Julia's Blog

The literature of the elite

2012-02-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

Sunil Gangopadhyay

“The literature thatis being created in our country through the medium of the printing press, isstill primarily the literature of the elite. We have a country where only anaverage of 60% of the population is moderately educated. It is fair to assumethat no more than 15 – 20% read literature. We have, therefore, a literaturefor which 80 – 85% of the country’s population is totally absent. Should thisliterature not be considered utterly unreal?” – Sunil Gangopadhyay in amemorable speech delivered at the 2010 Sahitya Akademi Award PresentationCeremony in New Delhi.

Taking it from there, he went on to cite the example of apoor boy and his father who came to his house regularly to beg by singingsongs. In fact, they came so often and sang songs, three in all, that SunilGangopadhyay too had learnt the lines by listening to them. On enquiry, it wasfound that the songs had been taught to the father by his Guru and later hetaught the son the songs. Gangopadhyay had even learnt of the name of this gurufrom them, but had not heard of this guru, or a poet, writer by this name. Hedid not ask of course, if his guru was a beggar too.

Strangely, one of the songs even crept into the movies but of course the creditof the lyrics went to the composer and not the original poet/guru who hadcomposed it.

Hundreds and thousands of poets have concealed theiridentity and not made much ado about their creations he went on to say, perhapsbecause they were too modest to “show” off their lines. Besides, only after theprinting press came into being, words could find a name attached to the personwho had created those lines. Many poets took advantage of this, many did not.Therefore, there is and was a huge base of the unsung poets who did not care tobe out in print and that does not feature in what is called literature oftoday.

Going on to speak of Jean Paul Satre denouncement of SaintJean Genet, whose writing of his Autobiographyfrom the prison gave him a place in French Literature, Gangopadhyay, cites anexample of the elite rejection of literature that does not meet theirpre-decided criteria, as Genet was an anti-social, a lout but he wrote in anact of self-expression, a book which he himself hardly believed would createsuch a revolution in French literature. The right to self-expression isuniversal. In countries like India, where poverty may be one of the most criticalreason why literature of those who are not publishing through the printingpress are shaded out, we have a bigger monster here called the caste system,which adds insult to injury, by preempting that literature of the upper castemay prevail over let us say the Dalits whose voices are unheard, except for afew like Dilip Chitre. There may be a wealth of literature under the povertyline and on the other side of the LoD ( line of discrimination) based on caste.

This has then given rise to religious groups which consistmainly of the downtrodden. In Bengal Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement whichhas grown to a humongous size now, called HareRama, Hare Krishna movement was essentially a movement of the poor andimpoverished, although Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu belonged to a high Brahmincaste. He became a Master of the deprived, because he did not believe in thecaste system. He drew to himself a huge crowd of people, hungry for a let upfrom their condition, by embracing a movement that gave them equal status, inthe love of the Divine Krishna.

Gangopadhyay went on to say that from time to time somewriters do write about the impoverished peasants and working class, and theuneducated. Yet, we are still very far from reflecting the true colour of theseneglected segments of our society and although their lives are rich with poetryand music, only a fraction reaches us, the elite readers and writers ofliterature.

However, whatever may be the case, Gangopadhyay, had endedhis remarkable speech with the observation that Radio, TV had reached everycorner of the country and the resurgence of Dalit literature was heartwarming,because, this indicated that the times, they are a changing.

( Abstract taken from The IndianLiterature, Sahitya Akademi’s Bi-monthly Journal, March/April 2011 issue, pgs – 21-27)

A few of mypoints:

The recent uprising of Literature Festivals reiterates thefact that Literature is for the elite, the educated, widely travelled and readyto flaunt their work, at the same time, it has been instrumental in creatingmore awareness and accessibility of the wider audience to the authors as well.

The literature of those who chose not to make much ado about their work and notchase publishers has still not been tapped. They will go without recognition,or the pleasure of our eyes ever going through their thoughts.

Many, who have made it to feminist literature, will continueto disown, literature by women who also chose to keep a low profile. Indeed,they will not be called India’s Women, who created a stir in other people’sheart, when they sang or wrote out of their own. They will continue to beconsidered not among those, approved by a select society of feminists, who arein the same category as the elite who see their works printed and who attendLiterary Festivals. I say this with profound sadness when a well-known personfrom one of Bengal’s well known literary families said about my mother, whoindeed, had been too shy to publish and yet, magazines like Desh, published her work called Janini, which brought stalwarts like BhibutibhushanBondhopadhyay to our door in search of this writer, who was my mother, - “Butwe don’t consider your mother, excuse me for saying it, one among the woman’svoices in Bengal. If that was the case, there are hundreds and thousands ofsuch voices in Bengal.”

A moment of satori

2012-01-02T01:10:00.000-08:00

As the only child of separated parents, throughout my life I held a grouse against my father, who had failed to participate in my life altogether.

He was indifferent to everything except his music. My mother and I suffered immensely due to his absence from our lives. Though we covered it up with stoic strength, yet in my heart I bore pain and anger towards him.

According to my grandmother, my father, her second son, showed early signs of detachment. His temperament was withdrawn – staying away often from the family, with only his flute for company. She feared he would join the monastery. She therefore arranged to have him married.

Her endeavour, however, met with failure. My father emerged from his shell for a while, just enough to beget me, after which he withdrew into his own.

I was born in my maternal grandparents’ house. The only difference was, that my mother stayed back and did not return.

But quite by chance something happened a couple of days ago.

A voracious reader, I came across a blog post which spoke about a place called Comilla in Bangladesh.

I knew that my forefathers came from Comilla.

The blogger, Reema Islam, wrote, “Known as Samatata between 6th-13th century AD, Bangladesh fell under the region called Vanga which was in close proximity to Magadha. Magadha was a powerful state since the time of Asoka (304-232 BC). Buddhist traveler Huien Tsang, (7th-8th century AD) wrote in his journal that he found an institution called Kanakastupa Vihara in Samatata. The newly excavated Salban Vihara in Comilla is, in all likelihood, the same institution he mentioned.”

At once, like a sudden flash of light, a shift in perspective happened. I understood for the first time where my father came from. Who is to say that he had not inherited the reclusiveness of the monks? That he himself was not a monk reincarnate, from his past lives in that land? Maybe, he just came to fulfil a past karmic connection with my mother and as soon as that was over, they separated. Maybe there was nothing of any karmic baggage that we, as father and daughter, carried around each other. Maybe, we were always free of each other and hence, we had nothing to do with each other. No great exchange, nothing to carry forward.

It was a moment of satori. A paradigm shift happened in my understanding of the relationship with my father. The anger and hurt dissolved as my heart opened up closing the door to the past.

I was free.

Julia Dutta, New Delhi

First published in Life Positive January 2012 Edition

http://www.lifepositive.com/Lifemag/full_story.asp

Ref:
http://yellowleg.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/samatata-ancient-comilla/

Chhabees gyarah...

