Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Tawang monastery.

     As I had mentioned in my last post, Tawang is a beautiful town nestled in the mountains. It holds a lot of importance for Buddhists as the sixth Dalai Lama was born here. What I gather from the information available on the net, he was totally different from any other religious head. He used to drink, smoke, womanise and compose devotional songs. He travelled all the way to Lhasa but never occupied the royal palace. He spent his life as a commoner. He was finally murdered by the Chinese who tried to reinstate a Dalai Lama of their choice. The story is full of intrigue and I need to find more from someone knowledgeable.
     This monastery that I have painted above was constructed a short distance from his place of birth. This just shows a section of the monastery. The corniferous trees and forests of the hillside make this a sight to behold.  Hope I have been able to capture the essence of the atmosphere.