MY CAMERA
My camera was the only real casualty of my getting up close and personal with the tiger in Darjeeling Zoo. It had flown from my hand and smashed itself apart against a stone wall, during my fall down those concrete steps. The film (this was before digital cameras) forcefully ejected itself over a fence and then bounced into the lair of the Himalayan wolves, constructed below and beyond the tiger enclosure. My encounter with that roaring tiger fresh in my mind, and with my camera now rendered useless, I decided to allow discretion to be the better part of valour, and left the film right where it was!
No photograph could make the events of that day seem any more alive to me than the sheer terror that had permanently sealed the memory of that tiger roar into my brain and body. Later on, I did, however, conclude that those leopards, tigers and bears might not be the ONLY endangered animals to be found in Darjeeling Zoo. Tourists be forewarned!
THE STREETS OF DARJEELING
Everywhere in Darjeeling one encounter steep inclines. Only the mall area boasts a rare expanse of flat terrain, where vehicles and people have room to manoevre, and crowds can gather for important meetings. Political slogans were spray painted on every wall, in English as well as Hindi, or one of the several other dialects spoken there, including Bengali. Most slogans demanded independent rule for Dorje-Land, the original name for Darjeeling.
My camera was the only real casualty of my getting up close and personal with the tiger in Darjeeling Zoo. It had flown from my hand and smashed itself apart against a stone wall, during my fall down those concrete steps. The film (this was before digital cameras) forcefully ejected itself over a fence and then bounced into the lair of the Himalayan wolves, constructed below and beyond the tiger enclosure. My encounter with that roaring tiger fresh in my mind, and with my camera now rendered useless, I decided to allow discretion to be the better part of valour, and left the film right where it was!
No photograph could make the events of that day seem any more alive to me than the sheer terror that had permanently sealed the memory of that tiger roar into my brain and body. Later on, I did, however, conclude that those leopards, tigers and bears might not be the ONLY endangered animals to be found in Darjeeling Zoo. Tourists be forewarned!
THE STREETS OF DARJEELING
Everywhere in Darjeeling one encounter steep inclines. Only the mall area boasts a rare expanse of flat terrain, where vehicles and people have room to manoevre, and crowds can gather for important meetings. Political slogans were spray painted on every wall, in English as well as Hindi, or one of the several other dialects spoken there, including Bengali. Most slogans demanded independent rule for Dorje-Land, the original name for Darjeeling.
The market place featured sturdy stone buildings with storefronts on one side of the street, and the city's retaining wall on the other side. On Market Day, itinerant merchants created colourful booths against these thick walls, from which they sold everything from brightly coloured silk scarves and hand-made semi-precious jewellery, to heady tropical incense and spices. You could also sample the tempting and tasty local foodstuffs! And could even purchase the second hand fleece jackets and hiking boots of those who planned on permanently leaving the mountains or who were generating sufficient funds to buy a plane ticket to return back 'home'.Being located in the stone buildings, the more permanent stores were able to lock up their wares and so offered more expensive and luxury items, like authentic silk Tibetan wall hangings and prayer flags, richly decorated wedding saris and exotic textiles, Himalayan gem jewellery and curve-bladed knives called kukri. Everywhere you looked you'd see something creatively unusual and marvelous to behold.
I found the energy of Darjeeling a fascinating juxtaposition of restrained English architecture and amazing artistic talent that seems to flourish in these mountain inhabitants. This street seemed like a great place to people watch. photo by kind courtesy of: http://images.travbuddy.com/4703_11808892175447.jpg
This photo shows a common method of transporting water in Darjeeling. So Mom and I were intrigued when a tall wiry elderly man, wearing nothing more than a threadbare shirt, shorts and worn-out sandals, traversed up the hill, with 27 (we counted them) empty one-gallon drums precariously strapped to his back.
This photo shows a common method of transporting water in Darjeeling. So Mom and I were intrigued when a tall wiry elderly man, wearing nothing more than a threadbare shirt, shorts and worn-out sandals, traversed up the hill, with 27 (we counted them) empty one-gallon drums precariously strapped to his back.