2011-11-26T01:08:00.001-08:00

Painting by Jamini Roy

Shukriya!Jo aap ne mujhse baat ki hai
Yadon mein rahegi
Shabdo ki jagah aaj kal aap
Mujhse bolne lagi hai woh bhasha mein
Jo kaan se sunai deti nahi
Na lafz se bola jati
Woh bhasa jo hazaar khwaish karney se bhi
Sunai nahi deti

Khamoshi!

Shukriya!Aap ne mujhe yaad dila diya
Ki guzrey huye din, aab lout ke nahi aayenge
Marne walley kabhi lautke nahi aayenge
Jo guzar gaya woh mor ke nahi dekhtey
Unkey bhasha kaan se sunai nahi deti
Na lafz se boli jati
Woh bhasa jo hazaar khwaish karney se bhi
Sunai nahi deti

Khamoshi!

Insaan hu mein, koi pari nahi
Sapna dekhna haq samajhti hu mein
Awaaz hai, dilki dharkan sunai deti hi mujhe
Zinda hu aab bhi, alvidah na kahiye

Afsos! Aap mere kareeb nahi rahe
Samay ne loot li sacchayi saarey
Aur chor gayey hamarey dono ke beech

Wohbhasha jo kaan se sunai deti nahi
Na lafz se bola jati
Woh bhasa jo hazaar khwaish karney se bhi
Sunai nahi deti

Khamoshi!

- JuliaDutta, Delhi 26.11.11

छब्बीस ग्यारह...

शुक्रिया! जो आपने मुझसे बात की है

यादों में रहेगी

शब्दों की जगह आजकल आप

मुझसे बोलने लगे हैं वो भाषा में

जो कान से सुनाई देती नहीं

न लफ्ज़ से बोली जाती

वो भाषा जो हज़ार ख्वाहिश करने से भी

सुनाई नहीं देती

खामोशी!

शुक्रिया! आपने मुझे याद दिला दिया

कि गुज़रे हुए दिन, अब लौट के नहीं आएँगे

मरने वाले कभी लौटके नही आएँगे

जो गुज़र गया वो मुड़ के नहीं देखते

उनकी भाषा कान से सुनाई नहीं देती

न लफ्ज़ से बोली जाती

वो भाषा जो हज़ार ख्वाहिश करने से भी

सुनाई नहीं देती

खामोशी!

इन्सान हूँ मैं, कोई परी नहीं

सपना देखना हक समझती हूँ मैं

आवाज़ है, दिल की धड़कन सुनाई देती है मुझे

ज़िन्दा हूँ अब भी, अलविदा न कहिए

अफसोस! आप मेरे करीब नहीं रहे

समय ने लूट ली सच्चाई सारी

और छोड़ गए हमारे दोनों के बीच

वो भाषा जो कान से सुनाई देती नहीं

न लफ्ज़ से बोली जाती

वो भाषा जो हज़ार ख्वाहिश करने से भी

सुनाई नहीं देती

खामोशी!

जूलिया दत्ता, दिल्ली 26.11.11

Book review: A Songbird on my Shoulder

2011-11-20T21:17:00.001-08:00

Arise! Awake! All you women who have been
screaming slogans, putting up banners and walking streets, forcing the nation to take notice of your movement demanding marginalised position, you are about to be joined by yet another group, the Madams. These “madams” will arrive in their chauffeur driven cars amply endowed in all fronts and yet demand from the Government a marginalised
status for themselves, as they are a growing number in India, who needs recognition and special allotment of space in public places for themselves! Like please to note, separate Parking Places for women who must drive their own cars because the driver gave them a slip!

Saaz Aggrawal in “The Songbird on my Shoulder” is the unrepentant Madam, who has had everything one can ask for in life, but now gushes forth to initiate the Society of Highly Opinionated and Amply- endowed Madams (SHOAM) in her debut autobiographical novel!

“We’re a tiny and sadly marginalised community, us Madams, with our headaches and bridge mornings and afternoon naps, especially these days with attrition figures in the house-hold industry marching ahead of the IT and even BPO sectors”. – pg 11, The Songbird on my Shoulder

Laugh out loud - LOL for short!

Mixed with a generous helping of humour, the book takes the reader through her life as a writer starting from her heart wrenching early life as a boarder at The Lawrence School, Lovedale and ending with a delicious blend of high living with Cocktail parties, world travels and coming down to basics like house-keeping, managing house-help and keeping a vigilant eye over their services trying to manage her home with 6 Sigma management principles. Not to forget the lessons
learned and shared as a hi-fi Corporate Trainer.

The book is a reminder that the so called SHOHAM group of Madams is a growing number in urban and semi-urban women, who mix the old with the new. Check them out at your buy 1 get 1 free, when they can afford much more because here is a new social sub-section of women, who can afford much more but are still thrifty. They are a confused blend of women who definitely identify as “elite” but don’t want to miss out on the bargains available to the less fortunate.

Therefore, dear reader, laugh through pages holding your sides. However, don’t miss a few chapters that bring tears to your eyes as well, including poems that make you laugh and cry at the
same time!

The power of this autobiographical book, lies in bringing out the dilemma of a woman, who no matter where she is in life, and how privileged, she still battles with the day to day struggles of life, not very far away from where you and I too struggle our way through.

“Once upon a time I fancied myself an intellectual, and put on airs and pretended, like many others in my generation, to read Sartre, Joyce and others...then one day I noticed weeks had slipped into months and years and all I’d done. Day after day, was ironed three even-sized but gradually expanding sets of school uniforms,,,fill water bottles ( and snack boxes and lunch
dabbas).” – pg 10 The Songbird on my Shoulder.

Saaz Aggarwal was born in Mumbai and worked as a Journalist for many years in Mumbai. The book has some of her articles formerly published in Times of India, Deccan Herald, Femina, The Little Magazine and many more. It also has a generous helping of Bombay life for those who stand up on the roof and say I love Mumbai!

“In 1998, the same year as she was awarded a “Best Mumma Ever” cup as a birthday present, Brown Critique, an eminent poetry journal, described her as ‘Well-known Mumbai-based journalist (editor) and columnist who lives in Pune’ which prompted her to rush about telling people that she was ‘well-known’. – pg 267, The Songbird on my Shoulder

Laugh out loud - LOL for short!

If last week I spent a weekend at a Zen Monastery, this weekend I have had a sumptuous helping of laughter, thereby completing my “Zorba, the Buddha” appetite! Life! Love and laughter!

Title: The Songbird on my Shoulder –Confessions of an Unrepentant Madam
Publisher: black-and-white fountain, 2, Flemington Terrace, Clover village, Wanowari, Pune 411040, India
Author: Saaz Aggrawal
Pages: 274
Buy copies online: www.blackandwhitefountain.com
Feedback and inquiry: blackandwhitefountain@gmail.com

BUT WAIT! THE RUSH BEGINS IN January 2012, when you can buy online, although the
Kindle version will be available earlier. I forgot to tell you that due to my own Madam – status (ahem!) I have received a special preview copy (deserves another ahem, you will agree?!)

