The guy in the photos above runs the busy Ten Yang Coffee House right near the main Tibetan Buddhist temple. Monks and westerners, young Tibetans and Indians all hang out here. The two sides of his t-shirt said a whole lot to me. The side I noticed first says “Stop Killing in Tibet”. But the front of the tshirt is a picture of Tintin and the words, “Tintin in Tibet”. The guy wearing it is beaming a big smile. It amazes me how the Tibetans can smile, can be part of the fun-loving world and at the same time fight to end the suffering of their family back home, and the destruction of their nation and culture.
There are so many Tibetans in Mcleod Ganj, the Indians you see give you the impression of being immigrants. In the restaurants, the owners might be Tibetan but the kitchen staff and bus boy will be a young Indian kid.
Mcleod Ganj has been the residence-in-exile of His Holiness the Dalai Lama since 1960. Its a small town in the mountains filled with Buddhist monks and nuns (not all actually Tibetan), Tibetan refugees, other Tibetans who were born here, Indians who have come here for work (many from Kashmir), and lots of Western students, seekers, tourists and “travellers”.
I dont know if I am a traveller of not, I guess I am. But usually they have braided hair and flowing multicoloured blouses or skirts. And that’s just the guys! Well, not quite, but whatever the traveller is, he or she has a lot of options for breakfast: omlettes, toast, real coffee, muesli, even bacon and ham — all things that are pretty rare in India away from ‘traveller’ restaurants. A traveller is not simply someone who travels, they are part of a subculture. Its very Goa, Gokarna, Hampi. Its a backpacky, hippy-ish thing. And toast and pasta and hash and motorbike thing. I really dont know much about it, or many real travellers, so dont take my word on it.
In Mcleod there are lots of types of Westerners. College kids, young seekers doing meditation or yoga or reiki classes. Older seekers who didnt find the answers already I guess ;-) Plus regular tourists. It all gives the place a really nice feel actually, this mix of seekers, monks, locals. Its got a cafe culture and you see lots of people hanging out together discussing or laughing together. I think the prize for some of the (very attractive) young western women is… a Tibetan boyfriend. The locals seem willing to oblige. I overheard three American girls in the Peace Cafe. “He’s not only Tibetan [which was clearly enough from the tone], he’s hot!”. And they are.
Mcleod is refreshingly cool, compared to the other parts of India that I have been. Two sweaters at night, a tshirt in the day. Its great temperature to go for walks, and I did lots of walking. To waterfalls just out of town, up into the mountains a little. I missed out on a small trek to Triund, because the weather was stormy on my last day.
Of course the main event at the moment is the Tibet protests. But I dont feel I know enough about whats going on here to do justice to the subject. There are nightly candle-lit processions through town. There is a hunger strike outside the temple. There are larger protests planned for when the Olympic torch comes to Delhi. There have been arrests, some Westerners among them. India forbade Tibetans from protesting against China when it gave them asylum.
The Dalai Lama is in Seattle and doing a lecture tour in the US now.
