Did you know that the ewoks from Star Wars speak Tibetan in fast forward? That’s just one of the many valuable things I’ve learned since I’ve been in India! For those who don’t already know, I’m doing a Tibetan Buddhist Studies program in Dharamsala this January through May. I’m with ten other American college students living on the campus of the Institute for Buddhist Dialectics, formerly known as the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, in Dharamsala. We spent five days in Delhi and have been in Dharamsala for a week today!
The five days we spent in Delhi were a great introduction to India. I was so excited to be in a non-Western country and have the opportunity to experience a language, religion, and culture so different from mine in the United States. Surprisingly, I was greeted by a life size portrait of Jesus Christ as soon as I stepped out of the cab. Turns out we were staying at the YMCA in Delhi, so there was a Bible in my room and a store in the lobby that sold Christian music, including “Shout to the Lord” (a personal favorite of mine). Delhi was a whirlwind of excitement, with the crowds and the pollution and the busy schedule we kept. We toured a Sikh temple, a Hindu temple, and a Jain temple all in the same day, which were fascinating to see in such close proximity. It was very exciting to see the traditions I’ve learned about in school come to life here. Jain rituals that seemed so strange in my classroom in Charleston make so much sense as a part of the daily practices of a Jain in India. You could say I was “geekin’ out.”
We also toured impressive governmental buildings, like this picture I have of the Star of India in front of the Parliament building. The fog was quite dense but the dome of Parliament is semi-visible in the background. Our other main activity in Delhi was eating, which was fabulous. We went out to eat for many meals, as the food at the YMCA was not the best. One restaurant that we went to, Karim’s, stood out as the best. The family of cooks dates back to the reign of the Mogul Empire in India and apparently they used to cook for the royal family! We had a table designated for the vegetarians on the trip, and we had delicious palak paneer and daal and shahi paneer and karim vegetables. We ordered seconds of the shahi panner and the vegetables because they were so delectable.
One of my favorite parts of Delhi was the animal life, which has also proven to be great in Dharamsala. One day our group was walking in a crowded market on the way to a Hindu temple and I looked up to see an extremely large monkey sitting on top of a vendor’s booth. Then I noticed that there were monkeys everywhere! Sitting in trees, walking along fences, climbing up and down buildings, and watching for any chance to steal tidbits of food. The temple we got to was an outdoor collection of small buildings housing statues of Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesh. While the leader of our program was explaining the historical background of important Hindu rituals, everyone in the group was paying avid attention to the monkeys, who were swinging in the trees and picking fights with other animals. My roommate, Tara, and I were delighted to find out that monkeys hung out on the building across from our balcony at the YMCA. There were also chipmunks everywhere that were so cute!
A notable site we visited was the Crafts Museum, which displayed crafts from different regions of India. It was mostly outdoors and my favorite part was the wall paintings because they were so detailed and vibrant and painted with all natural materials! The best example is this scene framed by a bodhi tree under the yellow sun. The Crafts Museum was filled with Indian school children, who regarded us
Americans as a great novelty. Throughout the afternoon, girls would timidly approach us, blurt out “Hello!” and run giggling back to their friends. Our group posed for a picture before leaving and attracted quite the crowd of onlookers, which provided a neat photo op for me. It was funny to provide such entertainment without doing a thing.
I was told that the average reader loses interest in a blog post after 500 words, so I’m going to cut this short. I’ll write more later about my time in Dharamsala and the adventures up to McLeod Ganj to see His Holiness! Until then, I’m keeping my eyes peeled for couples rolling down hills and, as always, the fascinating acts of monks and monkeys.