Read more on her blog:
http://songbirdonmyshoulder.blogspot.com/2011/11/pain-drama-true-life-learning.html

Hey! Teacher, mother-father, leave them kids alone!

2011-10-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

Last year in one of the most prestigious colleges in Delhi, the HoD of a certain Department along with many of his colleagues threatened to resign if a certain boy, the Principal had caught in a compromising position with his girlfriend in the college compound, on Valentine’s day, was rusticated for his behavior. The boy had earlier, on being checked several times, spoken back at the Principal saying that it was not his business to check his behavior as he was over 18 years.

The Principal gave in to the pressure raised by his teaching faculty.

Really, most of them had used the opportunity to strike back at the Principal, holding the gun on the boy’s shoulders.

In another incident, a school going girl threatened to kill herself if she was not allowed to bring in her boyfriend and spend hours with him locked inside her room, without being interrupted. The boy was a college going indulgent lover, ten years older than her. The parents, who had always been reasonable and taught the girl to reason out things and talk with them, had lost the battle with their brat. When they saw a Child Psychiatrist, they were advised to ‘keep their cool’ and not push it too much. The girl was only rebelling and it would soon change. It has been three years since then. The parents are now seeing a councilor to keep from breaking down.

What we are facing today is a fall out of what we as parents did in the past. We dropped the stick and reasoned with our children. Friends and doctors adviced, that parents and teachers must not wield the stick or be too adamant about what is right and wrong. The child had its own voice and its reasons too and that has to be respected. We did just that. How could we as parents, educated in Public Schools and convents, living in cities and hugely exposed to public opinion and parent peer pressure, reveal ourselves as rudimentary by picking up the stick and striking the calf muscle or the buttock of our child? Or even raise our hand on our child? Of course, we had to bear the tantrum and comply to every whim and fancy of our child. We could not scream or shout for fear that the child might take to rebellious behavior. When they were in their teens, we had to project the image of being a friend rather than a parent, so that we fitted into the prescribed formula of a city bred, yuppy parent, who is managing her home and her work efficiently. Also as a friend, we believed the child would not be afraid to tell us everything!

But alas! When the child grew up, in many cases they exhibited behavior that spoke louder than words – their actions spoke to say, that we as parents failed to be parents and they as children, grew up not really knowing what is right or wrong because, we gave them the liberty to do and to say, whatever they liked, because, after all, we were parents who wanted to see our children, free and creative.

Dr Eric Burne, famous author of Games People Play and founder of Transactional Analysis (See: http://www.ericberne.com/ ) spoke of three states –Parent, Child and Adult. In his breakthrough work, he states that the Parent symbolizes the figure of authority, one which has rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, and is generally thought to be rigid in content. The Child is the one which is just opposite, it is free and without bindings and rules is the seat of all creativity. The Adult mixes the two extremes and is rational and thinking. We as humans therefore change and interchange these states to suit the requirement of our needs. Thus, an adult in real life might want to act like a Child or may be caught in the other extreme of being a rigid Parent and not reasoning Adult depending on what the situation asks for.

“Please do it for me, pleeeeeese!” is a Child speaking

“Listen, we can talk about this.” Is an Adult speaking

“No, you will not do that!” Is an Parent speaking.

At most times, we are only too anxious to be a Child with a child or become a rigid Adult.

Do you think then, that there is a mismatch here and the fault lies with the way we have dealt with our children or are we going to say that Mass Media, globalization etc etc are to be blamed more than the homes we gave our children?

Reference read: My question is: Who is to blame?

http://xebecbooks.sulekha.com/blog/post/2011/10/my-question-is-who-is-to-blame-in-this-case.htm

Immortal songs: The Wall by Pink Floyd

Book Review: Ten thousand miles without a cloud

2011-10-08T04:39:00.000-07:00

Tenthousand miles without a cloud by Sun Shuyun

Don’t get carried away by the title and think thatit is a book on Zen Buddhism. No, this is a travelogue really, sprinkled with agenerous helping of personal experience and travel tracing the same route takenby Chinese monk Xuanzang,( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanzang)who travelled across from China to India, via the silk route to study Yogacara, ( see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogacara)inthe 8^th century. This according to Mahayana Buddhism is the practiceof meditation and yoga which together can give rise to pure consciousness, astate which is to be totally alert, awake but “thought-less” – pure consciousness.

We know from History that it is the Records that Xuanzang kept so meticulously thatlead, the British to find and resurrect the teachings of Buddha, only over acentury ago. Buddhism was a thriving practice and a study in the early 6^thCentury, India, which later was all covered by the already existing Hindureligion. Not to speak of the Muslims who came later to destroy as much aspossible and instill in its place, Islam, forcefully. Many Buddhist monumentswere raised to the ground and many Buddhist monks fled to finer pastures wherethey were welcomed, like in China and Japan.

However, for a keen learner, Xuanzang would havenothing except the truth, straight from the horses’ mouth. He had heard that inthe great University of Nalanda, he could learn from him, who knows best the onYogacara ( Sanskrit Yogācāra (योगाचार), Vijñānavāda (विज्ञानवाद),Vijñapti-mātra, Vijñapti-mātratā, or Cittamātra) which is the art and science of arriving atenlightenment, or a thoughtless state of Being.

This book is a beautiful account retracing the journey that Xuanzang took andthe author, Sun Shuyun, makes all the effort to reach each and every spot that theChinese monk had travelled through, taking time to be in these places and makenotes on the place as it existed now, in the late 1900 around, 1998 – 99, 1300years after Zuanzang had visited these places. Many things had changed and yet,for the author, being in a place where the monk had been was a very liveexperience.

No, please do not think the author herself is a monk. Perhaps this journey wasthe closest, deepest brush she had had since her days with her grandmother, whowas an ardent believer in Buddhism, placed in a very traumatic time, when Chinawas undergoing its cultural revolution.

Although the book does not explain the title, I would like to dwell on it withmy readers, just for a little bit.

Bertrand Russell once said – No matter;never mind! He was right, although his inference may have been borrowedfrom Indian thought travelling via the Greeks to his motherland.

We have known it for ages, that the world is, and therefore the mind toois. Mind is matter in a subtle form. Therefore thoughts which arise in the mindare matter too. Thought is material, no matter how subtle.

When the mind is trained over time, it can hold on to fewer and fewer thoughtsthrough the practice of yoga and meditation. A carefully trained mind which haspracticed for years, can hold on to one thought only. And at that point, alsoallow it to go, so that there is nothing left except pure consciousness,uncluttered even by a single thought. This has been the true pursuit of theMahayana Buddhist, this state which is the ideal state of no thought. It is pureconsciousness. This state is considered to be the highest.

Clouds are figurative language for thought, hence, ten thousand miles without acloud, would literally mean, ten thousand miles without a thought, just pureconsciousness. Yes, Xuanzang travelled the whole distance only to learn fromIndians practicing Yogacara, the art of practice that lead to a state of “cloud-less-ness”.

