Summary
Tashi Jong is a small village, a flourishing haven of Tibetan art based in Drukpa Kagyu tradition of Buddhism.
Tashi Jong
From Baijnath chowk or bus station, take a bus that stops enroute Tashi Jong.This is a small village, a flourishing haven of Tibetan art based in Drukpa Kagyu tradition of Buddhism.At the foothills you are greeted by a roaring stream, bright yellowish-orange and white flowered trees in April,snow-capped mountains, white patches of clouds in the blue sky. A bridge over it connects to nearby houses.Locals are seen offering prayers in the morning at the small temples on the bridge.You will find autos to take you uphill to the monastery if you have time constraints.You can always choose a leisure walk back after having visited the monastery.
Inside the Monastery Prayer Hall
There are shops offering Tibetan food. On your right is the prayer hall for monks. I was lucky to spot two monks talking to a monk inside with the door barely open. Curiously I asked to look inside to which they warmly welcomed me. The prayer hall is magnificently intricately beautiful.Leisurely ,taking my time, I took in all the details of the artwork adorning all walls and the hanging scrolls.The young monk was friendly enough to chat with, encouraging my curious questions. I learned where the head monk and where the noveau monks seat. Fascinated to hear that their learning begins not at a fixed age but based on when a child becomes capable of learning to read and write.He had studied in a monastery in Karnataka, adjoining the city where I graduated from and was fluent in Kannada and Hindi.I was given fruits. Then I proceeded to the main monastery about which the monk had already told me about, the design vision of Khamtrul Rinpoche.Here two monks were going about their morning prayer rituals. I quietly observed and after thoroughly looking everywhere, I left.
The Art Gallery and Thangka Paintings
After exiting, I walked into an art gallery by artist Tsering who probably also owns the bakery-cafe . The entry was roughly twenty rupees. The privilege was that the artist accompanied me. We had a long conversation about art vs business side of it, me being a global Amazon bestselling author who has handled all the artistic and business side of my book and its three translations so far.
The Making of a Thangka
His main style of painting is Thangka which is characterized by its vibrant colours, detailed imagery and what to an onlooker feels a theme based on a singular emotion. I particularly fell in love with a central green Tara(goddess) surrounded by fawns and wildlife painting that exuded peace and harmony.
The process of the painting involves a monk meditating, narrating the vision of Tara to the artist who brings the vision to life after repeated redraws and corrections. Continuing with walk downhill on a Sunday morning with almost all shops still closed, I found breakfast in a shop on my right run by a couple with a young kid.
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