McLeod Ganj
I had my first Hindi class yesterday, here in the mountain village of McLeod Ganj. Within thirty minutes my ‘teacher’ was rattling off questions in full speed, difficult questions such as “Is your house dirty?” or “Is this your sick dog?”, expecting immediate answers. I was sweating profusely in his tiny concrete classroom, much more the result of the pressure than the heat inside. I filled up 21 pages of a notebook in only 1 hour and 15 minutes! My second class is today at 2pm, I signed up for a week, quite a silly thing to do, I now realize, before even sitting through the first class. But at this rate, I should be completely fluent by Thursday afternoon.
I was feeling a little under the weather the past couple of days, a result of the root canal healing I assume. But today I feel healthy again and am ready to resume eating large amounts of Tibetan bread, momos (Tibetan vegetable dumplings) and tasty noodle soups. It is an intriguing time to be up here. Apart from there being only an average amount of tourists, the beautiful weather and the snow-capped mountains towering above, the atmosphere is energized like I have never seen before in this village. This is due to the current worldwide surge for the Tibetan cause.
This is where the Dalai Lama lives, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is located and where thousands of Tibetans have settled. As a result, it is the focal point of the cause. Posters with actual photographs of torn apart Tibetan bodies and other heinous crimes taking place by the Chinese in Tibet hang all over the village, petitions are circulated, lectures are plentiful, conversations with locals are deep and troubling. Tibetan monks are eager to find foreigners to share their stories with, many being ex-political prisoners and many having escaped through the Himalayas to reach India.
Yet the villagers here are still smiling, albeit with hints of pain in thier faces. Tibetans must be the saddest happiest people on the planet. Their religion and culture cultivates pure happiness, yet the destruction of their homeland has led to inevitable sadness.
On that note, it is time to go for a hike through the pine forests of the mountainside, dotted with Buddhist temples and stupas, home to monkeys and waterfalls, and offering a most ideal location to seek some clarity.
Tags: India, McLeod Ganj, Tibet, Tibetan
dbaron
I can almost see you there (partially thanks to your picture on your site) . . . talk about clarity.