Dalhousie and Mcleodganj BEYOND THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Day 1-2

I remember being pleasantly dazed when my friend sprung the idea of a post engineering trip to Himachal. I was thrilled and so, the groundwork began. After carefully drafting a budget abiding itinerary, we went through a somewhat arduous phase of booking train tickets and hotels only to cancel and re-book everything because of our exams getting postponed. A minor setback. But that didn't deter us as we boarded the Mumbai-Delhi Sampark Kranti Express from Bandra Terminus. The train journey was pretty pedestrian with the highlights including, it being my friend's first train journey, a late night erudite conversation with my other friend and our co-passengers being a mechanical engineer, a lively Marwadi family and a grumpy uncle with a sweet spot for kids. Alighting in Delhi felt nothing different from Mumbai because of the accustomed swarm of people all having somewhere to be. We settled into the guesthouse before replenishing ourselves with delicious homemade food and a much-needed cleanse. With no more time to spare, we set out to embark on our bus journey to Dalhousie. I slept through most of it except the 5 Punjabi songs being played on repeat throughout the journey and being handed vomit bags before we rode into the serpentine roads of the Ghats.

Day 3

Day 4

The next day consisted mostly of travelling around the outskirts of Dalhousie in a hired Alto cab whose driver was too scared to pick us up in front of our hotel out of fear of the Taxi Union who asked the drivers to pay a certain percentage of their daily earnings as good will towards the Union. We drove almost an hour to Khajjiar to see the huge green grass panorama spread across a flat mountain patch surrounded by a horse track. Other features included opportunities for photographs in cringeworthy Kashmiri attire and adventure sports such as zorbing and paragliding. Having a quick glass of lemon water, we paid our respects to the Khajjinag Temple. Like most old temples, it was built in granite stone with pillars spread uniformly to support the structure. The sanctum sanctorum could be entered with a few step climbs where a pundit would hand you prasad after you pay your respects to the holy stone snake statue. A quick read through of an inscription on the temple walls revealed that the Temple was allegedly built by the Pandavas like most temples in North India and went back to 400 B.C. Walking out, I noticed a distinct feature unlike the one's seen in contemporary temple designs that was enough proof of the temple dating way back to the Pandavas period - the temple yard consisted of a niche carved into its floor understandably for performing yajnas to attain strides with Agni - the fire God, as alibi. We then drove to Kalatop - a supposed bird sanctuary but we hardly spotted any which was more than compromised with a trans rooftop snack serving a stunning view. We then drove to Dainkund which is supposed to be a trek to the highest point in Dalhousie. Huffing and puffing while being reminded of how unfit we were, we completed the trek. The summit flaunted a Goddess Shakti temple under construction. We also visited the Panch Pulla waterfall which had mostly dried up because of the rain shortage. We took a few pictures there before realising the grumble in our tummies as we had missed our usual lunch time. We went to a restaurant called Kwality where we gobbled up a kebab platter and Chana Bhatura(Highly recommended BTW). The rest of the day was spent looking for an ATM, completing checkout formalities as we had to leave early the next morning and a few hands of cards before packing our bags for McLeodganj.