“Selfnature, complete and clear,
Like the moon in the water.
The mind in meditation, like the sky,
Ten thousand miles without a cloud.”

About the author: Sun Shuyun is aChinese writer. She was born in China in the 1960s, graduated from BeijingUniversity and won a scholarship to Oxford. Her books include:

TenThousand Miles Without a Cloud

TheLong March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth

AYear in Tibet, a book made in conjunction with theBBC documentary A Year in Tibet.

Publisher: HarperPerennial (2004)
Price Rs 350
Buy: http://www.flipkart.com/books/0007129742

Fatehpur Sikri - staying close to Salim Chisti

2011-09-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

Fatehpur Sikri – staying close to Salim Chisti

If only men were like Akbar!

The five feet three, had three wives and three hundred concubines and a bed large enough to have all three wives spread themselves in a foursome with their husband.

I am sure Akbar is not turning in his grave for I do not hear the slightest rustle of disbelief. But many women are, for I hear a loud rave and rant!

Son of the invader who began the Mughal Empire in India, Babur, Jalauddin Mohammad Akhbar was born on October 15, 1542. He married three women, a Hindu from Rajasthan, Jodha bai, a Muslim and a Christian from Goa. Unfortunately, none of the wives were able to produce an heir for him, until he heard of the Sufi saint, who was sitting on a hill in a village called Sikri, about 40 kms from Agra. Akbar had already travelled to Ajmer to pray at the tomb of Ajmer Sheriff, but he walked on foot to pay homage to Salim Chisti and beg him for an heir. And he was blessed with a boy, from his Hindu wife, Jodha bai, on 30 August, 1569. They called him, Mohammad Salim. Also Jahangir.

Akbar decided that he would not only build a palace with a mosque for Salim Chisti, but go and stay close to him. Fatehpur Sikri was born at the same it and the impressive structure which is aworld heritahe monument was build over 12 years with 32,000 men working there. But after Salim Chisti left his body the dire water shortage in the [place made Akbar move after living there for 16 years, along with his family and son,

Fatehpur Sikri is a living example of an alishaan life of wine, women and song . The administration of his kingdom, was done by remote control, from the top of a minor hillock. Although Akbar continued to rule his domain from there, what strikes the viewer most is the place he gave to all three women in him life. Equally honoured in all respect, each had their own living quarter, separate from the other. Jodha bai’s palace was large; she had her winter palace and her summer palace which faced each other across a very large quadrangle. She shared a close proximity in her living quarters with his Christian wife, from Goa. Hers was a smaller version of a palace, with separate rooms. But the one, that is most engaging though, is the sheesh mahal – the official residence of his Muslim wife. Set at the farthest end of the main monument across the central water lake, where Tansen sang his songs in the evening, sheesh mahal is intricately carved with art at every wall, pillar, window. A small room, most elegantly designed, for perhaps a lady with much artistic taste, or someone Akbar honoured the most, although Jodha bai may have been his priority in other ways.

The ladies, also had their own jewellery rooms, or tijoris, in which they kept their precious jewels and money.

Fatehpur Sikri had its own hospital, with its own Hakim ji. A horse and camel stable which would have done the horses proud!

Akbar had a message in his marriages – he did want so much to bring together all religions together. I am told he even proposed a new religious sect called “Din-e-lahi” which included the best tenets of all religions existing those times. Why I have chosen to say, that if only men were like Akbar, is, while men may still like many women, behind the purdah, most would not give all their women the same honour or status in their lives through marriage or otherwise. Protesting feminists must concede this point.

Perhaps a ruler with a gentle heart and an open mind to all religions, Akbar must be remembered not for the second Mughal to rule over his domain in India, but a man who put to practice, what he believed in, all roads lead to One!

Akbar died in 1606 on the night of 25^th – 26^th October, in Agra Fort where he had moved from Fatehpur Sikri and was buried in Sikandara a little away from Agra Fort.

Picture gallery:

Radha Kund - Divine ecstacy

2011-09-04T04:14:00.000-07:00

Thirty kilometres from Mathura and four kilometres Goverdhan, a small village resembling the unkempt lanes and by lanes of Kasi, is Radha Kund. Famous among the Bengali vaishanava, the little spiritual village, is home for many who have left their homes and families in Bengal, to be here where Radha is supposed to have bathed with her gopis, right next to Shyama kund where the divine lover, Sri Krishna, himself had taken his bath. Thus, the place is full of kunds (lakes) which have natural water, in spite of being in arid, water starved Mathura of these days.

The two famous kunds, Radha and Shyama kunds are separated by a small wall. And while Radha kund still has clear water, Shyama is enveloped by sludge around the sides for want of cleaning.

Yet, the people living there are happy. They live in divine ecstasy of Radha rani.

Wikipedia says, that “following the sacred writing “Sri Upadeshamrita” (The Nectar of Instruction) by early 16th century saint Srila Rupa Gosvami of Vrindavan, a close associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Vaishnava Hindus consider Radha-Kund to be the supreme of all holy places. Mythology has it that when Lord Krishna slayed a mighty asura (demon) in the form of a bull, his consort Radha tersely told Krishna to wash off his sins by taking dips in various holy rivers. Krishna laughed it off and struck the ground with his foot whereupon the mighty rivers emerged, welled up and formed a kunda (little water body). Subsequently the Lord bathed in the water to please Radha. The kunda came to be called “Shyam-Kund”. Indignant that Krishna used his powers for this, Radha and her girl attendants dug out a kunda with their bangles and filled it with water from “Manasi-Ganga”, another holy kunda at nearby Govardhan. That particular kunda is today's “Radha-Kund” where people come from far and wide to take a dip.

Since Radhaji is considered the most holy, chaste, pure, pious and greatest of all divinities, Radha-Kund holds its significance and spiritual grandeur by being made personally by Radharani.

Every twenty years or so Radha Kund is emptied revealing the original Kund that was rediscovered by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu on his travels, as prior to this the Kund had remained hidden for many years. The original pool becomes visible when Radha Kund is emptied and is named Kancan or Kankan Kund.”

Just behind Syama kund is the one and only Dharmashala – Miramanuranjan Banik Dharmashala, the only staying place in Radha kund. The rooms reminded me of Bharat Sevashram in Gaya. The bathroom floors is wet, the bedding not very appealing and of course you must have your own bed linen. Priced at only Rs 130 per 24 hrs, with food, surely one can’t ask for more.

Naturally, the thrifty Bengali, who is a travel bug, and prefers places like Bharat Sevashram, wherever, they go, finds Miramanuranjan Banik Dharmashala just the right place for their shoe-string budget for bhraman ( travels), especially, in the festival months of the vaishnavas.

How to reach: By bus or car via Goverdhan.
Stay: Miramanuranjan Banik Dharmashala,
P.O Radha Kund, Mathura, Mathura Distt.
Pin: 281504
Contact person: Shubhro Majumdar
Cell: 917417502381, 918899499676

Warning: Tie your purse strings tightly! You may be flogged by persistent beggars who pose as bhaktas. I am told that many of them have Bank accounts and lakhs of money, which the generous hearted may themselves not have.

