Friday, February 19, 2010

Tso Pema Days 1-3 Feb 2010

Day 1 14th Feb

Today begins as a blur. Off to Delhi airport at 4.30 am … luckily after all the check in & security cues there is still time for a very strong coffee before flying to Bhuntar.

Arrive in Tso Pema at lunchtime. The street is full of Losar (new year) pilgrims saying their prayers as they circle the lake. The sun is shining brightly.

Walk with Sonam to visit his wife who is sick in bed. Their landlady has installed a couple of other people in the bedroom & hallway so their once beautiful flat is now a minor hell realm. They and all their possessions are cramped in the lounge room which the new tenants walk through to use the bathroom or kitchen but they are stuck there til the peak season finishes & there are other flats available to rent…no wonder she is sick I can only stand it for half an hour.

Back at the lake I meet Dr Dorjee’s widow. The pain of her grief is so tangible … she comes back to my room to cry and tell me all the details of his passing. Feel so inadequate in the face of her suffering but comfort her as best as I can. She dreams of him every night & can’t believe he is gone, neither can I.

Phew, time for a kora (circumambulation) Most of the small Tibetan shops & street stalls are closed for their annual holiday & I don’t see any one familiar. Then a shriek as Lhakar sees me, she is so happy, her daughter is here for school holidays. I haven’t seen Tashi Lhamo since she started boarding school four years ago & its wonderful to see how much she has grown and how well & happy she is. Lhakar is so proud, she tells me Tashi Lhamo is the first girl in her family ever to go to school. They invite me for dinner, homemade noodle soup, made with love, yum.

Day 2 15th Feb

Wake up at 3am shivering, already wearing my jumper so put on hat & coat & crawl back under the blankets. Breakfast at Kora Café inc very strong Indian coffee. Vijay & his staff are always so happy & friendly it’s a great way to start the day. Most of the day spent discussing the school & what to do now. Fortunately his wife is very keen to continue Dr Dorjee’s vision of providing nursery age kids with a valuable beginning to school life. She plans to open again after winter vacation on 2nd March & then we will see how many students for 2010 (probably around 50). The young monks who also attending the school are ringing her regularly, keen to begin again.

Back to their house for dinner with Ngawang Phagpa, the monk who works tirelessly for the school. Dr Dorjee’s young son is surprisingly affectionate, he tells me how much he misses his father & even wants a cuddle! I’m quite surprised as he used to just poke his tongue out at me. His mum says he wakes up every morning crying & scared she has died in the night.

Day 3 16th Feb

Even though I go to bed wearing a jumper, scarf, hat & coat I wake again at 3 shivering. I get up and make some tea to warm me.

Thakpa’s shop is open again & he comes to collect all the parcels Helen sent with me. I go to their house for lunch & his young son is having a great time playing with all the toy cars she sent him.

Meet the nurse from the Health Centre & hear all the sickness & accidents news. Nana has broken her hip, Gen Jinpa has been diagnosed with throat cancer, Tulku Choying Rangdrol has something wrong that the hospital in Mandi cant diagnose. They think it is from him suffering extended torture before his escape to India. Tenpa who taught monks at a gonpa here has severe liver damage & cant get out of bed. Thanks to sponsors kindness we arrange to buy some more basic medicine for the health centre.

Have dinner with the family from Pundah Café. So nice to be with a happy healthy family. They show me a video of last year losar celebration in Lhasa & tell me all the stories from their family. Their young daughter is also home for holidays, I haven’t seen her for years, she grows more & more beautiful & speaks very good English now. She was one of the first children here to be sponsored but last year her sponsor didn’t reply … I hope I can find her a new sponsor but she is 12 now & its always harder to find for the older children. She plans to become a doctor & I’m sure she is capable. They offer me orange wine, strange taste but warming!

Lhakar & Tashi Lhamo



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