From Delhi To Pathankot To Dharmsala To Palampur To Being Zapped To Sherab Ling

Himachal Pradesh

The Sleeper Train

The sleeper train to Pathankot was another first for me, even in Europe I had not taken an overnight train so I was really excited. The beds on the train and the train itself were everything I expected and actually probably a bit nicer.

While at Old Delhi train station we had our entourage of very heavy luggage filled with wines, whiskies, too many clothes, and just the usual belongings. We didn’t hire a Sikh to help us to the carriage but we should’ve because one of our bags was almost 100 pounds. I was wondering how one of those lil’ Sikhs will carry our bag on top of their head, it’s amazing how they can manage to carry anything on their heads.

Once we were situated on the train, Ben showed me the mini parantha’s with curried potatoes served-up right next to the train. The way they cooked the paranthas was truly humanly-mechanical and was just a show in itself. The cook had his systems down, tossing the little piece of dough high in the air and it landing perfectly on the grill. The home-made plates he served our curried vegetables to dip the parantha was made out recycled cardboard like the one a 12 pack of Diet Coke comes in at the supermarket. No tissues to clean our mess, because tissues are scarce in India not like how we just waste them in America. So just eating our dinner was just a fun experience trying to manage the hot ingredients spilling, the mess as a result and then trying to just clean our hands, or rather rubbing it into our clothes or just making a nice lotion out of it!

On the train we had company from a very cute Indian family traveling to north also. They had two little girls that were really shy at first but later became really playful playing little tricks on Ben while he was trying to sleep on the train. The family had brought their own dinner - Dahl, Curry, Paneer, Basmati Rice - and some other goodies all contained in metal camping-like canisters I’ve never seen before. The family was really generous and had offered us to try some of their food but of course we had already eaten our hearts out on some train station food a half an hour before.

It was great getting intimate with an Indian family and learning what they do in Delhi and more about their lives. For this experience and actually during most of the trip in India I had many flashbacks of Italy and how the two cultures are very similar in their way of living, sense of brotherhood, and strong family ties. Indians were very welcoming and compassionate, just like my Italians.

After getting chatty with the family and everyone getting ready for bed, tucking into their thin bed sheets over the hard vinyl surface of the train beds, I pulled out my 998 page novel “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts and soon began to rock away into the north of India.

Palampur

About 6 in the morning, when the sun was just starting to rise, Ben and I woke up and stood outside an open train door to see the beauty of the misty fields and the early morning life of the north. It was really something special and was completely not what I had expected. Goods Carrier trucks alongside the roads of dense green fields of crops, backyards of homes along the tracks with chickens howling into the early morning… This was India.

After we got off the train in Pathankot, we headed by car through the marijuana infested land of Punjab and into the rolling winding hills of the Himachal Pradesh state. We stopped through Palampur, picked up a shawl from a local shop and bought some goat at the local meat market. This local meat market in Palampur consisted of a few stands with vendors sitting in the company of a dead goat dangling from their shop’s ceiling. With bugs flying around the area and the wonderful scent of blood in the air Joanne and Ben carefully chose which shop to purchase the mutton and watch the spectacle of them slice it apart.

The entire slicing of the goat was very interesting as the butcher had used the space in between his toes to hold the knife as he tore away the skin of the carcus. Blood everywhere and goat-bit-pieces too, he carefully chopped and wrapped the pieces into newspaper and put it in a plastic bag and handed it to us.

In Palampur, I really experienced a north Indian city without the western tourists flocking (compared to Dharamsala). There were really dated and ‘vintaged-out’ fruit and veggie shops, shawl sellers, good looking Kashmiris loitering, and a fizzy lemon drink place I will never forget. Everything was so new and so intense, I can’t even begin to recapture the experience or tell people about it… It was something special.

The Roads Of Himachal Pradesh

Taking a sports utility vehicle from the Pathankot train station through Palampur to Dharamsala to Sherab Ling was definitely a FIRST for me! I’ve never been more scared in my life, but of course my company (who have been here many times before) were relaxed like airplane stewards in extreme turbulence. Extreme turbulence doesn’t even come close to describing the intensity of my nervous system while doing the drive up in Himachal Pradesh, it was crazy.

To put the roads into detail.. Imagine huge “goods carrier” trucks that kick up dirt and blow out thick black smog passing in the right lanes then blocking your view of living another day, then add a cow in the road every now and then, turn up the Indian music a little louder, then pass other vehicles around blind windy corners, add some rain, a monkey or two crossing the street, a bunch of sharp turns, guard rails? (you’re dreaming!), people on the side of the streets waiting to cross, everyone honking for any reason repeatedly, no seat belts, the driver high on betelnut paan, and just include about every dangerous thing you want to add into the mix… It was crazy.

So while I sat in fear of my life (because this was a first time for me). My travelmates sure slept like they were flying first class on Singapore Airlines, for real!

Zapped By The Karmapa

After Pathankot, we really lucked out and was able to meet the His Holiness the Karmapa who was under house arrest in a nearby village. At first I was not certain who was who in the Tibetan Buddhist scene because I was fairly new and to be honest it took me a few times to even remember the name “The Karmapa”. Well now that I am completely schooled’ on who is who from the great people I had met while traveling I now know who this important political figure is!