Photo gallery:

Radha kund

More info on Radha Kund:

http://www.mvtindia.com/radha_kunda.htm

More pictures and videos on Radha Kund

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENjCOylx_c

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/radha_kund_photos_one.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elishams/427970450/

Radha kund

Book Review: Turtle Dove by Divya Dubey

2011-04-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

A real friend is forever available but might never be the one whose kind council is ever heeded to.

Can the power of the mind determine the gender of a foetus?

Must we always see the “older generation” as people we need to respect, or need we rethink what we have been taught?

Six stories, nay issues, which shake the reader even after they have put the book down and make them, think.

Welcome to Turtle Dove by Divya Dubey.

How can a math nerd think and do things which are so far away from his passion?

The book challenges the boundaries of human relationships and pulls up facts, one may not like to address, but can’t run away from them either.

To what extent can a family go, to prove that it is dysfunctional? For such families, is that a normal? Then, will the protagonists be cocooned in the cuckoo’s nest?

Every story is laden with layers of deep insights into psychology, working at the bottom of a surface that is both intriguing and fascinating. In fact, for those who are who are attracted to Psychology as iron filings to a magnet, this book can’t be overlooked.

It’s not as if there is some extraordinary literature here at hand, but yet, the way the stories unfold themselves, you might get absolutely obsessed about the story till you see it through.

I did!

Divya Dubey chose to publish this book herself thereby giving birth to her own Publishing House called Gyaana Books. I wonder if it was a choice or a compulsion because, the stories are so bold, I would hardly be surprised if Publishing houses chickened out.

Last but not the least, writing about love making or acts of sex are some of the toughest writing one can do, in my mind. To engage in the act, dressing it up with words that drag the reader into the performance, both as a participant in terms of the soft hues of excitement caused, and yet, still only an observer, is an art, not given to all writers. Divya Dubey has mastered the art. Hence, the weak hearted and the gentle souls need to skip through many paragraphs.

That is, of course, if they can!

Title: Purple Dove
Author: Divya Dubey
Publisher: Gyaana Books
Website: www.gyaanabooks.com
Pages: 227
Price: 195
Buy: www.flipkart.com
And bookshops in your city

About the author: Divya Dubey is Publisher Gyaana Books. This is her first collection of short stories. She is expecting to write more. She passed out of St Stephen’s College, Delhi, with MA in English. Later she did MA Publishing at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford. Occasionally, she also does articles related to writing/publishing for mainstream newspapers and magazines, and also conduct guest lectures on the same subjects. I was shortlisted for the British Council Young Creative Entrepreneur of the year Award (Publishing) 2010. You can also visit her blog: http://www.dearddsez.blogspot.com/

Book Review: Many lives, many Masters by Brian L Weiss M. D

2010-09-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

“ We go through many stages when we are here. We shed a baby body, go into a child’s, from child to an adult, an adult into old age. Why shouldn’t we go one step beyond and shed the adult body and go to a spiritual plane? That is what we do. We just don’t stop growing; we continue to grow. When we get to the spiritual plane, we keep growing there, too. We go through different stages of development. When we arrive, we are burnt out. We have to go through a renewal stage, a learning stage, and a stage of decision. We decide when we return, where, and for what reasons. Some chose not to come back. They chose to go on to another stage of development. And they stay in spirit form... some for longer than others before they return. It is all growth and learning...continuous growth. Our body is just a vehicle for us, while we’re here. It is our soul and our spirit that last forever.”- pg 140, Many lives; many Masters

As much as you may not want to connect it with teachings of the eastern parts of the world, you are forced to believe that there is a strong influence. I would like to bring to mind that Brain Weiss’ book was first published in 1988, quite a few years after the heat and dust had settled down, post the hippie movement which dug deep into not only narcotics and LSD, but the eastern religions too, in order to find answers to a society that seemed to have no ‘deeper meaning” of life and thereafter. By the ‘80s the revolution and the change it brought across the globe had kind of settled in and eastern thought married and matched with the church, albeit the latter was deeply hurt and rebellious about it. Also do not forget, around the mid-seventies, out of the soil of India arose her “sons of religious revolution” – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and a much more outspoken one, the inimitable Acharya Rajneesh. Their voices and meditaions rocked the world and their followings began to influence all thought around religion. It is mainly Christianity that was hit, not only by these infamous two, but already shaken by the hippie movement, it was not difficult for those who were standing swaying in doubt of the entire society, to find a crutch in the words and methods of spiritual practice of both, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Acharya Rajneesh, who spread their thoughts of eastern religion, to an “Amreeka is a big hole” as Mahesh Yogi announced at the music festival, Woodstock.

Given this background, I would hardly want to shy away from the fact that even if one did not convert to the mala and the robe, one could not be really far away from the ideas of eastern religions, sowing their seeds in western minds. In this light therefore, the book makes enormous sense.

Catherine is an extraordinary attractive woman who worked as a laboratory assistant in the hospital where Brian L Weiss is Chief of Psychiatry and she earns some extra money modelling swimwear. She is the middle child of a conservative Catholic family. Her elder brother, three years older than her was athletic while her younger sister was the favourite of both parents.

Please to note: We already have a recipe for what may be called an attention grabber, who because she was sandwiched between an athletic brother and a younger sister who took all the attention in the family, would perhaps try to fulfil her need for attention in other ways in later life.

At the time she sees Weiss, Catherine is having anxiety moments which are so severe that she is burdened with fears – of water for she feels she is going to drown in it; she was afraid of swallowing pills because she feels she will choke; she is afraid of airplanes, darkness and she is terrified of dying. Thus, in the recent past she has often slept on a walk-in closet in her apartment. She suffers insomnia for two to three hours every night and when she sleeps it is fitful. Also the sleep-walking she did in her childhood were returning back to her rapidly, which then added to her depression.

As usual she was given the treatment that went by the book. Her condition changed marginally. It is then that Weiss who had been using hypnosis on some of his patients, if he felt they needed it to go deeper into the reason for the fears, began to use the same on Catherine, with her consent. The miracle begun to happen as Catherine slipped from one life to another she had been passing through in her 86 past lives which she recounted with a fair amount of vivid detail. What is interesting though is not only the content of that lifetime but the manner of death in that lifetime – sometimes drowning in water (read fear of water in this life), her throat being slit and many other forms of death. What is amazing is, as she recounts these deaths, she seems to overcome the fear of death in life this time. As the therapy goes on, both therapist and patient find they are able to see deeper meanings to everything that has and is happening to them in their lives here now.

However, the most interesting thing in the book is the voice of the Masters who speak through Catherine, pearls of knowledge, that are so close to what is part of eastern religions – rebirth, death of the body not being the death of the Self/soul etc etc. The philosophy remembered and retained, helps both, Catherine to be free of her fears. She becomes a positive energy everyone would like to be with. She attracts people to her.

