YOUR CAMPAIGN IS BLOODY BORING - By THE OUTSIDER

YOUR CAMPAIGN IS BLOODY BORING - By THE OUTSIDER

Mcleodganj is truly #incredibleindia

2nd June 2015 :

I brushed past the humming Royal Enfields that dominate the narrow concrete lanes in the main chowk of McLeodganj. I desperately needed a trim and the old school 1985 - Bollywood - inspired - two- seater saloon calls me in. I decide to get a fancy Tibetian haircut, well almost. As I wait for my turn I get talking with Lai the sixteen year old class 11 student from a remote small town of Tibet - no its not Lhasa.

He loves it in India as he plays for a small football league and they play everyday at a stadium close to Dal Jheel in between Dharamshala and McLeodganj. He tried explaining to me the importance of the Full Moon Rituals in Buddhisim and how he has met His Holiness The Dalai Lama - He tries in Hindi and almost says everything he wanted to. I filled in the blanks thanks to my orientation to "Om Mani Padme Hum" through the teachings of Pranic Healing and the knowledge of Wesak. He is happy to stay with his relatives who do good business in the town while his parents are away in Tibet. 

The saloon plays soft Md Rafi songs from the small Ahuja speaker and I sit with no hurry for the haircut, chatting away with Lai. The saloon owner multitasks as the manager and the barber and tells me where to get great Punjabi food here and that I should not indulge in Pizzas or Italian food next door as they are not great for my kids. He boasts that the building opposite to his store is owned by John Abraham's father in law. ( Fact not verified). He also says that Chandrachur Singh of Charkha Fame has his in laws in this town and he frequents it. He is clearly Bollywood smitten and his love story is interrupted by a Monk who is in his early thirties. He asks the saloon owner if he has a TV that he wants to rent out. The man is rather surprised & says, in what seemed like fluent Tibetian to me, he has no TV for rental but he can give him a phone no that can help him get a TV for a month. I wondered what a monk would do with a TV after selling off his Ferrari. 

I get on the hot seat and he shows me the new half blade that he is changing for me. Before he starts, we hear a heavy American accent asking him how much for a ride to Pathankot. Seeing him, he asked "do you want a big car tomorrow?" The American says no - i - want - cheap - car - small - car - today - evening - 730 - how - much - cost ? So the transaction did not materialise as the owner's business partner did not respond to the business call during the moment of truth. But the enterprising businessman asked the tall man from America to give him his Iphone. With much ease, while he mowed my hair with the gadget, he dialled his own no with his other hand and told him to call the last dialled no after an hour. I have no information if that deal went through later.

Out of 1985s, i stepped into the chill of 2015 that had an eclectic mix of Honey Singh's incredible lyrics and music with Prem Joshua's Shiva Moon. I feel very cold as the rains gain speed and I was only needing an excuse to buy one of those hooded tees that had Pink Floyd's songs on them. In my lust to buy something cool to keep me warm, I enter one of those bigger shops that displayed smart jackets and coats. The shop was full of people , mostly from the west and I along with a family from Kolkata went on checking the goods. I realise that the shopkeeper a "local of Tibetian origin" was busy showing goods to his taller guests. As i went on shorlisting a few jackets , I ask him in all honestly to buy - " how much for this brown jacket?" He did not respond. I asked again - "Excuse me, what's the price for that jacket up there? he says Rs 4500 with no interest at all to sell. I found it rather expensive and saw another half sleeve jacket that looked cheaper and smart. I pick it up from the hanger at the entrance and walk up to him and ask how much for this? He says ITS - EXPENSIVE and he asks me to put it back from where i picked it. Sounds #Incredible indeed in your own country. 

I would have forgotten it  as a one off stray incident if that morning I had not experienced something else. As I have taken my first steps into spirituality, I wanted to learn more about Buddhism and the monasteries and wanted to feel the place as the locals do. So we woke up early that morning at 430 am and reached the Dalai Lama Temple at 5 am. 

I walked past the many posters that advertised the "Unitib.com" - Tibet's social networking site and 200 hours Yoga classes. I just loved the early morning package - every ounce of the cold air, every inch of the clean floor, every bright and fresh person who entered the holy place with a purpose of peace. With hopes to be blessed on the Purnima or Full Moon Chanting. Like a tourist I went in every chamber admiring the beautiful statues and installations. As I kept reading the long story of the KalaChakra inscribed on a large board in one of the rooms, I got pushed by a monk indicating me to leave the place as I may have taken a lot of time to read the story there. I resisted and kept reading as i was almost captivated by the writing. Another angry monk comes and nudges me again to move out. Later in the evening I realised that its also popular with tourists who spend a lot of time there. 

Rather hurt, I stepped out and sat in the landing of the main chanting room. A gentle Tibetian lady came up to me and my wife and asked us to come in and sit right behind the monks as the chants started and flowed like a gentle breeze on a not so pleasant day. Two very humble volunteers came up to all of us in the room and offered us flat round white maida breads and Tibetian Makkhan Chai. It was one of the most memorable breakfast we had at 730 am on the sides of the monastery as we watched in admiration many devotees doing the Fifth of the "Five Tibetian Exercise" on a special flat wooden mat. 

Nevertheless, it was the single most productive day for a holiday. Just before the haircut, I had later that day, I got a chance to see His Holiness The Dalai Lama while his car drove past my family as we waited patiently on the sidelines of the deep drains covered with brown metallic perforated sheets. With a pilot jeep from HP Police, his Toyota followed it in gentle speed. As he sat in the front seat smiling , waving & blessing every soul that wanted to see him in person. We were almost stuck to the ground as we folded hands in respect, love and gratitude to the great man who has ensured the message of peace and love is practised the world over. The smart young boys who were managing the convoy through their "walky talkies" disappeared suddenly. My mother, like most mothers, who is an example of patience, love and selflessness almost erupted in childlike enthusiasm "he looks so young", not hurt by the rude old  Tibetian man who pulled her aside while she was waiting in the sideline. She was probably disturbing the direct clean view for the old man who was sitting comfortably on a low wall off the road.

#IncredibleIndia #Mcloedganj #meltingpot