We knew he was collecting water for his family because, during the afternoon, all the hotels would regularly cut off the water supply to their guestrooms, so that the locals could fill up water containers for use in their own homes. With one gallon of water weighing 8lbs, that old man would potentially have had to carry a staggering 8 x 27lbs = 216lbs back down the hill. That's about the weight of an American football linebacker!
We have no idea how - or if - he got back down that steep hill, but I prayed that the old man would commandeer a yak, or some energetic youngsters, to help him carry his water back home!
We have no idea how - or if - he got back down that steep hill, but I prayed that the old man would commandeer a yak, or some energetic youngsters, to help him carry his water back home!
Frozen Waterfall in Manning Park photo copyright 2009 Christobelle H.
By complete contrast, our own access to clean, safe water in Sinclair Hotel was easy. Here, I also thoroughly enjoyed the tasty curry dishes served in the hotel
dining room. It was the only time of day that the five of us would
gather to tell tales of our separate adventures in this Queen of the
Hills.Although the decor was simple, and we each helped ourselves buffet style, the meals were always fit for a king. Each region of India features a different type of curry dish, always vegetarian or featuring mutton or chicken.
UNEXPECTED REUNION
True to form, my angels guided me to one of those glass-fronted stores in Darjeeling wherein I was to experience another magical encounter. Mom and I were on a hunt for Himalayan jewellery, in particular turquoise and semi-precious gems such as garnet and amethyst.
While I quietly studied the pieces that lay behind locked glass cases along one wall, my Mother sought help to purchase a kukri - the curved-bladed knife that is commonly found in these mountains. The store owner took Mom to a hidden display case at the back of the store, and left her to browse the knives he kept there. Then he returned to his seat behind the counter that separated the front from the back of his store, while I selected my purchases.
Eventually I spied a ring so unusual that I was curious as to how it had been made, and so approached the store owner. Upon seeing my face, this stranger immediately greeted me as if I were an old friend, saying
"Ah, so you have returned, at last!"
There was nobody else in my section of the store, so my jaw dropped in sheer amazement when he addressed me thus. I assured the owner that I had never before been to Darjeeling, and thus I certainly not have been in his store before that very day. But the man was adamant
"Yes, yes, I remember you well, though it was some 40 years ago" he insisted.
Since I'd been only 5 years old in 1953, I assured him he was most definitely mistaken and suggested that he had perhaps recognized my Mother, who had, by then, emerged from the back of the store. But he merely shook his head and corrected me,
"Not 40 years ago, 14 years ago, in 1979. Do you not remember me?"
Frowning, trying to remember, I recalled the major events of 1979.
* Mike and I had lived in Burnaby, Canada then
* I had been studying at Simon Fraser University while holding down a part-time library job
* We'd taken my 12 year old daughter and her adopted teenage brother to Disneyland that year - by bus (definitely NOT a sane travel option!)
But we had most definitely NOT visited India, nor could I remember meeting this store-keeper on any continent?
Seeking clarity, I studied his face more closely, and immediately found myself in an alternate reality as both the store and his demeanour shimmered right before my eyes.
In one instant, I was conversing with a jolly, well fed, middle-aged merchant in a Darjeeling store. Then, in the very next instant, the store had metamorphosed into a somewhat familiar garden of roses, shaded by tall rhododendron trees.
The storekeeper's ruddy complexion and theatrical mannerisms had also transformed into the placid and beloved countenance of the Buddhist monk who had filled my apartment with pink roses all those years ago. I was so surprised that I could only blink and gasp, hardly believing the evidence of my own eyes. And it didn't help that the very instant my vision clarified, the vision abruptly vanished, which left me wondering if I had imagined it all.
Once again the cheerful store-keeper stood before me, asking of my experiences since arriving in Darjeeling. And though I had many questions of my own to ask him, I politely and, as briefly as I could, told him about my dawn encounter with the young monks, about my zoo visit and the tiger's fiercesome roar the previous day. Feeling more relaxed by this time, I also told him of my melt-down at the Telegraph office just before that afternoon's thunderstorm.