The book is an easy read, but get boring sometimes with too many past life stories. But for Weiss who had just transcribed the recordings of those sessions, it was a novel experience. For most of the world too it was and is. Many lives, many Masters has been translated in 40 languages.

I would like to sum up the book, by saying that the uniqueness lies in the book, if you are not used to eastern religions, thoughts and beliefs. For a philosopher, a Buddhist steeped in Buddhist reincarnation stories and the knowledge that ever the Buddha, just before his enlightenment saw all 86, 000 lifetimes of his, like a show reel before his eyes, I was not tickled pink. But I can understand the book’s importance, in the light that it is a new way to conquer fear especially of death which many times is the root reason behind paranoia.

I would also like to add, that I though that Catherine was having all those symptoms to draw attention to herself and that did happen over a long time. Once, she was able to find a therapist who was not only supportive but also converting, so to say, and the power dynamics was shifting towards her as her therapist also began to believe in what his patient was saying about him, her relation with him from past lives, it became apparent that they became equals in as far as the balance of power dynamics between them. That in, itself can be a cure!

Needless to say, getting attention is vital to life, no matter from which quarter of life it may come from – the Physician, the Psychiatrist, the mother, father, whoever!

While the book may rely heavily on eastern thought of rebirth, it particularly is careful to keep away all forms of life, giving priority only to the human lifetime. Hence, while one who is rooted in eastern rebirth theory might believe that all life forms are lives in transition from one to another, thus, reducing the heavy importance given to human life only, Weiss’ book Many lives, many Masters, lacks that possibility because Catherine it seems can remember only her lives in the past which are human form only.

And that does save shaming Christianity, because, Catherine hails from a conservative Catholic background.

Brian L Weiss would hardly like to have crossed the line of control by stepping over and authenticating that in fact, past life theories are true, even if they are recounting only the lives in which (wo)man was made in the image of God.

Publisher: FIRESIDE, Rockefeller Centre, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Author:Brian L Weiss, M.D
Pages: 220; Price: $ 6.95 (Rs 340)
About the author: After graduating magna cum laude from Columbia University and receiving his medical degree at the Yale University School of medicine, Brian L. weiss, M.D, served his internship in New York University’s Bellevue medical Centre and went on to become chief resident, Department of Psychiatry, at the Yale University School of Medicine. Currently, Dr Weiss is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Centre in Miami Beach, Florida, and clinical Associate professor, department of Psychiatry, at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He specializes in the study and treatment of depression and anxiety states, sleep disorders, substance abuse disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and brain chemistry.
More: http://www.brianweiss.com/

About the writer of the review: Julia Dutta is an advertising professional and a journalist. You can reach her at juliadutta@rediffmail.com

Neo-Buddhism: Balm over the angst of non-recognition

2010-08-30T01:05:00.000-07:00

On 15th August,2010, The Times of India quoted Meena Kandaswamy, Professor in English, in Anna University, Chennai, saying through her blog (see http://meenu.wordpress.com/) “ I would like to describe myself as a woman writer obsessed with the revolutionary Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s message of caste annihilation…….Dalits are denied the right to land, Muslims the right to homes. We live in a society riddled with minority phobia.”

Indeed, where Meena Kandaswamy is placed, Tamil Nadu, there is another phobia – the fear of being upper (read brahman) caste. People belonging to that community may be bending backwards to prove they are not brahmans, as in Tamil Nadu there is 70% reservations for SC/STs.

In the meantime, Sharmila Rege , Director, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre, University of Pune, has been equally involved in path breaking work in unearthing the buried histories of Dalits in India. Years of being ostracised by the Brahman community, the Dalits had been living in the outskirts of the village eating left over food by Brahmans and other communities, announcing the dead, burning death bodies, eating animals and doing menial work only, as education was totally denied to them. Their existence was non-recognition only.

Until, Dr B R Ambedkar came along.

Rising from their midst, Dr B R Ambedkar went on to do a Ph.D and become a Lawyer and finally the architect of the Indian constitution. He is best remembered today also as the founder of Neo-Buddhism which he used very ably as a weapon against social injustice bestowed upon the untouchables by the brahmans. He is also the father of the Dalit uprising in India.

It would be interesting to note that way back, while India was still under the subjugation of the British, Rabindranath Tagore, had written the famous lines in his poem Apamaanita:

Hey mor durbhaga desh
Jader korecho apomaan
Apomaney hotey hobe shobar shaman

Translated to English it means: Oh my unfortunate country, you will have to face the same undignified treatment in the hands of those your treat without dignity; only then will equality be restored among all.

One might argue that like all big talkers of present day, political parties mainly, the poet too had made no effort personally to make any difference. However, one cannot overlook his contribution to the making of Shantiniketan whose first students were in fact, the very poor, uneducated children of the neighbourhood.

Be that as it may, the real movement of the uprising of the down trodden happened when, Dr B R Ambedkar, having reached a conclusion after much study of all religions, that the way out of a decadent system, rooted in religion of the Hindus, must be wholly and absolutely thrown out of their lives. Only then he believed that the first step to liberation from brahminical subjugation and the regressive caste system would happen. The caste system which existed in India, much before Manu wrote his book Manusmriti, became strengthened by the text which is infamous for both being a text replete with oppressive dictum against women as well as the fact that it documented the divide of Indian society based on the four caste categories –brahman, vaishya, kshatriya and shudras, the last being the lowest caste. Not only that it gave brahmans superiority over all others and thus gave them unquestionable right to work diligently to dehumanise the sudras, under which the ST/ST sections of modern day India fell. The Manusmriti as well as the lawmaker Manu have been under the axe of feminists and psychologists for a long time. For one, the lawmaker seemed to be material fit for the loony bin, and for the text which proved to be a hate document taken too seriously by the brahmans. As a document that proved material for Psychoanalysis’ time-pass and the brahman’s excuse to continue to torture the sudras, it did well when Dr B R Ambedkar burned the text in public as a sign of protest.

Dr B R Ambedkar led by example. He belonged to the Mahar community which also fell into the untouchable caste. In order to throw away, once and for all, the disease ridden, caste based hindu religion, he, on October 14, 1956 converted to Buddhism, which he accepted as the only religion or practice which had no segregation of persons into different castes. Following him, hordes of Mahars turned to Buddhism, the very next day, after his conversion to Buddhism. It was in fact, Dr B R Ambedkar who conducted the mass conversion, in Nagpur. Ever since, Dalits have converted to Buddhism as their way of life. Please note, Dalits do not necessarily include Muslims and other minorities who in India of 2010 may also want to hold the Dalit ticket.

To go back in history, it is important to understand the social context in which we believe Buddha left his home in search for Truth, of that which is beyond, birth and death and the suffering in between. I have read and heard that it was the sight of four afflictions – death, suffering, disease, old age - that happen to all human beings that caused him to give up his home, his wife and his new born child, his kingdom, his aged father, all because he was overwhelmed with the need to find an answer to the end of suffering. It has been said that at that moment there was so much disturbance in his kingdom that he wanted to escape from there. Whatever, be the interpretations and the beliefs, it must be understood that since Buddha himself has not left any written matter in his hand and all that we know of him or what he preached only by way of word of mouth and texts written after he left his body, we must be cautioned that all what we know and read on Buddha and his teachings are at best only interpretations of what the listeners and the writers think they have heard him say.