Anyhow, so this Karmapa, (the REAL Karmapa and the one recognized by the Dalai Lama) is placed under house arrest because he had fled from Tibet years ago. To control his interests, China has forced him under house arrest by Indian military. There is a FAKE Karmapa in which has been appointed by the Chinese government and is NOT recognized by the Dalai Lama. This FAKE Karmapa has political control of the money of Tibet and other political powers in which have corrupted the Chinese rule and take-over of Tibet. The FAKE Karmapa is a true imposture and it VERY sad to see the West and the rest of the world uneducatingly adopt him as the REAL thing as he is only a corrupt political figure appointed by China and does not have an ties to the real Tibetan Buddhist faith.

The REAL Karmapa, the one in which I received a blessing from is a young man only 21 years old and is a reincarnated lama whose lineage dates past the Dalai Lama’s lineage. The Karmapa is known to have some sort of “zapping” powers and an energetic aura about him that make him the great person he is acclaimed to be.

When going to the Karmapa’s monastery, Ben and Joanna had noticed changes to the new buildings that were constructed and the way in which the Karmapa had been treated. Me being a newbie, I certainly did not notice much. They noticed that instead of giving the Karmapa the respect he deserves they held the visitation is a small room in the monastery which was apparently a small dressing room opposed to the main area giving His Holiness the grandiose he deserves. Apparently the way he is treated is a concern because he is monitored like a little child.

Well going into this room I stood in a long line with some other Ingies(Westerners) practitioners, monks of the Dharma (Tibetan Buddhist faith), and Tibetan refugees most of which were seniors. One by one with passports in our hands we waited patiently in the presence of His Holiness and an Indian Military guard with a gun. I was briefed by Joanna and Ben how to go about making an “offering” with the white cloth but I was so nervous because I had no idea what to do that I walked into the room and did it the wrong way after having practiced it many times outside. When I walked into the room, I made my offering completely the wrong way and he handed me his blessing in which I had taken from his hand. I was really nervous during the visitation and actually had a good glimpse at His Holiness but it was definitely hard. After I walked out of the room, I noticed this weird feeling I had in my body and it felt similar to goosebumps but in a different way. I didn’t really admit it to anyone because I though it was strange but later I learned that he actually has powers to make you feel “zapped”… And I sure was “zapped”.

Ben had asked me how it was and of course I responded “it was good”, but in the back of my head I had certainly felt some type of energetic connection from the visit with His Holiness.

First Impressions of Dharmsala

From the Karmapa’s residence we had finally got to one of our destinations, Dharamsala. Dharamsala is where the Dalai Lama lives and is sometimes referred to a “Little Lasa” as it is the epicenter for exiled Tibet. Dharamsala is also a popular destination for those looking to practice or just be around the spiritual presence of His Holiness and the other important figures.

We stopped and dropped some wine off (which we had smuggled in from Bangkok) to a very good friend of Ben, Jane. Jane has lived in Dharamsala for around 15 years and is really keen on the political conflict situation, history, and the pursuit of returning Tibet to Tibet. Her apartment in the hills was quite cozy with a small kitchen decorated in spices and a living room with a library full of informative books on Tibetan history and photography. She was quite surprised to see Ben as it has been many years since he last visited and actually at first I wasn’t sure if she was happy to see him at all since she was so shocked. Well Jane provided quite the welcome and we had many more occasions where we got to know each other such as dinners, walks, etc. She even was a great resource for learning about the current situation and also introduced us to a gentleman from Spain who has brought charges of genocide against former Chinese President Jiang Zemin! More

After meeting with Jane we had met other friends along the way, especially Gupta G from Ways Tours & Travels who had coordinated most of the travel from Delhi onto Sherab Ling and Dharamsala. Gupta G had one tooth missing in the front and smoked cigarettes non-stop, a real cool guy and quite popular in town for travel arrangements. When we arrived at Gupta G’s Ben gave him some whiskey we sneaked in from Bangkok. In India, wine and liquor (especially Whiskey) is sometimes worth more than money or even gold… Especially the good stuff. So Gupta was quite happy to see a new bottle and also to see Ben, who had worked with him years before at the travel agency.

The Shits

After Gupta G’s, I felt the urge to splurge and I wasn’t sure where. Joanna and Ben were hungry but I needed to really go’. So I was warned about poo-ing in India and just expected to be a man and use my hand’ and was forced to in some bathroom without any toilet paper. It was my first orientation to the trip I had expected, but kinda fun in that sick sorta way. Now using my left hand sure would’ve been the wrong thing to do… I was real-Indian now. Afterwards I had some good ole’ curry!..ha.

To Sherab Ling

After a quick lunch of delicious cultured yogurt, Parantha (potato pancake), Indian pickled chutney and warm chai we finally headed 2 hours to Sherab Ling.

Sherab Ling is a monastery where Ben had been a monk for 2 years and is definitely off the beaten track so much that actually the broken roads to get there were very rocky. Seeing prayer flags casted alongside the hillside of trees that had been tapped for sap (to make glue), the sun gleamed over the cascade of broken clouds and onto the golden roof of the Sherab Ling monastery, we finally arrived.