Dharamsala and Tibetan History

 Prayer wheels at the Dalai Lama Temple.

Representations of the gods.

 Posing with Tibetan Buddhist monks.

 The walk to the dry waterfall.

 Tibetan prayer flags on the return route.

 A Hindu temple.

The Tibet Museum.

Sunday, March 18^th.

As soon as we entered Dalai Lama’s Temple there were two posters to read, one was about the brutality of the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the other was about the kidnapping of the next dalai lama. When China invaded in 1949 they tried hard to eradicate the Tibetan culture. They banned their religion and language and killed over a million people. The Tibetans were and still are persecuted, routinely arrested and tortured. To this date they have destroyed 6000 temples in the country. They have helped themselves to Tibet’s raw materials, used the land for nuclear testing and encouraged so many Chinese to move into the country that Tibetans are now in the minority. On May 14, 1995 the current Dalai Lama officially proclaimed Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the 10^th Panchan Lama. Three days later he was kidnapped with his parents and has never been seen since. One year later the Chinese admitted that they were holding them as political prisoners. So, the history of Tibet is very sad. The Dalai Lama was welcomed in India and allowed to live here. Dharamsala is the hilltop retreat home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. We were allowed to entry his temple free of charge but could only take photos in one of the two buildings. We were all surprised that the temple although attractive, was not very opulent. Maybe that says something about the religion and the Dalai Lama himself. There were a number of monks and nuns on the grounds fulfilling their roles.

After that five of us took two taxis for about two kilometres through the crazy narrow roads to a waterfall the Prerna suggested. We were dropped off in a parking lot and then wandered down a narrow footpath lined with tourist shops until we could see the mountain and the course the water would take if there was water. It was readily apparent that the waters were almost dry. There was a steep walking path up to the top of the falls and we all decided, in for a penny, in for a pound and walked up. The falls were basically a trickle coming of the rock. We sat and enjoyed our surroundings and the Indian tourists who had made their way there. 

After that I decided to walk back to the town and our bus to catch a ride back at the arranged time. The rest wanted to stay a bit longer shopping. I walked along the road dodging the motorcycles, cars and cows along the narrow road that offered great views of the valley far below. When I got to town I wandered around looking at shops and people and ran into a couple of others from our group. I also saw an entrance to a smelly underground toilet facility with a sign that thanked the sponsors, one of which was Richard Gere. Finally, I visited the Tibetan Museum, which housed the largest collection of Tibetan photos in the world. I read some of the posters and because I was running out of time, I photographed others to read before I get to Tibet in a few weeks. The saddest thing to see was the wall with 120 photos of martyrs who had self-immolated themselves in the last ten years as a protest against Chinese rule in Tibet.

I met Stephen, Mark and Eve at two and we took the bus back to the hotel. I spent the rest of the afternoon typing and sorting photos.

We met on the hotel roof for dinner with the sunset over the mountains. Then off to bed for an early start.