Thus, in many ways, while Buddhism is a subject I too studied, I have preferred to follow what I have heard is the way of eliminating human suffering whether it is me or anybody else. And that is not a social movement but a practice which helps in annihilating the last thread of desire that might even bring me back again to this life of suffering, for if there is birth, then, suffering is a given. This is the traditional form of Buddhism, where the cause of suffering happens to be birth itself, and birth, irrespective of where one has taken birth, or in what caste, community has one thing that goes with all – there is suffering, mental and physical. Only nibbana can release one from that suffering.

Dr B R Ambedkar’s Neo-Buddhism, on the other hand, does not accept nibbana, as there is no where to go, except live this life with dignity. Hence, at the root of Neo-Buddhism, as started by Dr B R Ambedkar, there is social change that has to be achieved to gain that state of liberation from suffering. It is quite understandable that that should be the a priori reason for the birth of the new “religion” – Neo-Buddhism.

What are the basic differences between the two? At the very start we can easily state that while, traditional Buddhism is pitched on liberation from birth and death by attaining nibbana, Neo-Buddhism is about bringing about social change. It is about wearing the mantle of equality right from the start and urging, negotiating Press, public and politicians, policies and Lawmakers to see and enact laws to ensure that the down trodden and those who have been sanctioned against for centuries are seen as equal to all, without any disparity. Therefore to this end, the Dalit movement which began in Maharashtra, with the Mahars, has taken on a massive role in Indian Politics and in day to day conversations and doings in India. This now has more meaning as Dalits are not any more only the Mahars, but include all ST/SC classes across India. Dalits have all converted to Buddhism, but while traditional Buddhism is more involved with the vertical movement of the human consciousness, Neo-Buddhism is passionately concerned with the vertical movement of the once depressed classes and castes, up the ladder. This is resulting in the TN-effect across india. The TN-effect can best be described as a hate campaign against brahmans and a “do-unto-them-what-they-did-unto-us” strategy.

Traditional Buddhism is concerned with the “inner revolution” and hence practice a path of non-violence, while Neo-Buddhism, is militant and rigorous about the “outer revolution” that will bring about social change. Hence, the literature too of the Dalit movement in India, at once is engraved on the angst of non-recognition of their human presence for centuries and at the same time, punctuated with pain and anger, while looking forward to a new dawn.

It is psychologically impossible to bear suppression forever. This is not our natural state as human beings. It is also psychologically impossible that the suppressed will one day not take the same weapon of suppression and strike back at its predator in the same way.
This brings us back to what Rabindranath Tagore wrote in the beginning of the last century –

Hey mor durbhaga desh
Jader korecho apomaan
Apomaney hotey hobe shobar shaman

To be shamed and hit back with equal force is what the brahmans inherited by their own doings in the past. It is not what Dalits discovered as a weapon of retaliation.

In Maharashtra, all homes of Neo-Buddhists have the picture of Buddha and Dr Ambedkar placed side by side. In many homes Dr Ambedkar may be more prominently placed than the Buddha himself, but there seems to be a new arising in other parts of the country like UP, where Kashi Ram and Mayawati are taking things to their own meaningful end. One may see statue upon statue of both these “saviours” strewn across UP where the founder of Neo-Buddhist Dr B R Ambedkar is receding backwards, but certainly remain a part of their day-to-day conversation.

When Buddha began to speak to his following on the new way of life, the Buddhist way, the brahmans were equally disturbed as huge numbers of people left their backgrounds and followed the Buddha. This caused them to act against Buddhists and it became so bad that after Buddha left his body, his followers moved out of India to carry his words and preserve them. Thus, Buddhism grew more out of its country of origin, in fact, it flowered most in Japan.

The Dalit movement began in Maharashtra with Mahar uprising and conversion to Neo-Buddhism. It might have more than one prominent face today who seemingly is leading the way. It may be seen as one of the most powerful movements in the country today, which the brahmans all want to get on to the band wagon, for reasons of vote bank politics, or from being ostracised themselves, but it remains to see how many faces Buddhism will take, as it progresses in the hands of those who have adopted it as a potent religion for bringing in a social change in India. The question is, in the face of such pressure, will brahmans convert to Neo-Buddhism as so many are already seen to patronise it?

Yet, through all these ifs and buts, one thing comes through clearly – whatever we see is our perception of it. And our perception is after all only a perception and hence, since we as humans create a religion for our own need and I have at least not heard any God say that he has created that religion (if you have, please let me know), be it Buddhism or any other religion, it is the creator’s right, to bring out as many versions and interpretations of the same religion. However, it is equally important to remember that all are only perceptions of what we see the world as or what the need of society at large is. The real truth is: All things and feelings are transitory, forever changing, never one Truth. They vary as perceptions change. What is now is not, in the next the same. And there is no God, not even The Buddha, who has left his body 2600 years ago and who in his talks warned, I am told, his followers – If you see The Buddha on your way, kill him!

But he was talking of the spiritual path, not a social one, per say. Yet, a practicing Buddhist causes change in society outside, because he has changed inside.

To summarise, I would say that although there is on the surface a distinct difference between the purpose of traditional Buddhist practice and Neo-Buddhism, at one level they come together – they both work towards change, one from within and the other from without. But, that is only on the surface. Ultimately, they meet on a common ground – Change! Be it society or be it at the conscious level.

Note: As I have heard the meaning of - If you see The Buddha on your way, kill him - speaks of one who is striving towards nibbana, which is a path, one might start with a teacher for guidance but then it is a very individual one and must be travelled on one’s own steam. Not even a crutch like Buddha is welcome. Therefore, on the path of self-realization, the teacher including the Buddha himself must be done away with finally.

This article is inspired by a scholarly book – Mahar, Buddhist and Dalit by Johannes Beltz Published by Manohar Publishing & Distributors, 4753/23, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002 and distributed by: Foundation, 4381/4 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002 Price: Rs 750

News:
The Hindu report on 29th August, 2010, In search of an identity by Ananth Krishnan, Sunday magazine section, page 7, (see link http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,9467,0,0,1,0 ) even sections of Chinese are taking to the Buddhist path.

The Jonang Takten Phuntsok Choeling Monastery, Sanjauli, Shimla

2010-06-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

When monk Yonten Gyamtso (see picture above) made his journey to India, he was only a young lad. Travelling on foot, in bitter cold and snow with a friend, he crossed over to Kathmandu, Nepal, via Lhasa, from his home town Amdo, in Tibet. It took the lads afull month, to reach Kathmandu, by foot! From there the two monks travelled by bus to Delhi and then to Shimla. The year was 1996, a year before the inaugeration of the first Buddhist Jonang Taken Phutsok Choeling Monastery in India – Sanjauli, Shimla.

