Mcleod Ganj – Bathe in Paradise

Why wouldn't I go to visit Himachal Pradesh if I live in Mussoorie? Tell me one reason why and also tell me why I would travel abroad when I have a whole lot of places to cover in our own country India. This and many arguments is what I gave Monica my wife when I suddenly booked a tour for us to the district of Kangra near the lovely land of Dharamshala the paradisical eden of Himachal Pradesh.

So after a whole lot of arguments, and ifs and buts Monica, Satpal my friend, Rushabh his brother and I set forth to go to Mcleod Ganj. This place is easiest approachable by air by the airport at Gaggal. This is around 15 km from the city of Dharamshala. Of course you can also take a train which is what we die and get down at the Kangra narrow gauge line station or Nagrota and then make your way up. The Pathankot station is what we got down at as it is in the broad gauge line and then went to Kangra and then to the resort at Mcleod Ganj. This beautiful land of heavenly tourist pleasures is at a height of around 2,082 m and is the place where there are a lot of Tibetans as they came here after the Tibetan government uses this place as an in exile headquarters. The Little Lhasa as it is known as or Dhasa which is the shorter version of the Dharamshala name; this is a great place which has been named after Sir Donald Friell McLeod. He was a Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and the word Ganj was added on to denote the neighbourhood. Ganj means neighbourhood in Hindi.

Pathankot is around 85km from Mcleod Ganj and as we made our way up to the pristine land the surroundings beckoned us and I wondered that if this was the pre experience then what could the actual place be.

This is a great place of tourism and is the place where many people come to learn more about the Tibetan culture, about Buddhism, the culture of the place, the crafts of Tibetan traditions etc. The place is best known for all kinds of Tibetan handicrafts and the thangkas and the other beautiful articles like the carpets, the souvenirs and of course Tibetan style garments notwithstanding the local garments. Thus a perfect shopper’s paradise Mcleod Ganj. Sure is a must visit for all and a favourite of many.

I lodged in a small comfortable hotel booked by Rushabh and we all simply loved to relax in the calm and quiet atmosphere of the place. Not that Mussoorie is not calm. But don’t you think it is different to be in a place and enjoy the lovely new atmosphere around?

We went after some time to the main city and started going around the place. We hired a car then made our way to Tsuglagkhang or Tsuglag Khang which is the temple of Dalai Lama. With many statues of Shakyamuni and Guru Rinpoche this place was a spiritual tour. Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche is widely revered by all his devotee

s. Then there was the Avalokistesvara statue and many other sculptures of historic importance.

The entire atmosphere and surroundings of the place is greatly mesmerizing and I recommend that you go there. Then of course we went to the Namgyal Monastery. This is the place where you would find the ultimate calm and serene surrounding of an ancient monastery. Then there was the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts. the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and the Gompa Tse-Chok Ling monastery. There is also the Mani Lakhang Stupa, the Norbulingka Institute and the Nechung Monastery which I could go to. Of course it is said that the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje lives in the Gyuto Monastery near the land of Dharmashala.

I then went to the Naam Art Gallery. This is situated in a place called Sidhbari. Here I saw the beautiful paintings of Elsbeth Bushcmann. The base used was water colours and acrylic. Then there were paintings of the painter Alfred. W. Hallet. It was nice to see the works of Elizabeth who is a great painter from the country of Germany. She lives in Dharamshala. Alfred too was a resident of Dharmashala for more than 40 years. He died in the year 1986.

The next destination we went to was the Peak Art Gallery. This is another beautiful site of excellent works by contemporary artists. The beautiful works on the mediums of watercolor and other bases totally enchanted my creative tastes. Monika was pleased to see a gallery dedicated to lectures, poems, and other workshops.

Then all of us made our way to Chinmaya Tapovan the retreat centre and came back to our hotel. The next day we went to the Osho retreat centre and also to Chamund another pilgrim spot.

The day before we left we also saw the Anglican church St. John and the Dal Lake.

It was a great experience and I wish to explore more such Indian locales.