Buddhist Monk at Tak-Tsang Gompa, Arunachal Pradesh

This Buddhist Monk was the sign of peace, serenity and concentration while he was reading the verses from his holy book. I liked his posture so much that I knew I needed to take a portrait shot, but at the same time did not want to disturb him. Luckily for me, he took a break and that was when I requested for a short photography session and the monk happily obliged.


I spotted this monk sitting just outside the inner sanctum of Tak-Tsang Gompa or locally known as T Gompa. Tak-Tsang Gompa, situated close to Sangetsar Lake and the China Border, is part of the high altitude Himalayan region of Arunachal Pradesh. It is at a distance of about 35 kilometres from Tawang. Though, this temple is small in size, it compensates quite a bit in power and beauty.

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The Aura of Lingdum or Ranka Monastery, Gangtok, Sikkim, India

The Buddhist culture of Sikkim makes it home to more than 200 unique monasteries and each one of them has a certain aura about it. While I was recently at Gangtok, the plan was to go visit the Rumtek monastery, but due to a delay in our plan for the day, we had to visit the Lingdum Monastery instead.


While the Rumtek Monastery is a high security zone, the Lingdum or Ranka monastery is a fairly peaceful place and hence the entire group loved exploring it.


The long line of prayer wheels greeted us upon our entry. We made our way inside after spinning these prayer wheels. The group spun these wheels for good luck, for photographic opportunities or simply for the fun of it.


As soon as we entered the monastery, we were greeted by the sight of young Buddhist monks who were getting trained in the Lama dance. It was quite enjoyable just to see them undergo this training. Bad students were reprimanded by the trainer’s stick.


I personally saw this training session for about 20 minutes before climbing up the steep flight of stairs and into the inner sanctum. Here we were greeted by a prayer session that was in progress. Only Young Buddhist Monks were around and it was them who conducted the evening prayer session.


Buddhist chants were sung and various musical instruments were used along with the traditional Buddhist gong. It was quite interesting to note that the entire monastery was functioning with young monks.

 
The inner sanctum of the Lingdum monastery is very much like any other large Buddhist monastery. Large sized Buddha statues plated in gold could be seen. The insides were colourful with depictions and drawings.


There were colourful wall hangings too that swooned nearly all the way to the floor. The best part about this monastery is that most of it is open to tourists and one can happily explore the entire perimeter.


There are certain vantage points from where one could get brilliant views of the monastery sanctum, the training session taking place in the courtyard below and even some great sunset views on the neighbouring hills. We had such a great time here that we did not at all rue our missed opportunity of visiting the Rumtek Monastery.

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Bylakuppe – India’s Largest Tibetan Settlement in Interior Karnataka

It was a bright spring afternoon and me and my friends were getting back to Bangalore after camping the weekend at Dubare. We were 4 hours ahead of schedule and decided to spend this time at Bylakuppe, a Tibetan settlement that flourishes here in interior Karnataka in Coorg.


Bylakuppe is just 4 kms away from Kushalnagar and one can enter the settlement through the arch like entrance. As soon as we crossed this arch, we felt as if we had arrived at a different country.


The entire landscape was strewn with prayer flags, stupas and monasteries of the Sakya, Kagyur, Nyingmapa and the Yello-Hat Gelugpa sects of Vajrayana Buddhism. Every 10-15 feet, one could spot a Free Tibet signboard/banner and flag supporting the ‘Free Tibet’ movement.


The building architecture was different, the people were different and their attire was different. Honestly, we felt like we were in a fantasy world coz 10 minutes back we were in rustic Karnataka and amongst typical Indians.


We could see the Namdroling Monastery or Golden Temple glistening in the far distance. This monastery is the main tourist attraction here. There are 3 other monasteries here and out of these 3, the Kagyu or the Kagyudpa is located at an elevation.


As we entered the monastery campus, all I could do was just gape in wonder at some of the crafts and the caricatures. The doors, the prayer wheels and the drums were all heavily decorated.


As soon as we entered the main shrine of the Golden Temple, we could see the spectacular 40 feet high statues of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus.


We could hear the sound of gongs in the nearby shrine and found out that a prayer session was in progress. One feels at complete peace inside the shrine. The glitter, the intricate design and the well thought out decorations hardly cause any distraction.


After exploring the temple shrine, we spent some time chatting with a group of Buddhist students before proceeding to the shops at Camp 1. Bylakuppe is a great place to pick up an assortment of Tibetan goods, especially thangpas, prayer wheels, incense and Tibetan music.


Bylakuppe and its Golden Temple – a great family weekend getaway from Bangalore!!

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