Tirur
The prayers started at around 2 am, but Martin, Lotte and I got ready only around 8am. Martin already had a fan following amongst children and was clicking away and shooting in frenzy. Monks dressed as masked dancers came in from the temple and offered their prayers to the Gods through elaborate ritualistic movements under the huge Shamiana erected in front of the temple.
The day long dances (Cham as it is called in Tibetan) that was part of the ritualistic Gutor had a meditative and calming effect on me, though 'The Monk' thought that I was bored to death! Probably it was the grim face I kept throughout(not purposely, but out of the pain that erupts from the joints when I try to sit in funny positions!) .
Though I am normally keen on looking into the details, this time I was just giving myself into the the "whole experience". The riot of colours, occasional rhymes, the cymbals and long horns. I was almost in a dream.
After the sumptuous lunch and more dances which eventually concluded by burning the effigy outside the temple, we went to visit the Golden Temple and Seray Jey Monastery. Compared to the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Seray was a huge complex where more than 6000 monks were living and learning. They included Tibetans, Bhutanese and Mongolians along with Indians from North Eastern states. If I had just woken up in that place, I wouldn't have believed that we were in "India".
The drive from Thashi Lhunpo to Seray Jey was interesting because of the landscape and the buildings that replicated the ambiance of Tibet along with several camps that had come up here since late 50's.
I wonder how the youngest generation of the Tibetans living outside the monasteries of Bylakuppe feel about their culture and identities compared to their parents who fled from Tibet in order to protect and preserve their culture from Chinese Repression. Walking around with long hairs wearing American base ball caps and playing around with funky mobile phones that resonated "gyrating" Bollywood songs and latest bikes "in town" it is definitely a world of "difference" I presume!.
© GP 2007
The prayers started at around 2 am, but Martin, Lotte and I got ready only around 8am. Martin already had a fan following amongst children and was clicking away and shooting in frenzy. Monks dressed as masked dancers came in from the temple and offered their prayers to the Gods through elaborate ritualistic movements under the huge Shamiana erected in front of the temple.
The day long dances (Cham as it is called in Tibetan) that was part of the ritualistic Gutor had a meditative and calming effect on me, though 'The Monk' thought that I was bored to death! Probably it was the grim face I kept throughout(not purposely, but out of the pain that erupts from the joints when I try to sit in funny positions!) .
Though I am normally keen on looking into the details, this time I was just giving myself into the the "whole experience". The riot of colours, occasional rhymes, the cymbals and long horns. I was almost in a dream.
After the sumptuous lunch and more dances which eventually concluded by burning the effigy outside the temple, we went to visit the Golden Temple and Seray Jey Monastery. Compared to the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Seray was a huge complex where more than 6000 monks were living and learning. They included Tibetans, Bhutanese and Mongolians along with Indians from North Eastern states. If I had just woken up in that place, I wouldn't have believed that we were in "India".
The drive from Thashi Lhunpo to Seray Jey was interesting because of the landscape and the buildings that replicated the ambiance of Tibet along with several camps that had come up here since late 50's.
I wonder how the youngest generation of the Tibetans living outside the monasteries of Bylakuppe feel about their culture and identities compared to their parents who fled from Tibet in order to protect and preserve their culture from Chinese Repression. Walking around with long hairs wearing American base ball caps and playing around with funky mobile phones that resonated "gyrating" Bollywood songs and latest bikes "in town" it is definitely a world of "difference" I presume!.
© GP 2007
Gopi, Photoooooooooooooooooos please!
ReplyDeleteyup! you said it lizzzy!
ReplyDeleteHold on few more days! Living on borrowed cameras these days ever since I lost my magic one while rafting! Just need to get back to office in Blr to look at the pictures from Lotte's digicam.
ReplyDelete