Without a Care in the World!

I have visited some monasteries in my travels but there was one experience that came close to being truly spiritual. ‘Spiritual’ might mean different things for different people but for me it is a moment when your entire being brims with a sense of beauty, happiness and peace. This moment of perfect tranquillity was outside a small temple in Punakha, in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Chimi Lhakhang is the temple dedicated to the Divine Mad Monk of Bhutan, Drukpa Kuenley. He is the most popular of all saints of Bhutan and it is supposedly his phallus adorning the walls and crowding the gift shops of this fascinating country.

As I walked through the villages of Sosokha and Yuwakha to reach this most beautiful of temples, I was beginning to believe in the powers of fertility of Lama Drupa Kuenley from the lush fields surrounding me. Our guide, Raj told us that these were some of the most prosperous villages in Bhutan and the locals attribute this magic to the jinlab (blessings) of the monk!

Once we reached the top of the hillock where the temple is perched I was expecting to see more elaborate phalluses with even more ingenious variations and designs, but was surprised to find a rather simple monastery with a few monks praying inside. The only sign of this being the fertility temple was the number of couples with babies who had come to offer thanks to Lama Drukpa for his blessings and ask the monks to name their child.

As amazing as monasteries can be, there is only so much praying that I can take, so I decided to skip the chanting inside and sat under a tree outside to enjoy the breathtaking natural beauty of the place. It was windy, and the prayer flags were fluttering audibly. Suddenly the wind carried an ecstatic laughter to my ears and I turned to notice two impish li’l monk boys who had decided to bunk the prayers inside and were instead giggling uncontrollably, engrossed in play. A large piece of canvas was bellowing in the wind and the two boys were holding its ends and struggling against the mighty winds dragging them. They tumbled and fell, and with great glee got up again only to fall all over themselves!

A Prayer!

Their laughter was infectious and for one moment I wanted to let go of all inhibitions and join in their game. But shy, I hid behind my camera and caught that moment of pure unfettered joy in a few pictures; pictures that will forever remind me of the happiness and peace I felt watching those two children tumbling in the grass, frolicking with the wind and laughing without a care in the world!

I wondered if actually this was a more powerful prayer than the chanting inside, and how appropriate to be so blissful at a temple dedicated to the Divine Mad Monk. I could just imagine him smiling at the boys, or maybe he was the wind making them roll over and stumble, or the piece of canvas, or the inner eye of the wary traveller who found a moment of bliss here!

Contributed By: Saumya Agarwal, 31 August, 2010

Saumya travelled to Bhutan in March of 2010 as the WOW Buddy!

When WOW painted Lake Nakuru Pink!

WOW girls at the beautiful lake Nakuru in Kenya! The flamingos were the high point of the trip as you can tell by the smiles all around!

Bhakti Sharma’s story is a story of two women with great talent, grit and extraordinary determination to overcome obstacles. This 20 something girl has gone across the seven seas, quite literally! She is only the second woman to swim across the dangerous waters of the Arctic Ocean, and she says she would not have been able to do so without the support of her mother. Kudos to both mother and daughter, and hope she finds the funding to cross her final challenge, the Atlantic Ocean!

Read the original TOI article here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/It-was-five-degrees-in-Arctic-Ocean/articleshow/6322056.cms

And visit her website: http://bhaktisharma.com/site/

The narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk come alive during Ramzaan. The streets, dusty and tired by day, are lit up once the sun sets, and the end of the fasting day is marked by the smells of spices and treats, both sweet and savoury. For the gourmand the street food on offer can be a real delight. Post iftar, which is the ritual fast breaking meal, the market comes alive as carts full of delicacies jostle for space and families come out to meet friends and feast.

As I walked into the familiar gali which houses Karim’s, I could barely recognize it as carts with mounds of Sevaiyyan lined the main street. I resisted the tempting familiarity of Karim’s and insisted on trying something new in the smaller eateries, and foremost on my mind was NIHARI!

Nihari, taditionally available in the wee morning hours, can be found in some of the by-lanes through the night. This of course is made of beef but the lamb version is available at bigger restaurants. I hugely recommend both!

No festivity is complete without sweets!

So i tried the Phirni at Jawahar’s. I polished off two kullads (small clay pots) and still wanted more.

And In true festive spirit, Sevaiyyan, traditionally consumed in the morning, was made made on the spot and will be for you as well, as long as you smile and request any of the small shops that also serve delicious butter milk!

Apart from the food there is a lot more to tempt the wanderer.

The beautiful Jama Masjid with its dimly lit minarets and domes, the shimmering lights festooning the market, the streets swelling with people at midnight and the myriad characters that this oldest part of Delhi hides; are all reasons for you to head out and explore this wonder right next to you.

Timing: 8.00 p.m. to 2.00 a.m. (Don’t think its too late for once you get there you will be surprised by the bustle!)

Must try: The Food!

Travel advisory: Go in a group and dress in keeping with the area’s sensibilities. I recommend kurta, jeans and sneakers, for all the walking!

Remember: Ramadan period ends around the 9th of September this year.

Apologies to the non-dilli wallahs, but I am trying to gather stories from other places as well. So write in and let me know whats special about your city and I’ll share it with the rest of our WOW girl gang!

Stay Pink and Footloose!

