1st February: Momos, Kangyur, and Avalokitesvara

Our last day in McLeod Ganj, and an eventful one.  Sangye usually had a day off from cooking classes on Wednesday, but had very kindly offered to forsake a couple of hours of peace and quiet to teach us how to make Tibetan momos (since we wouldn't be in McLeod for their turn on the teaching rota, Sunday and Thursday).  We arrived at his door at 11 am and were welcomed warmly back into the kitchen.  First Sangye showed us how to make the dough and roll it out into circles of around 8 cm in diameter (although to call our attempts circular would be kind).  Then he brought out the three sets of savoury ingredients, which he had already prepared for us: grated potato and chopped onion; spinach and cheese; and various chopped vegetables.  Ginger and garlic were added to each little pot.  Next he showed us how to hold the dough in one hand, spoon in the ingredients, and use the other hand to fold up the dough to form the shape of the momo (a different shape for each set of ingredients).  Our attempts to shape the dough were laughable to start with, but gradually improved under Sangye's guidance and encouragement.  The momos were then laid out ready for steaming.

Who wants some momos?

Ingredients at the ready

Packaging up the round momos

Once the savoury momos had been prepared it was time for a sweet treat: chocolate momos.  Sangye told us that these were not (surprise surprise) a traditional Tibetan dish; they would instead use roasted barley (tsampa) for sweet momos.  Chocolate momos were born in the last few decades from the confluence of Tibetan momos and the Indian sweet tooth.  He started with chocolate powder (as you would use for hot chocolate) and added some crushed sesame seeds and sugar.  We followed the same procedure, rolling out the dough, spooning in the chocolate mix, and then pinching the dough between the thumb and forefinger into the shape of a round momo.  Then the chocolate momos joined their savoury kin, and they were all placed in the steamer.  We sat back to chat with Sangye and await the fruits of our labour.

Ready for steaming (the funny looking one at the bottom right is John's)

We were not disappointed.  These were without doubt the finest momos that we had tasted (meaning that we had at least managed not to ruin Sangye's efforts).  The savoury momos were followed by the meal's crowning glory, the chocolate momos, deliciously crunchy due to the sesame seeds.  We thanked Sangye again and headed down to Siddarth House to check out of our room and move our bags up to the cafe while we spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring.

The best part

We walked downhill from Siddarth House towards Gangchen Kyishong, which is home to the secretariat of the Tibetan government-in-exile.  Passing through a yellow-painted archway we entered a quiet compound that was home to the different departments of the exiled government.  At the centre of the main square was a colourful stupa, in front of the Tibetan parliament.  On one side of the square was our destination, the beautifully decorated Tibetan Library.  We made our way through the splendid gates and up the steps towards the museum.  On the walls were various old photos, showing some of the wonderful buildings and sculptures of Tibetan that had been destroyed in the Cultural Revolution (including Tibet's first fort, built in the 1st century BC).

Small stupa in the middle of the compound, with the library to the left and parliament on the right

Entrance to the library

We arrived at the top of the stairs and peered into the museum.  It was a construction site.  Behind us an old monk chuckled, apologised, and explained that the museum was undergoing renovations.  He suggested that we instead pay a visit to the library's archives.  This was quite the consolation.  We asked at reception, and a middle-aged Tibetan gladly opened up the archives and showed us inside.  On the numerous shelves were oblong objects wrapped in colourful cloth, mostly yellow or orange.  On a table in the middle of the room one of these had been opened up, revealing a block of wood into which an impossibly fine Tibetan script had been carved.  The archivist explained that these blocks of wood were used for printing on Tibetan paper.  The fine script was daubed with ink and then pressed down onto the paper.

I asked whether any of the cloth packages contained original manuscripts, and he showed me over to a shelf containing 108 (so he told me, I didn't count!) packages wrapped in yellow material.  He told us that these 108 volumes comprised the complete teachings of Buddha, known as the Kangyur.  Deciding to push my luck, I asked if we were allowed to see inside the packages.  He very kindly agreed, choosing one that would be relatively easy to unwrap and taking it over to the table in the centre of the room.  He unpeeled the carefully folded cloth, exposing their sacred contents.  The oblong sheets of paper were sandwiched between two slices of wood, used to protect the paper when it was being transported and stored.  He took off the top slice of wood and started to turn the unbound sheets of paper.  The delicate Tibetan script was sober and undecorated but beautiful.  The aged paper was lightly stained at the bottom of each page, where thousands of monks had devotedly turned the page with a moistened thumb.  

