Manisha Gangahar
Under sweltering sun and caressing breeze to pat, her determined footsteps defied the wrinkles of her face, the beads of her rosary moved still swifter, her mind oblivious to the mundane details of the world around, an unswerving devotion gets better and she keeps climbing up. For 80-year-old Tshultrim Lhamo, the steep and craggy, four to five hour trek to Taktshang Goemba, popularly known as the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, was a matter of pure belief.
“I wanted to do it, had to do it once in my lifetime, it had been delayed for too long, but I knew one day it had to come my way,” she says, with a mysterious but stoic smile and yet another step upward.
The trek begins about 9 km north of Paro town in Bhutan, which is already at 7,000 ft while the Tiger’s Nest Monastery is located at 10,240 ft, on the side of a Himalayan mountain. The elevation is of about 3,000 ft in a short span of only 4 km. The trail, as it climbs into a pine forest, is punctuated by several chortens and prayer flags giving company to baffled hikers.
Lhamo takes a much-required breather and uses this opportunity to narrate the legend: Guru Rinpoche, also known as Guru Padmadambhav, flew to the site as the wrathful Dorje Drolo, one of his eight manifestations, on the back of a tigress, a form assumed by his consort Yeshe Tsogyal, to subdue local demon, Singye Samdrup. He then meditated for several months in a cave. It is said when the monastery was first built, it was anchored to the cliff by the hair of khandroma, female celestial beings. It got the name ‘Taktshang’, which means ‘Tiger’s Lair’, when people saw a tigress residing in one of the caves. Thus, Taktshang Goemba is one of the most venerated pilgrimages among the Buddhists. Is it just about faith? Or is it merely ticking yet another in the list of tourist destinations of Bhutan or accepting an open challenge of obscure steeps stubbornly. That much more lies between these two, perhaps, forms quite an apt reply to this question: “what is the need to do it; why not sit in a café with a great ambience and just watch it on LED screen?” The walk up is certainly satiating — the mountains hugging close, the clouds cuddling, the melody of the fluttering flags along the terrain, the sublimity of the contrast between the greens and the rocky stretches, the glossy peculiar blue expanse.
However tough but limited distance walked has an option to be covered by getting on a horseback, but if not so then one must be out of the horses’ path or one is quite likely to be thrown off and down. It is not before the half way, at the cafeteria, that the first glimpse of Tiger’s Nest gratifies the trekker. Offering exhausted trekkers a fixed menu with a limited choice, basic conveniences and benches to stretch and relax, the cafeteria has a stunning view restoring frayed human stamina.
At the very last leg of the trail leading to the monastery, there’s a series of some 800 cold stone steps, certainly wait to test your fitness level. The conquest is undoubtedly rewarding. A 200-foot-tall waterfall, which drops into a sacred pool under the bridge, is rather exquisite. The chill and the wind are piercing at this point, but who cares when what lies ahead is “one of the sacred places of a lifetime” as the National Geographic magazine describes it.. Inside is absolute and overbearing calm, surprisingly cozy, and certainly otherworldly.
The nine sacred caves — the one where Guru Padmasambhava meditated is opened only once a year during a ceremony — that make up the monastery have stupas and statues, one that of sitting Padmasambhava. The raw interiors are immensely enticing and completely engrossing. The incense sticks and lighted butter lamps add to the ethereal experience of being inside, an absolute privilege. Be it a legend or just a myth, deep faith or practicing belief, there is no denying that the place has an indelible effect on one’s being.
Fact File
- Monastery timings: 8 am to 1pm and 2 pm to 6 pm.
- A taxi will drop you at the parking base of the trek.
- A ticket of Rs 500 must be purchased at the base.
- It is advisable to take a stick available on rent for Rs 50 to help climbing. Horse ride is available only up till the cafeteria, and not for return.
- Walk light, carry water and some nuggets.
- No gadgets, cameras, mobiles or backpack are allowed inside the monastery.
- Dress appropriately.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2Y3mfYg
via Today’s News Headlines
No comments: