15th Feb 2008

My Secret Trip

Part I

I finally made it. My honeymoon trip with just me and my self. I'm soaking in every moment of this rickety bus ride I just hopped into. I'm 12 hours and 514 Kilometers away from Little Lhasa, Mcleodgunj, Dharamsala.

I look at some of life's most amazing moments and think, it would have never happened had I not just decided on that one impulse. Just like this afternoon, I heard a beautiful tibetan song online and something inside me said, "Just pack your bag and Go! You're not ever going to get this moment again!" And I listened.


Part II

In the wee hours of the morning, I open my eyes. Excited, I look outside through the glass window of my bus. The loose glass windows rattle against the frame giving the whole journey this loud buzz. I press it to stop it from shaking, so I can have a moment's silence. At first I can't see too well. The structures look like mountains. Hurriedly, I rummage through my bag to find my glasses to bring my vision to zero power. and there it is. Snow capped mountains glistening in the first rays of daylight! I just freeze, holding on to the shaking glass windows, pressing my face close to the glass to get a better view, ignoring the fog my breath creates on it... and not wanting anyone to take this moment that is purely mine.

With the steep winding turns as the bus climbs the mountain in full throttle, I can't take my eyes off what surrounds me. Like a starved child, I gorge at the beauty. Hills and slopes strewn with deodars and pines, gushing river streams and gigantic bolders sitting peacefully in the cold white force, fields of yellow flowers and green grass, brightly painted quaint houses in the typical tibetan colors of red, blue, yellow, green and white. And then i look beyond...there are the mountains. Like gods overlooking this heavenly valley. Unconciously I bow to them in deep reverence. I secretly smile and tell myself, "Welcome to Dharamsala!"

Part III

Its quiet here. I wish I could watch these mountains when they first came into existence. How would it have looked> A big fountain of rock and lava exploding into life! Their jagged form gushing into the sky, freezing into gigantic beings, each trying harder than the other to touch the sky!

Eagles glide high up above. Their lazy flight amazes me. It's almost as if they've slept while flying... the breeze taking them in their sleep to untouched beauty. It looks like a vacation spot for them. I think of how we go looking for beaches to surf over water... here they are, surfing the skies in the breathtaking beauty. Looking longingly at the mountains, I'm deciding, tomorrow i'll go touch that snow. Maybe even eat some.

Part IV

Tseng is his name. He is 24. He runs his own road side CD shop. He sells a tasteful collection of Tibetan music (both vocal and instrumental) and indian instrumental and lounge. I buy 2 CD's from him. There's something about how happy and peaceful he is that strikes me. I'm reminded of an ancient Tao proverb which when translated into English means, "Before enlightenment chopping wood and carrying water, after enlightenment chopping wood and carrying water." There are some people we meet who have reached a level of realization that only a few ever reach, simply because most people are always in the pursuit of something or the other, while really missing the main point. The simple truth that if you cannot be happy this very moment, you never will.

Tseng is one such man. He bobs his head to some funky beats in this CD he's playing right now. His shop is about 10 feet in width and 6 feet in height on the wall of the footpath. Everyday he stacks his CD's against the wall and places an old music system on top of it to pay his CD's. When the day is over, he removes it neatly and it looks as if nothing existed in that corner. He has long hair, both his ears are pierced with silver rings, he wears loose jeans and a dirty sweater. There's something peaceful about his smile.

He tells me about his life. He studied till 5th grade. That's where he learnt his english. While he was in school he always longed to go out in the street. There was so much excitement in that life. and he shrugs saying "and look at where i am today, on the streets!This is what i dreamed of and this is where I am." He tells me, "I don't need to go to Europe and America, people from those countries come to me to see me and buy my music!" he laughs.

His mom left him and his dad for an Italian man and settled in Italy. He says, "People want to fly and so I let her fly away."

Tseng is Tibetan. Born in India. the son of a refugee couple who ran away from Tibet due to the invasion of the chinese and the human rights violation. I suddenly want to know what his views are and through the loud music I almost shout "Do you think Tibet will ever be free?"
I look eagerly at his face and he replies as casually as he might have if I'd asked about the weather, and says, "Sure! Why not?"

Just as I look away in a reverie, he says, "I was born in India, but I'm going to die in Tibet. That's where my body will rest."

Part V

Coming up...