It took seven years to build this facility with sponsorship from many countries including Japan, the U.S.A., Canada, France, etc. Designed by Japanese architects, the lovely grounds have been stylized as Japanese gardens, replete with stone walkways, plantings, rock walls and staircases.
The artists who gain admission here to study Thongka painting (finely detailed scripture-related designs), wood carving, metal sculpture and brocade and fabric work, must pass a rigorous exam in order to be accepted. So, only the best of the best begin their training here at Norbulingka.
Apprenticeships can run from five to eight years depending upon the craft. Many of the artisans spend the first one to three years simply learning from the master lamas to interpret the teachings of Buddha. These budding artists will spend those years drawing the pictures that will become the stencils for the final artwork.
A tour guide showed me through the studios and explained that the students spend an hour a day in prayer and another in meditation before starting their daily work. This enables them to focus, concentrate and keep working for several hours on what might be just a small detail of the whole piece. Most of the artists are "plugged in" to their headphones, listening to music through their mobiles. It's pretty comical to see these young men and women performing such spiritual tasks in such a contemporary style.
My sincere apologies for not being able to share the pictures of this amazing place with you. Somehow, my flash drive copied the pictures in a folder. Then I was unable to get them out of the folder and onto the blog. Next, I burned them onto a CD, but they copied as shortcuts and now they will not upload to the blog. As Travis tells me, I know just enough about computers to get myself into big trouble! Hopefully, upon my return, someone much smarter than me will be able to help me figure out how to undo the damage so I can share some of these photos with you. If anyone out there has any suggestions as to how to repair this damage, please let me know.
Until then, I will share a few otherphotos of recent happenings around the town. Below is the "house under construction" near my hotel. Note the bamboo scaffolding that is holding up what will be the roof. The hotel owner is fairly distressed about this home as it mars his view of Snow Mountain.
Here's a view from the hotel lobby. As you can see, the scenery is stunning. As the light changes from morning to night, I find myself snapping pictures of the same scenes. They look different depending upon the time of day. Eagles (golden, perhaps?) can be seen soaring through the trees and air from morning to night. The rather skinny, comical-looking crows chase the eagles, trying to scare them into dropping their food. Among the many morning sounds, the crows always seem to make me laugh. They're loud, raucous and rude, just as you'd expect crows to be!
Not sure if you've seen this one before. Below is a typical toilet as can be found in most hotels and public facilities. This one is rather big and clean compared to some. Notice that there is virtually no seat. A squat toilet is properly used by planting your feel on either side of the "bowl," squatting down in a deep-knee bend and "having at it!" It's a bit tricky at first, figuring out just how far forward or back one needs to stand in order to "aim straight," but once that detail is confirmed, all is well. The blue bucket in the back corner is for paper (most paper is NOT flushed unless you are in a high-tech facility).
Note the bucket in the front left side of the photo. It stands under a faucet that comes out of the wall. When finished with your "business," you turn on the faucet, run some water into the pail and dump the water down the toilet. The tank on the back wall does not hold water for flushing. In my humble opinion, it is just for show! One must always remember to bring paper in with you when using the "toilet" as none is provided. Neither do most facilities have sinks for washing. One gets used to carrying toilet paper and hand sanitizer at all times!
Here's picture taken on the day I traveled to Norbulingka Institute. I was at the bus station in Dharamsala, waiting for my government bus to leave for the next leg of the journey, when I spotted these Indian families waiting for their bus. Traveling by bus is very popular because it is so inexpensive. My trip from McLeod Ganj to Norbulingka cost Rs12/-, which is approximately 25 cents to travel about 15 -20 miles.
When traveling long distances, people bring suitcases, bags, backpacks, boxes, etc. with them. The government buses are about as roomy and comfortable as a school bus (with many fewer seats) and when filled, passengers are encouraged to stand in the aisles or sit in a seat near the driver. There's little storage room on the bus itself (even though you may want to protect your parcels), so many bags are carried on top. Here you can see the "problem solvers" trying to figure out the best way to load and tie the bags on top of the bus before it leaves the station.
The monkeys are everywhere, though seeing them at this end of town is not quite so common. This revealing fellow (or gal) was one of a troop that climbed the buildings, electric poles and swung on the unruly cables found hanging from poles to housetops. A few moments later, another monkey crossed the road in front of the pedestrians who gave him/her plenty of room. Buddhists and Hindus revere the monkeys, Along with the cows, mules, dogs, etc., the monkeys are never harmed.
...after the rain the mountains look misty and surreal. It's quite moving and mystical here during the monsoons.
On rainy days (there's been quite a few of those, lately!), everyone sleeps late. Shops may not open, the stalls where Tibetans, who are not allowed to own property and do not have the resources to do so anyway, are closed up until the rain ends, and even the dogs lie low until the rain ends.
The above photo was taken on my way to the "best coffee spot in town,"where each order of South Indian coffee is served in an individual French press for Rs35/- (75 cents). The many homeless dogs are tolerated by the townspeople as part of daily life here in McL. The dogs survive by eating from the wet dump sites along the roads until the Welfare Office trucks come to shovel up the debris each day. These scraggly pups are waiting out the rain like the rest of us.
Here's a typical Tibetan stall along Temple Road. Each day, Tibetan craftsmen and women carry huge bags of their wares to the stalls, unpack their goods, carefully laying out each piece of jewelry, blanket, etc., and wait for customers to come along and negotiate for a good price. As you can see, the stall is not much more than some bamboo poles, a few planks of wood for the counter and plastic tarps to line the back and bottom. Rocks are piled up underneath the wobbly counters to add to the stability of the temporary shop.
...negotiation is the name of the game here, although it is a bit unfair to do so with the Tibetan people who are barely making enough money to feed their families each day. I try to keep my bargaining at a minimum or not engage in it at all when buying from the stall owners. Dealing with the Indians, however, is quite another story. They expect you to bargain with them and usually start their prices quite high waiting for the customer to begin the game of "name the next lower price." Much good-natured bantering goes on while a price is being decided upon.
Here, some jewelry is being weighed and the price will be decided upon depending upon the weight of the items. Even though some sellers cannot speak much English, the calculator in hand does all the talking as it is passed back and forth from merchant to customer.
These lovely Tibetan women were leaving the Dalai Lama temple when I asked if I might snap their picture. They were pleased if not somewhat shy. Tibetan women typically wear their clothing as shown here. The long dress is really a wrap-around jumper that ties in the back, and the apron is a necessary part of their daily wear, whether they are in the kitchen or not! I loved the "cowboy" hat on the woman on the left.
Sending packages home is easier than carrying more weight in my bag. This tailor master, Lobsang Ngodup, is preparing a package of wall hangings for me to ship home. India is, according to him, the only country where packages sent through the mail are custom-fitted with cloth wrapping. Lobsang sews, on the spot, a cotton cover for your package; seams are run quickly on his machine and the package is secured in the cloth cover with a bit of extra hand sewing. Then, candle wax is used for extra protection along the hand-sewn edges.
Thanks for visiting my blog from time to time. I know some of my posts are long and probably tedious for my readers. There is so much to share that sometimes I get carried away. I love reading your comments on the blog and look forward to hearing from you anytime!
Susan, your writing is anything but tedious :) I look forward to checking in every few days to see your wonderful pictures and find out what you've been up to. Have a safe trip home. Cheryl
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