Christmas at Dharamsala Dec 2008

By Shoba Mohan

The colloquially correct way of saying Mcleod Ganj is “ Mcload Ganj” . That’s what people call this tiny little hill town granted to the Tibetans as their haven by the Indian Government. Dharamshala in the Kangra region of Himachal is divided as upper Dhramshala and Lower Dharamshala. Hundreds of migrants forced out of Tibet have settled around Upper Dharamshala at a height of 1700 mts , a virtual relocation complete with a government in exile, secretariat , monasteries and flourishing businesses. The main town is a series of criss-cross sloping streets that extend from the Temple and Residence of HH Dalai Lama to the main chowk ( square ) right at the beginning of the town. From the square the roads also extend out towards Naddi and Bhagsu on one side and down to the Kotwali Bazaar and lower Dhramshala on the other.

Mcleod Ganj especially during milder winter months upto December end and early January is a coveted holiday destination for many Indians as well as foreign visitors. For Indians the climate of Mcleod Ganj in the vicinity of the Dhauladhar ranges of the Himalayas make it an ideal vacation while the westerners come here seeking the presence of HH Dalai Lama , monasteries and Tibetan learning centres. For all visitors the rows of books shops, cafes and restaurants are great places to hang out. There is a certain trance like element walking those lanes in and around the Dalai Lama’s temple. Cafe’s playing music, Tibetan women chatting away, momos steaming by the side of the road, a huge brown woolly dog flopped below the popcorn cart, monks in animated conversation under the suns lengthening shadows, the prayer wheels spinning in slow motion till another reverent hand passes over .......

A three day trip to Mcleod Ganj was accomplished with the primary intent of attending the mid night mass on Christmas eve at the Church of St.John’s in the wilderness. On a previous visit in August with a friend , we imagined how it would be to be a part of the Christmas eve celebrations. And lo ! something planned that long back was actually put into action and we boarded the Jammu Mail on the Dec 23 in good time for Carol singing at St. John’s on the Dec 24. The biting cold weather of Mcleod Ganj would not allow for a mid night mass in the real sense so Father Kunjumon called for a more appropriate Mass at 7 in the evening. The church was packed to capacity with people from all nationalities, infact the choir group was a wonderfully varied group who passed out the candles and photo copies of some popular carols. To the accompanying notes of a violin they sang beautifully, beginning with “Silent Night “. In between the local choir group joined in with a few songs in Hindi. Biting cold with the anticipation of snow, a quick tea and biscuit was to be our after-mass treat and we made it back through the winding roads back to Glenmoor Cottages.

Glenmoor Cottages is a short distance from the main square of Mcleod Ganj and through the dense well preserved deodar forest you would walk 15 minutes uphill right up to your big cottage behind Om Villa – the owners residence. A compact estate spread along the mountain side, Glenmoor is Dharamshala’s best accommodation if you are not too caught up about wanting to stay in town or by the temple. 3 Small cottages ideal for a couple with small children and 2 large cottages best if you have grown up kids and a couple of beds only with bathroom to share for those looking for a deal is the limited accommodation that Glenmoor provides. Rooms are neat and correct, I mean a small sit out, curtains, attached bathrooms, piping hot water, carpeted ( not the fluffy smelly kinds that you so often find in hill hotels but a thin red layer to keep the chill off the floors ) , table, chairs, bed side lights, extra blankets....... and anything you want is just a phone call away. What’s more it is wi-fi enabled but I recommend you strictly keep that laptop away and enjoy the beautiful outdoors – the sunrise and sunset over the lush deodars..... its seems so far away from city dust, that you should savour the moment.

In the end the trip turned out to be a “chiller” – hours of badminton outdoors , listening to fabulous hill stories from Ajaiji ( who owns Glenmoor ), living from meal to meal and coffee to coffee while we discovered one restaurant after another – Jimmy’s ( Italian ) , Moonpeak and Sambhala ( cafe ) , Pemathang ( pizza’s and salads ) , Lungta ( for a Japanese thali and snow ball cookies ). The one day we decided to do some sightseeing ended up to be another culinary visit to Taragarh Palace where the boys got hooked to hill country cricket with the staff of the hotel. By the time they were threatened out of their game to visit the Sarin’s at Tara Villa and drive back to Glenmoor, the stars were out. A moment that thrilled us ( amateur photographers and enthusiastic explorers ) is a forced stop at a Kangra Railway Crossing – the toy train emerging around a bend in the middle of a field with the vanilla ice cream topped mountains in the background. The best photographer amongst us ( armed with a near professional camera and eye for frames ) got some memorable shots.

And then the drive back to Pathankot railway station stopping by at Kotwali bazaar to pick up a CD of ‘Dostana’ and we “shut up and bounced” all the way back to the station, warning the driver to take it easy time and again. I must mention here that most mountain drivers drive like crazy – having travelled alone, in groups , with fellow women travellers I am still to find one who is not winding down the convoluted roads as if his tail is on fire. Anyway we reached safe, well in time to have a fulfilling dinner at the “Khalsa Hindu Dhaba” – I did mention we lived from meal to meal on this trip !

The train ride back was uneventful except for the usual attempt at juggling seats with fellow passengers so that our group could have berths together. This time we were lucky, a young couple willingly gave up their bay seats in exchange for the two seats we had at the end of the coach. And yes the train was a few hours late and when we finally slid to a halt at Old Delhi Railway Station it was close to noon.