Eating and meditating (and working) were my primary occupations in McLeod Ganj over the last 3 months, but for me the real richness of this crazy friendly big village were the people and animals and the special moments of beauty.
Favourite beggar
Meet Shara - always neatly turned out, politely chatty, and ready with a cheery greeting. Like all the beggars in McLeod, she is southern Hindi, not Tibetan; unlike many of the other beggars, she isn't disabled or old or disadvantaged. Her professional “I’m a beggar, it’s my job,” positive attitude ensured a daily donation of 10 Rs from me (and many others) and has enabled her to bring up two adult children to the point where her daughter starts nursing college this year.
Favourite street dog
The three-legged collie cross who lives on the bit of Tipa Road where my guest house stairs meet the roadway is a lucky survivor of her obsession with chasing moving cars, thanks to Dharamsala Animal Rescue who organised the amputation of her right rear leg after being run over, and nursed her back to health. She spends her days going for brisk walks up to Dharamkot, napping on the bottom of our stairs and, yes, still obsessively chasing and barking at moving cars.
Favourite boss
The man who made it all possible, Geshe Lhakdor (Geshe-la) is the Director of the Tibetan Library of Works and Archives who said I could come and volunteer at the Library if I agreed to come for three months rather than just drop in for October. Previously His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s travelling interpreter, and a very senior monk, he is breezy and urbane, with a big strong handshake and a smile a mile wide.
Favourite farm animal encountered on my walk to work
My foot commute through McLeod, along the kora and down the cow-pat encrusted hairpin turns of Jogiwara Road was always enlivened by animal and human beings. Cows, buffalo, calves, mules delivering building materials, street dogs, more street dogs. Monks, nuns, nomads, beggars, dharma dudes, chai wallahs. Every little piece of animal and human jigsaw that makes up this town.
I met this local Ghadi tribe lady the morning after a wild storm, during which a tree had fallen from the slope above and poleaxed straight into the roof of her house on a track above the Library. But her priority after three days of rain was to sit in the sun and feed home-made roti to her favourite speckled hen.
Second favourite wild animal
Love those langurs! Imagine a Labrador bounding down a cliff face then shooting up a tree trunk and calmly and gracefully eating leaves while seated on a thin branch while the tourist market stall crowd seethes below. That’s what great big langur monkeys do best, as well as seriously putting the wind up the smaller and frenetically aggressive macaques (the other reason I really like langurs).
My actual favourite wild animal is the mongoose, but even though we were nose to whiffling whisker a couple of times on the kora, I never managed to get a photo of one.
Favourite spectacular but exhausting spot to have a cup of tea
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| Top spot for a cuppa |
The 4-hour stoney hike up to the Triund saddle and beyond to Snow Line and the pass is a popular mountain walk and overnight chilly camping spot. Popular with foreigners and unfortunately also with unprepared groups of Indian tourists who are commonly encountered sauntering up with 30 minutes to go before sunset, with a can of cold drink and a bottle of scotch as their provisions, and entirely unsuitable footwear. They also carry hand bags (the girls) and loud Bluetooth speakers (the boys) and drop litter all the way up and down.
Despite this, I recommend it 100% as a breathtaking spot to have a tiny cup of overpriced chai.
Favourite (out of many) sunset viewing spot
McLeod is worth visiting just to experience a heart-stopping beautiful sunset every night from somewhere different. But the roof of the Gyudmed Monastery in the heart of McLeod is my favourite. Thanks McLeod.
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