The Jonang Taken Phutsok Choeling Monastery, is the only one of its kind in India, the other being only in Amro, Tibet. It was founded by Lama Jimpa in 1963. It was initially named Sangey Choeling. On 6th July, 1990, the monastery was gifted to The Dalai Lama when he visited it, in Shimla. His Holiness took care of it for seven years and in 1997, H.H. Dalai Lama in order to preserve the practice of Kalachakra or the followers of the six Unions, the intrinsic Tantra and the only school that preserves it in India and Tibet, he appointed H.H. Khalka Jetsun dhampa, head of this Jonang school. In all of India and Tibet, there are only two of these, one here in Sanjauli, the other in Tibet.

The Kalachakra Root Tantra, as taught to a few monks by Buddha on the vulture peak hill, from 7th to 14th century was translated by Tibetian translators and codified them as the standard translation. These are of two types: The translations of Buddha’s words, consisting of 100 volumes and the translations of Indianmasters’ commentaries on these which consist of 200 volumes. These translations consist both of Sutras and Tantras. The Jonang tradition is meditation of Generation Process and Perfection Process of the Six Yogas of Kalachakra (see below).

In the Amdo region of Tibet, there are approximately 60 – 80 monasteries with a strength of over 10,000 monks. In India, here at Jonang Taken Phutsok Choeling Monastery, there are about 105 monks and about 10-20 Cub monks(see picture), between the ages of 6-8 years who are from Arunachal Pradesh and Mon Tawang. Out of the total number of students in this monastery, about 30 are from Outer Mongolia.Here in the monastery they learn the Tibetian language, calligraphy handwriting, history of Tibet, epistomology, rituals, instruments for performing rituals, mandala drawing, religious dancing and chanting and of course the scriptures. The meditative practice course is three and a half years’ rigorous retreat of the Six Yogas of Kalachakra Tantra.

To reach Jonang Taken Phutsok Choeling Monastery from Shimla, take a bus to Sanjauli from Bus adda, or Lakkad Bazar. Get down at Sanjauli Chawk, walk backwards towards Dhalli and in less than ten minutes you will see Mata Dhingoo Mandir signboard. The climb is steep over almost 800 steps. Just below the Dhingroo Mata mandir is The Jonang Taken Phutsok Choeling Monastery.

You can also arrive there by car. However, there is no vehicular road to the mandir or the monastery below. Take a deep breath and begin your climb.

To reach Monk Yonten Gyamtso Email: yontengyamtso888@yahoo.com
Cell: 0-9882702611/ 0-9218771798
Website: http://www.jonangmonasteryshimla.com/

Six yogas of Kalachakra
http://www.kalacakra.org/6ytheory.htm

Please view more pictures:

2292/TheJonangTaktenPhuntsokChoelingMonasterySanjauliShimla#

Northbank - Rudyard Kipling's house in Shimla

2010-06-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

“I don’t know who Amrita Shergil was.” “ Rudyard Kipling? I have heard of him, but.....” “ I don’t know. Was he a writer?” “Amrita Shegil? You mean Maharani Amrit Kaur?” “I don’t know....never heard of her”.

Sorry to disappoint you Readers, but I have come to a conclusion that we as parents, teachers and friends, have failed to disseminate knowledge on local histories to our children. Thus, we have produced a generation between 18 – 21 years, whom we can easily call the “I don’t know generation”. GenIDK, in short is characterised by blank looks every time you ask a question, inability to distract and focus on anything being said because most of them are cannot extricate themselves from their mobile phones. To add to this combination is also absolute complacency.

On my recent trip to Shimla, I found that most adults in that age group were absolutely ignorant of Shimla’s heritage. Or they just do not care! I feel sad that not only is the Government not really concerned about the many heritage buildings in Shimla, the youth too lack any motivation to preserve this heritage. The Viceroy’s Lodge in Summer Hill, which today is one of India’s premier Institutes – The Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, is constantly under threat of being converted to a Congress Party Office as was suggested only recently by Sonia Gandhi!!

Rudyard Kipling’s house, Northbank, has been converted into a Police Office! Nobody there knew that it was at one time Kipling’s house. They did not even know who Kipling was!! Those who professed they knew, pointed out to any old house with a red roof and insisted it was Kipling’s residence. Remember, dear Reader, it is believed that The Jungle Book was conceived here in this house. Finally, having spoken to a historian, I was able to establish the house, or so I think!

Just imagine!!

As far as Amrita Shergil was concerned it was truly pathetic! They had not even heard of her! No body knew which her house was, although it is situated very close to the Himachal University campus! The map in Shimla on Foot by Raaja Bhasin(2007) proved unhelpful in both cases. The text did not explain that the houses were taken over by others, in Amrita Shergil’s case Escorts (see: http://xebecbooks.sulekha.com/blog/post/2010/06/amrita-shergill-the-holme-and-the-studio-shimla.htm ) and in Kipling’s house, the The Shimla Police Department.

I feel a desperate sense of loss as I leave Shimla. I am not sure that if I came back even a year from now, then some of the heritage buildings will remain the same.

Thanks to our own lack of interest to see our heritage being passed down and preserved by the next generation in ways beyond the study book.

Please view more pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/117421198519404762292/RudyardKiplingSNorthbankTheCatholicChurch#

Naldehra - Shimla's Emerald beauty

2010-06-14T00:20:00.001-07:00

The last Viceroy of India, the controversial figure, Lord Curzon may well be remembered for this beauty he discovered only 20 km away from Shimla – Naldehra. It was the end of the nineteenth century when Lord Curzon discovered this place and fell head over heels for the place. In fact, it is said that he would abandon the Viceroy’s Lodge in Summer Hill, Shimla and disappear for days to Naldehra, communicating and controlling his office by messages and heliograph.

The central attraction of Naldehra is the lush green Golf Course with 68 courses and 9 holes, the layout of which was suggested by Lord Curzon himself. The course is surrounded by wooded forests and the wide view is simply spectacular!

Lord Curzon was so besotted with the place that he named his youngest daughter Alexandra ‘Naldehra’ as her middle name.

Naldehra with her pristine beauty is not over populated with human beings. Except for the horses, their care takers, the Guides who wish to show you around, the transit visitors, normally speaking the place is just an enormous emerald green patch on earth. To reach there, the closest place (10 kms away) is Masobra, which is fast losing itself to become an extension of Shimla. It is only a matter of time therefore, that the emerald green muse of Lord Curzon’s life, will turn to patches of grey ugly buildings.

It is always best to walk around the mountain in Naldehra, in a circular movement around the Golf Course instead of talking a horse, on two grounds – animal consciousness as well as experiencing a lovely long walk around the mountain and doing a little steep climbing too.

HPTDC has its hotel in Naldehra – The Golf Glade (Tel: 0177-2747809, 2747739, Email: naldehra@hptdc.in; Price: Rs 1600 – 6500 plus taxes)

Please view more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/117421198519404762292/Naldehra#