon the active children will get a swim.

After chai break we get the lunch feeding started. Some children are finished by the time we leave at 11:30. So I go around to tell those settling in for a nap Good-bye. Amitry is one of two boys who are developmentally delayed. The other boy was on the big ball in an earlier picture. Both boys are a year old.




It's now after 11:30. The walk back to the hotel is much hotter and the streets busier and more crowded. I find I don't care to do the sight-seeing I had thought I might do.








My two weeks in Kolkata are up. Tomorrow morning I'm off for Dharamsala. One of the volunteers told me today Dharamsala was her favorite.



























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Musings

Yesterday I ate lunch at a different restaurant. I won't eat there again. Half way through my rice and chicken masala two rats ran along the floor and the opposite wall. Think I'll eat at the restaurants I know from now on.

Last Friday afternoon I went to the Tagore family home. I've been under the impression that everyone in India can quote a Tagore poem. Not my cab driver. He didn't know who I was talking about. I had the address. He recognized the street but then couldn't believe how far we had to go on it. He even stopped to ask someone.

I enjoyed seeing the home and learning about the Tagores. Several members were artists, writers and thinkers. Rabindranath is the most famous of the family as he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I am reading a collection of his works now.

My first Sunday here I walked to the Maidan. The guidebook compares it to NYC's Central Park. Mmm....not sure I would agree, except it is a Kolkatan favorite. Especially with the young men. For as you can see in the picture this is where they go to play cricket and soccer. Amazing how many games there were that morning. The place emptied around noon but at 5 that evening I saw young men heading back with their equipment.


On that day I couldn't find a place to sit until I hit the grounds of the Victoria Memorial. My picture is not a fair representation of the grounds. By then the day was getting hot and I was taken with the trees. This week I thought I would go back for a better picture and to see the museum. But I never could talk myself into it. I seem to not care. Neither have I cared about the Indian Museum, the oldest Kali temple, the lake at Rabindra Sarovar, or Kaligat. I have good intentions in the morning and make plans but after volunteering I'm spent, it's hot, I have my Tagore book and I don't care. Guess I'm not a very good tourist.

Tomorrow is my last day volunteering. Seems I can get permission to take some photos. So that I will do in the morning and then post them in the afternoon because the following morning I leave for Dharamsala.

Markets

There is ample opportunity for shopping in Kolkata. You walk down a sidewalk with stores and vendors on one side and stalls and hawkers on the other. Every day is Sidewalk Sale Day. Unfortunately there is an abundance of touts who think you need their help in finding their store.


I'm not much for shopping, my suitcase is already too full, but I do like markets....

Fruit vendors are on many corners. Apples, watermelon, pomegranates, papaya, oranges, pineapples,grapes, and ones I can't name are available, And bananas - green, red, and yellow....small, medium and petite. Bananas are everywhere.





Vegetables are more apt to be at the larger central markets but are sometimes found in small quantities in general stores...the ones the size of a closet.




Meat is also at the larger central markets or on random streets where you find a row of butchers. This fish vendor was outside a central market. I hope you can see the fixed curved blade that he uses for descaling and cutting the fish.

Here's a spice vendor. This one was outside the central market but there were others inside too. Saffron, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, curry, black pepper, coriander, cumin seeds and tamarind are staples in Indian cooking

Here's a part of a central market, this one is called New Market, where clothing and household goods are sold. There are rows and rows of these shops in this building. And there's another building across the street. It's air conditioned!



I have to say though...the market that mesmerized me was the flower market. Feast your eyes on these scenes...

In the south women wore flowers in their hair, but I'm not seeing that here.
Here, as in the south, flowers decorate temples, businesses, pictures of patrons, celebrations, grand openings, etc. I reached the flower market by 7:30 in the morning. There was a brisk business going on.