The store-keeper listened patiently, encouraging my tale and occasionally laughing with me. When I had finished, I moved towards the jewellery display, intending to ask for more information about that ring. But the store-keeper persisted:
"But you have not yet told me about the mountain"
"Mountain? What mountain?" I stammered, by now truly perplexed, for we were truly surrounded by mountains.
"Kanchenjunga" he insisted - referring to the mountain comprised of 5 Himalayan peaks, that was clearly visible from the city of Darjeeling.
As if a veil had lifted, I was shocked into remembering.
That very morning, while my family slept, I had climbed - alone - to the roof of our hotel which featured an unparalleled view of the entire Himalayan mountain range, including, on a clear day, including the magical, mystical Mt. Kanchenjunga.
The previous night I'd set my clock to 5.30 a.m. in order to watch the sun rise over the highest mountains in the world. And I'm glad I did because it was an incredible experience as the colours of dawn reflected on the peak of Kanchanjunga, the planet's third tallest mountain. But along with the soft golds and pinks of the sunrise, I also saw a face, quite distinctly, hovering over the mountain itself!
The huge, shimmering face was totally unfamiliar to my western way of seeing, yet my soul had accepted the vision as truth, not releasing its memory to my consciousness until the shop-keeper questioned me. Since I had been totally alone on that roof, and had not even consciously remembered what I had seen until he had asked me, how could HE have known? unless...he was indeed an angel, or my flower-power Buddhist monk
Tibetan turquoise & coral bottle opener photo copyright 2009 Christobelle Patrick
The shop keeper then walked to the display case beside the jewellery and brought out this bejewelled silver bottle opener
"Did the face you saw look like this" he asked, pointing to the business end of the bottle opener?
"Did the face you saw look like this" he asked, pointing to the business end of the bottle opener?
I studied it for a while and then just nodded, staring at the man in complete amazement.
"That is the Spirit of Kanchenjunga" he assured me. And since I had seen it with my own eyes, I had no choice but to believe his words
"That is the Spirit of Kanchenjunga" he assured me. And since I had seen it with my own eyes, I had no choice but to believe his words
Quartz ring from Darjeeling photo copyright 2009 Christobelle H
Needless to say, I bought that bottle opener, plus a few more trinkets from this man/monk including this ring, an irregular chunk of clear white quartz to which were attached three semi -precious gems, a green tourmaline, a turquoise and a garnet, each set in silver. The garnet and its setting broke off within a month, leaving only the tourmaline and turquoise staring like a third-eye and a cheek jewel in a trapeze-shaped alien face.
Tibetan Bell from Darjeeling photo copyright 2009 Christobelle H
This is the bell that Tibetan Buddhists carry and below is the dorje that accompanies their bell. Dorje photo copyright 2009 Christobelle H
Symbolically a dorje represents the 'thunderbolt of enlightenment,' that abrupt change in human consciousness which is recognised by all the great religions as a pivotal episode in the lives of mystics and saints. I'd been experiencing a lot of that since my arrival in this place!The Bell and Dorje, or thunderbolt, are inseparable ritual objects in Tibetan Buddhism. They are always used in combination during religious ceremonies. The Bell held in the left hand, representing the female aspect as wisdom; the Dorje, held in the right hand, or male aspect, as method. Together, they represent union of wisdom and method, also called the attainment of Enlightenment.
For Buddhists, the transformative enlightenment experience it is what occurred to the historical Buddha and to all those who experience kensho-satori, the dropping away of 'self'. The Tibetans call this "the Great Death" to distinguish it from that physical one. Dorje is also a common given-name for men in people of Tibetan culture and it is of utmost importance in the fight for autonomy in Dorje-Land. Reference: Encyclopedia Britannica
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SECTION 1 Chapter 7: Tiger Hill, Darjeeling experience the sunrise over the Himalayas and a visit to a Tibetan Monastery 
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