Day 5

We arrived in McLeodganj in a cab all sleepy and groggy because we had to leave at around 6.45 in the morning. We got lucky as we got a mountain view side deluxe room. We headed out to lunch at "Tibet Kitchen" which serves authentic traditional Tibetan preparations like Thukpa, Momos, Shakam Datse and Tingmo among many others. Having had a satisfying meal, I started noticing McLeodganj for what it really was. Drawing comparisons with Dalhousie, while the teaming with tourist’s part remained the same, McLeod was much noisier and comparatively warmer. Our Hotel Misty Woods was based in the middle of the busy Jogiwara street which made it an ideal location as most of Mcleodganj was a mere walk-able distance away. The sinuous streets of the suburb lined with proliferating local Tibetans owned shops ranging from elaborate emporiums to smaller boutiques and temporary street stalls are a treat to the shopaholic traveller. These establishments sold a gamut of products including handicrafts, Tibetan holy hymn flags, books(yay!), clothes and mainstream winter and rainy season utilities. The narrow streets could hardly fit a car and a person in its width at the same time. Tibetans having made this place their new home away from home form the majority of the native population. Mcleodganj will give you the rare opportunity of spotting monks in their maroon and yellow garbs working on their laptops in an Italian cafe and learning English in another similar cafe wearing Nike shoes and carrying Quechua bags. Having to walk to the nearby tourist attractions made me notice that the whole city ground was covered in dried Deodar tree pins which would cluster together to form a clump of soil, water and deodar pins. I wondered if this made it easier for the birds to build nests which also brings me to state that we heard up to four different exquisite bird cries while in our hotel. The first day in McLeod involved us trekking up to the Bhagsunag waterfall and temple. The marble temple setting made it pleasantly cold and gave the similar temple vibe which could just be because of the sheer altitude. A short climb along the Ghats, a narrow street opened into the Bhagsunag temple complex. Apart from the temple, it also consisted of a pool I'm assuming is for the purification ritual and a government funded housing facility for the Gorkha rifles regiment. The temple itself required you to descend a few steps into the sanctum to pay homage to the two orange idols of Ganesh and the metal Shiva one. A half an hour further trekking lead us to what was supposed to be the Bhagsunag waterfall in its prime but was reduced to a barely surviving stream due to lack of rain. A few yards below the summit we came across a clearing where the stream had settled into a temporary puddle before gliding further below. A makeshift cafe featured at the banks. A monk had chosen the stones across the stream to practice meditation. We decided to make a stop and take a breath. While my friend chucked out her camera to capture some snaps, I settled on one of the bigger stones in the stream and wondered why the monk had chosen the spot when he had a perfectly equipped meditation chamber back at the monastery. I believe I solved the mystery when I closed my eyes and alerted my other senses. At first, I realized the reverberation of the stream was crystal clear because of the lack of human noise pollution around there. I could not just hear the water flowing down over itself but also its thrashing against the stones in the process. I let my senses focus further and I could hear birds chirping, crickets buzzing, people talking yards away and on a little further centralization lead me to actually hear the leaves rustling and the hymn flags flapping. As dramatic as it sounds, I felt one with nature after too long a time. I wish I could say I wasn't in love but I was. It wasn't enlightenment that I experienced but a sort of profound understanding of the arcane knowledge of their cultural setting that the monks were trying desperately to protect. A lazy afternoon was followed by a visit to the much awaited Illiterati cafe for dinner making me wonder if there was a more apt way to end the day.

Day 6

The agenda for the day was to visit the "St. John's Church in The Wilderness" and Dharamkhot followed by an evening of souvenir shopping. We set out to the church as it was relatively closer. The church is located roughly between McLeod and Dharamshala in Forsyth Ganj. The church compound brags a massive cemetery stretched on both sides of the road which, when taken into consideration with the fact that church has a neo-gothic architecture makes the place a tad eerie which was a treat to the horror movie buff in me. Sadly though, as is always the case, no bizarre happenings. As we paid our homage and were exploring the church compound for strange sinister apparitions, it started pouring. We had to scrap our Dharamkhot plan as it was around an hour's hike up the mountains followed by another small trek for the Kangra valley view that we were aiming for as we were not well equipped for the endeavour. We made our way back to the hotel with our wind cheaters and ponchos barely keeping us dry. The sky cleared in the evening. We grabbed the chance to go do some shopping. My mates bought some clothes and hymn flag souvenirs. I got my friends some flags and some chopsticks over which I knew my otaku friends would go gaga. As we were helping my friend pick some clothes for his family, it started raining again. This time it was sounding like someone was petting stones in the rain and indeed someone was. It was raining hail stones! I was so excited when I realized it, I almost sprung up from whatever it was that I was doing and sprinted to the door. The child inside me wanted to take a plastic bag and hold it open so it could collect the darling dollops of ice. I didn't. We had dinner at Jimmy's Italian which, by the way, is a great place not just to eat but also relax and work. I would recommend opting for their futon-like tables where you have to sit on cushions on the ground.