Our friendly guide told us that the manuscript dated from the 17th century, and yes, with an amused smile, of course I could turn the pages myself.  The paper felt and smelt wonderfully ancient and precious.  Then we tried to imagine the courage and commitment of the Tibetans who had carried these 108 cumbersome volumes of their sacred text over snow-covered Himalayan passes to save them from destruction by the Chinese.  The sacrifice seeped from the page.

17th Century Kangyur

Feeling humbled by our encounter with the ancient Kangyur, we made our way back up the hill towards the centre of McLeod Ganj.  As we struggled up the steep slope, I spotted a small path leading off to the left that I suspected leaded back towards the Tsuglagkhang complex.  For once I was right… eventually.  First, however, the path lead around the mountainside, past hundreds of prayer flags and dozens of colourful plaques.  Up to our right, well protected by the vegetation, we thought we could see the residence of the Dalai Lama.  We then came to a large stupa, wreathed in endless prayer flags.  Just below the stupa a couple of Tibetan men worked on the type of coloured plaque that we had seen earlier.  Continuing along the path we did finally arrive at the temple complex.  We made our way past security (a quick check of our bags) and up to the temple.

Prayer flags and plaques

Stupa beneath the Dalai Lama's residence

Bizarrely, a photo of John Major

Spinning the prayer wheels

A few who might remember the days before China invaded and started its destruction of Tibet

There are two main temples: the Kalachakra temple and the Tsuglagkhang temple.  First we stopped by the Kalachakra to enjoy its beautiful murals of the Wheel of Time mandala.  Sadly no photos allowed.  We then we entered the main temple, checking with the monk seated by the door that it was permitted to take photos.  On the raised platform of the temple was a large gilded statue of Buddha. Off to the side were two more statues, one of Padmasambhava, the Indian who had first brought Buddhism to Tibet, and the other of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion and the patron god of Tibet.  On the floor sat a young (white) woman in the robes of a monk, reading from a small book.  She looked up with barely-disguised irritation when the only other visitor, an Indian, asked me loudly whether I would take a photo of him in front of Buddha.  I pointed towards the "silence please" sign but did take the photo.

Memorial to the Tibetans driven by Chinese oppression to self-immolation

Potala Palace: what a travesty that I could visit it ten years ago but this is the closest the Tibetan refugees can get

Buddha in the Tsuglagkhang temple

Avalokitesvara

Padmasambhava

The late afternoon sun filtering into the Tsuglagkhang temple

The story of the Avalokitesvara statue is illustrative of Tibetan bravery in the face of wanton Chinese destruction.  The statue we saw is not the original; it was consecrated only in 1970.  The 7th Century AD statue that stood in the Jokhang temple in Lhasa was destroyed by the Chinese.  Risking imprisonment or worse, some particularly courageous Tibetans salvaged the remnants of several of Avalokitesvara's many faces and bore them across the Himalayas to India.  These mangled faces were then encased as sacred relics within the new statue, which is a replica of the original.

Leaving the sanctified air of the temple, we headed back up the hill to the village,  We enjoyed a relaxing cup of tea at a small shop (making use of the wifi that was more prolific in McLeod than in Kolkata or Delhi), and had a farewell dinner at Green. Then we walked back to Siddarth House, collected our bags, and jumped in a taxi headed down the mountain to Dharamsala bus station.  At around 9.30pm we boarded the "deluxe" government bus to Shimla.  You might have thought that "deluxe" included heating.  You would have been wrong.  An hour or so into the eight-hour journey, we realised that we had seriously underestimated how cold it could be.  I pulled my blanket completely over myself, even covering my head, and hunkered down with teeth gritted against the cold and the lurching of the bus around the curvaceous road.