…Continued Soon after leaving Brindavan Garden and touching the highway (SH88), the road condition improved, appearing recently renovated. Aarush was fast asleep after having his lunch, which always translates to smooth driving, and I was able to maintain a speed of 80-90 km/h. Along the road, we crossed Bilikere, Husur & Piriyapatna before reaching Bylakuppe. It is an odd name that houses one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India. We had to take a left turn from SH88 to reach the monasteries. As soon as we made the left turn, it almost felt like driving in the North-East, where we were greeted with Mongolian faces. Bright prayer flags lined the road, symbolizing hope, while white ones represented death.
This was truly surreal - in the middle of Karnataka, only a few hundred kilometers away from Bangalore, surrounded by thousands of Buddhist monks and families. These people had left their homeland almost 40 years ago, and the new generation is born here. Still, they keep their faith and traditions alive for generations to come. Like all Tibetan settlements in India, one requires a special permit for “Non-Indian (foreigner)” visitors.
We visited the Kagyu monastery first, situated on a hilltop with a view of the “Nalanda Institute” and other monasteries. The largest of these four monasteries is Namdroling, commonly known as the “Golden Temple.” That day, the sky was a perfect blue, and the shrine with bright colors looked magnificent. Unfortunately, we ran out of battery (camera) inside Namdroling. Aarush was a bit startled by the humming sound and the sight of monks playing big drums.
For the fact lovers, the original name of Namdroling was “Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling”; luckily, His Holiness Dalai Lama shortened the name during his visit. Around 5000 monks are studying there today.
There is a large shopping area with numerous souvenir shops, ATMs, and restaurants. Many magnificent stone showpieces were available, but they were expensive for my budget. After a very late lunch of momo (not as great as the ones in Siliguri - my hometown), we started for our homestay, which was still hours away.
After Kushalnagar, the road condition was not that good, as a lot of work was going on to widen the road. The only mobile network that really works on mountain roads is BSNL; both of our phones with private networks left us wondering how to locate our homestay. We entered an estate as soon as we saw the name “Sandal” on it. After driving 1-2 km through a coffee estate, we realized we were in the wrong place. Luckily, we found a good Samaritan who lent his mobile (BSNL) to call our homestay for more specific directions. It turned out our homestay was another 6 km ahead on that highway. With more information on route direction, we were able to find our homestay. Being our first time at a homestay, we were a bit shy as we reached our host’s door. (To be Continued…)
Some useful links if you’re interested in visiting this part of: