Between Monks and Monkeys

This semester at Tibet Charity we have teachers from New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Austria, Australia and the USA. The Austrian teacher Gusti and I ate at Namgyal café the other night. They have the most fantastic pizzas. That’s the great thing about Dharamshala – you can be sitting in the Dalai Lama’s temple complex eating a superb Roquefort and walnut pizza, and it really doesn’t seem too strange at all..

We could hear the monks in the monastery chanting for ages as we had our meal, and then when it stopped there was a sudden outburst of animated loud talking. “Ah, the after-chanting party!” said Gusti. We sneaked up the spiral staircase onto the roof (avoiding several dogs who were lying peacefully, getting the energy for their barking sessions during the night) to look at what was going on, and in fact the monks were debating, with much emphasis and hand slapping, in the darkness.

It’s a ritualised process centred around arguing points of Buddhist philosophy, in which one monk sits on the ground and the other stands above him, punctuating each point he makes with stamping and loud hand claps. I have no idea what they were talking about (and probably wouldn’t understand if they told me) but it certainly looks very impressive.

The other day I took my poor old sandals up to Bhagsu Road to a shoe fixer. These leather sandals came with me last time and lasted the distance – the roads and tracks are very hard on your footwear – and even did a summer at home, but this time they took one look at Delhi and quietly died. Fortunately I kept them, as it seems as if you can get anything fixed in India, no matter how far gone it is.

Mr Shoe Fixit (Mr Kumar) took one look at my poor old shoes and calmly quoted a very reasonable price for reviving them. They how have glued and hand stitched soles, new leather inner-soles, and a lovely polish, and are as comfortable as ever. I have high hopes of them lasting the distance and even making it back to NZ.

Mr Kumar and his brother, who run the road-side business, came from Rajasthan twenty years ago with their families. They live in tents in lower Dharamshala. They were originally farmers, but they have adapted superbly to the shoe business and do a great job. Their father makes embroidered leather slippers, so yesterday I went back to buy a pair. They are beautiful – soft, comfortable and intricately embroidered in multi-coloured threads. I love them. Just right for walking on the cold stone floor of my room. Luxury!

Mr Kumar told me about the Tong-len charity that works with people in teh tent-city. They provide education for the children, solar lighting, breakfast for needy children and have recently built a hostel in Dharamshala for children who are housed and taken to school each day. The charity was originally started by Tibetans and run by Jamyang, a Tibetan monk. His Holiness opened the new children's hostel earlier this year.

There’s no Tibetan class this week as the Dalai Lama is doing two days of teachings near Norbulingka, about half an hour’s drive away from here. It also means that classes at Tibet Charity are severely diminished as many of the students have gone to the teachings. Yesterday Eva and I combined our classes – about nine students turned up in all – and had a good conversation session, encompassing such topics as the Treaty of Waitangi, English football, basketball, cricket, rugby, belly dancing, the current situation in Tibet, what you might find in the British Museum, and the pyramids. Life is always surprising here - and never dull!

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