• Home
  • Contact Me
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Rana Safvi
  • Home
  • About
  • Book & Publication
  • Culture & Heritage
    • Our Cultural Heritage
    • Sufi saints
  • Food
  • Hazrat-E-Dilli
  • Rana’s Space
    • Walks & Talks
    • Rana’s Space
    • Sher o Sukhan
  • Travel
    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

    Trending Tags

    • Contact Me
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • About
    • Book & Publication
    • Culture & Heritage
      • Our Cultural Heritage
      • Sufi saints
    • Food
    • Hazrat-E-Dilli
    • Rana’s Space
      • Walks & Talks
      • Rana’s Space
      • Sher o Sukhan
    • Travel
      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

      Trending Tags

      • Contact Me
      No Result
      View All Result
      Rana Safvi
      No Result
      View All Result

      Prayers in snow land: The Hindu

      inBook and Publication
      0

      The stunning vistas inside and from Ladakh’s Hemis monastery

      Rana Safvi

      25 NOVEMBER 2018 00:15 IST

      I had heard a lot about Ladakh, a breathtakingly beautiful land in the clouds with austere monasteries and palaces. The name itself is full of mystery and promise. So, when I finally got a chance to visit it, I grabbed it with both my hands. The first sight of Ladakh from the aircraft was magical: there was a vast expanse of rolling hills and clouds. No wonder it is also known as khapa chan, or snow land. Ladakh is a cold and arid desert with a low level of atmospheric oxygen. Afraid of falling sick, I had taken some precautionary medicine for altitude sickness before travelling. After a day of rest after my journey and bowls of garlic soup, I was good to go.

      Visiting monasteries

      The first place my co-travellers and I wanted to visit were the monasteries. The local word for a monastery is gompa, and as per Buddhist precepts, a monastery should be built in a solitary place far away from the people. Most monasteries in Ladakh are built on isolated hilltops. Of course, today buildings have sprung up all around them with tourism booming, but when the monasteries were built more than 1,000 years ago, this must have been harsh terrain where people could meditate and pray in peace and the austerity that is the mark of Buddhism. Each monk had his own cell and we were told that often ladders were used to access it. Today there are modern conveniences and electricity in the monasteries.

      I had a certain image of the monasteries, borrowed from the pictures I had seen: walls painted with murals depicting the life of the Buddha and his disciples, a central hall with an altar with an image of the Buddha and other deities, low wooden stools and tables for the Lamas to sit, and a high stool next to them meant for the head Lama.

      We visited the Hemis monastery, which is situated about 45 km from Leh. The road journey past the Indus river and snow-capped mountains was so beautiful that we took forever to reach our destination — we kept stopping to click photographs.

      The Hemis monastery belongs to the Drukpa sect of Mahayana Buddhism. It was built in the 11th century, and was re-established by King Sengge Namgyal (1590–1620) in the 17th century.

      The monastery was stunning. It is located on a steep hill and has whitewashed walls and wood. A colourful doorway leads into a courtyard that is paved with huge stones. It is in this courtyard that the annual Hemis festival is celebrated on Guru Padmasambhav’s birth anniversary. The festival has been a draw for locals and tourists alike for centuries. As it showcases masked dancers, it is a popular fixture in the Ladakh calendar. It takes place on the ninth and tenth days of the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar, which usually falls in the months of June or July. Unfortunately we did not visit the monastery during those months.

      A museum in the monastery houses many relics and statues related to Buddhism. Due to its treacherous terrain, the monastery escaped the plundering armies. Hemis is probably among the richest monasteries in the region. As we entered the main monastery, we were taken in by the rich murals and frescoes on the walls. The colourful paintings on the verandah depict the Buddhist kalachakra.

      The monastery is divided into two parts: there is an assembly hall known as Dukhang and a temple called Tshogkhang. There are huge statues of the Buddha and Guru Rimpoche.

      There is a huge copper statue of a seated Buddha on the opposite hill which overlooks Hemis.

      Then and now

      The upper part of the monastery has two assembly halls, a temple and a beautiful view. What held me in thrall was a hermitage known as Gotsang Gompa, built by Syalwa Gotsangpa, which predates the monastery. Seeing that it requires effort to reach the hermitage, a one-hour trek to be precise, I would only recommend it to those with young and strong feet. I stood there contemplating the life of those who lived amidst such stern climatic and geographic conditions, driven by an inner energy and spirituality so strong that they devoted their lives to prayer and to the pursuance of nirvana. In the olden days, their meals would have been wild berries and barley, as not much else grew in these parts, and they would have been completely out of touch with the world when they were snowed in. It is amazing that monks use the monastery even today.

      https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/prayers-in-snow-land/article25587247.ece

      Share this:

      • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
      • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

      Related Posts

      Siri the second city of Delhi
      Book and Publication

      Siri the second city of Delhi

      by ranasafvi
      January 23, 2022
      How Bahadur Shah Kept His Hindu And Muslim Subjects United [Book Excerpt]
      Book and Publication

      How Bahadur Shah Kept His Hindu And Muslim Subjects United [Book Excerpt]

      by ranasafvi
      November 24, 2020
      The Shah Burj in Red Fort, Delhi : Then and Now
      Book and Publication

      The Shah Burj in Red Fort, Delhi : Then and Now

      by ranasafvi
      November 9, 2020
      Twitter Facebook Instagram Youtube
      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

      Browse by Category

      Currently Playing

      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • About
      • Book & Publication
      • Culture & Heritage
        • Our Cultural Heritage
        • Sufi saints
      • Food
      • Hazrat-E-Dilli
      • Rana’s Space
        • Walks & Talks
        • Rana’s Space
        • Sher o Sukhan
      • Travel
      • Contact Me

      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.