Sunday in Dharamsala: Monks and Monkeys

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Dharamsala is quiet today - not very quiet, but gov't offices are closed. I went on a hike to a British Raj-period church, only to discover it's still a functioning Presbyterian Church even though most of the crowd was clearly Hindu tourists, so I didn't go inside for very long as it was Sunday and I happened to walk in as services were beginning. I did spend a lot of time in the graveyard, which was very interesting, especially if you're into British history. Most of the graves were the wives of officers serving from about 1860-1910, or children of the couples who died young, as people did a lot in those days. The graveyard is in some disrepair, mainly because cows like eating the grass there and no one's going to stop them.


I visited the Tibet Museum, which was a lot like a Holocaust Museum (complete with testimonies of survivors set to creepy music looped on video) except you feel bad because the holocaust in Tibet is still going on, it's just not quite on the level as during the Chinese Invasion or the Cultural Revolution in the 1960's. A depressing but important experience. Again, like a Holocaust museum.

For lunch I tried Tibetan momos, which are a bit like wontons or kreplach - fried vegetables, cheese, and meat wrapped in a piece of dough and fried. The restaurant was strictly vegetarian and I had them leave out the cheese, so it was just cooked vegetables and tofu, with soy sauce. Delicious stuff. I specifically went to this restaurant because Lonely Planet's guide mentioned that the owner is a man named Tenzin, who is the son of the bodyguard to the Dalai Lama and apparently he loves to talk politics. We discussed a lot of issues, from the 17th Karmapa controversy to the Dorjee Shugden Society protests. In other words, obscure stuff I've read about or seen going on in New York. Tenzin believes strongly that the Panchen Lama (see previous post) is still alive, as does everyone else, because the high lamas divined it using bone dice. I explained that I understood the concept of divination even if Jews are forbidden to practice it. He also told me something I'd read somewhere and forgotten, that the Tibetans can't own land because they're refugees and India won't give them citizenship, even if they're born here. Tenzin was born in India and every year he has to get his visa renewed. That's why, he explained, a lot of the shopkeepers selling Tibetan goods are Indian and the hotel owners are Indian and the people working construction are Indian. The Tibetans just rent. If they were born here they don't have Chinese citizenship either; they're in perpetual limbo, with no citizenship to any country unless they go to America and apply for it there, as many Tibetans who go to study in America do.

When I returned to the hotel, monkeys were attacking some cars parked up the road.

They are adorable, but if you feed them they will gang up on you, so it's best to let other tourists feed them and just take pictures.

Speaking of pictures, I didn't have time in other cities to post, so here are a few from different parts of the trip.

Snake charmers in Agra I think it was.

Me riding an elephant at the Amber Fort outside Jaipur

Tibetan nuns in Dharmsala watch as a cow debates whether he's going to buy that new pair of pants.

A monkey in Dharmsala.

In the distance: the Himalayas.

Tomorrow: The word from Rinchen Khando is that the Dalai Lama will be holding a brief public audience tomorrow at noon, and she said that's my best and only chance to see him. Wish me luck. Also on the schedule: the Gyuto Monastery, if I can get in to see the Karmapa, because it's a schlep. Tenzin feels that you can just walk right in and see the Karmapa, but his secretary told me to call in the morning. We'll see. Wish me luck!