Day 7

We had breakfast including an open tuna sandwich at a cafe tucked in the street housing the Namgyal monastery called Moonspeak espresso. Soon after, we rented a cab to tour around the distant spots mainly in Dharamshala. The first stop was the HPCA stadium. Holding the record for the highest cricket stadium, it stands at the foothills of the Himalayas. The actual stadium itself is relatively small. While my friends were busy clicking pictures, I sent a few selfies to my cricket geek friends before settling in to enjoy the view. We then visited the Gyuto Tantric university which is a monastery following the modern Tibetan(Gelug) order. The complex was extremely well maintained with steps leading up to the prayer hall. It displayed a colossal, golden Buddha statue on a platform at the end of the hall and a smaller Dalai Lama one at the front of the former. It symbolized the Dalai Lama being the messenger of Buddha's teachings. Below the platform stretching out till the door were rows of beddings made for the monks to sit and pray or attend sermons. Tibetan drums and bells lay along the walls which were generally only used during festive events. The doors were lined with the Tibetan prayer wheels which are to be rotated clockwise so as to harness all the vitality stored in the wheel from thousands of years of prayers. Bowls of water were placed in a single row in front of the Buddha idol whose significance, as I read later, was to portray the generosity which one of the major Buddhist doctrines to live by. Our next halt was at the Norbulingka Institute in Palampur established for the preservation of the Tibetan art and culture. It houses a monastery, museum, library and many halls to conduct Tibetan arts workshops such as statue painting, Tibetan language lessons and more. The enclosing contains dynamic water displays throughout. Apparently, the Institute has been built using the same architectural proportions as the original one it was derided from back in Tibet destroyed by the Chinese. We then visited the Naam Art Gallery holding spiritual art masterpieces by Elsbeth Buschmann and later the Tea Garden which stretched out as far as the eye could see. We had lunch again at Illiterati because well, I loved that place. Sadly, Mica(Siberian Husky puppy) was sleeping downstairs so I couldn't play with her.

Day 8

We checked out at around 11 a.m and the hotel(Misty Woods) staff was gracious enough to let us keep our luggage so we could explore hassle-free till before boarding our bus back to Delhi in the evening. We visited the Namgyal museum which displayed a chronological exposition of the Tibetan history. Every plaque I read was breaking my heart. Reading about the atrocities that the Chinese have committed against the Tibetans was disheartening. Tibetans, as young as 17 year old teens self immolating to gain media attention made me wish I was influential enough to send out a call for action. Countless stories about arduous treks made by the Tibetans through the merciless snow-clad mountains and lives lost in the conquest made me have a newfound respect for the Tibetans who were fighting so hard to preserve their culture and after all the monstrosities they've been through still hoped to go home to a free Tibet someday. The monastery included the main temple where the offerings included not just bowls of water but also goodday biscuits, Hide-n-Seek, Him mineral water bottles and much more relatively unorthodox oblations for the Buddha and Panchen Llama idols. We also visited Tsuglagkhang that was a Buddha stupa temple located right in the middle of the busy Jogiwara street before we set out for our journey back to the warm land of Delhi. I was crying silently because I wished to stay back a little longer but I guess no time is enough time in a land so beautiful that it made me fall in love with it. Somewhere I knew I was coming back here. Somewhere I knew this was just the beginning of the beautiful relationship I'd have with this land. Dewy-eyed, I boarded the bus back to Delhi. I don't remember much of the journey except getting progressively sicker throughout. Reaching Delhi, I had a bad cold, inflammed tonsils, fever and a stinging body ache. It was as if my body was rejecting the idea of leaving Mcleodganj and honestly, why would it not?