Kalimpong - a visit to remember

It was one of the first of the long trail of travel expeditions I was about to do. I had not been up North and North east had not been touched by me before that. I did not know what to expect and hence began the journey I am going to remember for a long time to come.

After having finished with Kolkatta and Darjeeling we headed to this small Hill station called Kalimpong in West Bengal. Kalimpong means " Assembly of the King's ministers" in Tibetan. Kalimpong has a large Nepali populace, and many cultural ethnicities. I was studying art History then and was fascinated by Monastries, so most of our travel destination maps were marked with the main monasteries and the ones that ought not to be missed. So once we were done with all the eating and walking we visited "The Zang Dhok Palri Phodang" Monastery.

As we saw the place we met a very interesting Monk. He was not too old, but had a fascinating way of talking and told us many stories while he guided us around the monastery, showing us the place where many scriptures are kept and also where the head monks rest when they visit the Monastery. He also took us to the upper chamber where they were making these figurines in Dalda as an offering to Buddha, we wished we could take some back to Bangalore, but then for these temperatures it would only melt down. That got me thinking that most Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries are located in areas with low temperatures and mostly hilly regions. Though one of the exceptions would be the "Golden Temple" in Kushalaganar in Coorg.

Then he also took us to a place where they were making "Thangka" paintings. We watched them paint carefully, with precision and I was absolutely engulfed in this process. Thangka painting needs alot of practise and there are only a few authenticate Thangka painting teaching schools in the world, one of them is in Himachal Pradesh. These Thangka painters had learnt their art from there and were here to make some of the best pieces of art.

After having this one hell of a cultural ride it was time for us to head back and pack our bags as we were headed to Gangtok and another exploration lay in wait.
But even after having done many trips and having seen many Monasteries this experience has etched itself in my mind and will stay so for years to come.

Parinitha Konanur