]]> http://wowsumitra.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=222 0 http://wowsumitra.com/blog/?p=216 http://wowsumitra.com/blog/?p=216#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:22:48 +0000 Sumitra http://wowsumitra.com/blog/?p=216

An excited group of WOW Women left for the Valley of Flowers today! Have a great trip girls and bring back lots of pics and awesome memories!

WOW is ready to give back to the destination which gave us innumerable memorable holidays and adventures. Ladakh, recently devastated by a freak flood is in desperate need of our support. Mr. Anshu Gupta, the founder director of Goonj- an NGO involved with relief work in Ladakh visited the area to assess for himself the extent of the damage and the exact nature of relief required. I am pasting the photos he took and the situation can be best described in his words…

Dear Friends,

Here I have posted pictures from my recent visit to Leh after the cloud burst disaster. The area is certainly devastated – financially, geographically and more importantly psychologically. Imagine a place known for dry mountains and mud houses, where people had never seen rain water in the lanes. All they had seen was the melted water from the glaciers. In comparison to other disasters in the past, the number of people affected might sound less but in a population of around 20,000, 200 recovered dead bodies, 500 missing people, hundreds of houses totally crumbled, heavy loss to crop, cattle and property is not a small loss.  Refer- http://goonj.org/leh%20ppt1.pdf

Many families have been wiped of completely; even the dead bodies are still under the 6- 7 ft. of mud, which suddenly entered their homes as they were sleeping.

Like in many past disasters, GOONJ will be working through local people/partners and will be focusing on gap areas. The prime concern is the upcoming winter. In winters the temperature of Leh goes down to -20 degree centigrade and this time due to lack of homes its going to be quite a miserable time. There is also a bigger question of food security as the affected people have lost the stocks they created to use in the 6 months of harsh winters..

There are certain specific requirements, which are listed below. As the transportation cost is really high for this area it’ll not be feasible to collect material all across and transport. We are therefore planning to do essential purchases from nearby cities.

Material support

• Dry ration- Rice, pulses, biscuits, packed eatables
• Basic medicines
• Good quality woolen and blankets
• Tarpaulins and thick plastic sheets
• Export surplus/ Cotton cloth for making sanitary napkins
• Cooking and water storage utensils/buckets
• School material- toys & games, stationary, notebooks etc.
• Lanterns, candles, matchbox, torch & batteries

(For the list of collection centers, please log on to www.goonj.org)

Logistical support

* Transport support to reach the material to affected areas

* Space for collection centers

* Facilities for local pickups

* Transportation of material from different cities to GOONJ processing centers in a few cities.

Financial support-

Donations in India- Please send cash/cheque/draft in the name of GOONJ and send it to GOONJ.., J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi- 76 (Kindly send your full name, address & Pan No. with the contribution for receipt/accounting purpose. (All donations to GOONJ in India are tax exempted u/s 80 G of IT act.)

Overseas donation can reach us through Cheque (in the name of GOONJ with your full particulars) or by wire transfer with an information on ruchikagoonj@gmail.com

Rotate it (valid only for overseas donations) through Wacovia Bank, New York swift code- 2000193008933, GOONJ, A/C No- 2591101004644
Bank- Canara Bank, H block, market Sarita Vihar, New Delhi- 76
Swift Code- CNRBINBBDFS

Contact- GOONJ

H.O Delhi- J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi- 76 Tel.- 011-26972351, 41401216 E-mail- mailgoonj@gmail.com

To keep the logistics low cost, GOONJ will be sending material only from Delhi.

Do spread the word, talk to your friends & relatives, help us to organise campaigns in the offices, residential areas and schools.

Dear wanderers, I came across a poem which made me think, me want to go to AFRICA! Sharing it with you guys…

http://www.waynevisser.com/poem_i_know_a_place_in_africa.htm

I love Turkish coffee and its one experience I really look forward to on any of my trips to Turkey.

As I enter the alleys of Istanbul my nose eagerly awaits the whiff of freshly ground beans, and my taste-buds yearn for the thick sweet strong brew. Turkish coffee is oh-so-very different from the instant coffee, or even the South Indian filter coffee that we are used to. It is made from freshly roasted beans which are ground in a mortar and pestle, thus the powder is never fine enough to dissolve into the water, giving the coffee a thick consistency and a fat layer of foam on top. The dregs in the thick brew leave a residue in your cup, and this is what makes the best part of the coffee drinking experience possible- fortune telling! As per tradition, once done with the drinking, one upturns the cup in the saucers which allows the brew at the bottom to drip into the saucer leaving behind patterns which can be read to reveal and foretell many things!

I remember my guide reading my coffee cup and foretelling lots of travel in the future! Well, that of course came true, but more than the accuracy of the predictions it was the fun of it. listening to her tell some other girls about future husbands, flings and even winning lotteries was all part of a tradition that greatly enhanced the experience of drinking Turkish coffee. It turned a simple cuppa into an opportunity for a delightful conversation.

I bought Turkish coffee to carry it back home but was unable to recreate the magic; for its quintessence lies in the freshness of the brew, the sound of the mortar and pestle, the smell of roasted beans, the back alley where you sit and enjoy it, the ephemeral quality of its taste which must be savoured quickly before its lost and the anecdotes of the fortune teller that follow!

This was an experience that will stay with me, and now the smell of good coffee will always remind me of the alleys of Turkey.

You can also travel to this land and come back with stories of your own. Come join WOW on our next trip there, and together we can explore this land of wonders and magic!

http://wowsumitra.com/tour_details.php?id=37

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/article558510.ece