A glimpse of Tibet in Coorg

When I first saw the writeupcafe contest with the topic of Tibet regarding the novel The Stopover, I thought of writing down my travel experience to this Tibetan Monastery in Karnataka. But then I thought it is not fair to write only about their tradition because the title demands more and I felt it was indeed very much emotional and painful.  Tibet – Roof of the world. Its People - Roofless.

Well that’s why I tried to type down an anguished feeling of a Tibetan in my so called poetry - Here. Hope it was not that bad for a first hand. Well, here is my little experience out there, visiting Tibet in India.

Coorg, situated in Karnataka, is a beautiful place to spend your weekend with a pleasant weather throughout the year. It is famous for its scenic marvel and its beauty of hill and the coffee and pepper plantation plus interesting places to spend your time; it’d be worth your trip.

After our day of fun boating and at Nisargadhama park, on the way back to Bangalore, our final stopover was the Tibetan Monastery, the second largest settlement in India, called Bylakuppe. The Tibetans settled here engage themselves with their spiritual practices, agriculture and a variety of small enterprises.

As little road took us to Bylakuppe, we felt that we just entered the gates of some wonderland. The road meanders through the well-kept fields. And those prayer flags fluttering from the top of the trees and the fences remind us that we were indeed among a different people who have a unique culture. We saw some old people walking along the roadside. We soon spotted the gold painted roof of a Buddhist temple, little away in the distance and it is found to be the heart and soul of the settlement.

My first time at a Buddhist monastery and i found it was simply beautiful. With a long walk down to the temple, passing the monastery, seeing those monks from old and serene to bubbly and young in their maroon and gold vestments, they were absolutely pleasant to watch. On the sides of the lane, were the grass beds with flower bushes and trees under which the birds like ducks, geese, peacocks and turkeys were idling merrily.

Inside the temple, there were 3 large golden statues of Buddha and other deities. We can experience the tranquility here as much as we smell the sweet incense wafting from the altars. We spent some time sitting on the floor gazing at the incredible art work and murals with which the interiors were created and came out mesmerized. The paintings on the walls outside depict Buddha’s life but each colorful. There was a big bell in front of the temple for the prayer. Since that was their prayer day, the monks were chanting their holy verses. Hearing it was yet another wholly new experience to us. It was also nice to see the old Tibetans prostrating and worshiping there. 

At the end of the day, we saw few young monks playing cricket and badminton for their amusement. There was this little monk who was following us but when we turned to see him, he went on to hide behind the big pillars shyly. We tried to take pictures with him. Not only him but with few other little monks too. We got the impression that the children were really shy and it wasn't that easy to make them speak.

Outside the monastery, there were many restaurants serving tasty Tibetan food and more shops selling collectibles representing Tibetan art and craftsmanship. We bought Coorg coffee beans, few Tibetan scarves n trinkets and herbal incense sticks and left the place.

This was one of my most favorite and memorable trip. Still I feel the ambiance of this place. If you are visiting Coorg then do not forget to keep at least half day for a visit to this Tibetan town.