Toppled World by Susan Murphy

Author:Susan Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIOGRAPHY and AUTOBIOGRAPHY/ Cultural, Ethnic and Regional/General
Publisher: Bedazzled Ink Publishing
Published: 2018-08-20T16:00:00+00:00

KC had a habit of never packing adequate clothing so after a day or so he would be mostly clad in Tibetan garb borrowed from their hosts. The other guests used to go into peals of laughter at his awkward attempts to manipulate the clothing as expertly as the Tibetans. But there was a serious element to these affairs. Conversations would invariably turn to where they would now send their children to be educated and whether they would stay on in Tibet or follow the Dalai Lama wherever he went. The latter was the more popular choice as their only desire, aside from protecting their children, was to make things easy for His Holiness.

Another custom specific to Tibet and totally foreign to the Indian couple was the annual bathing festival. It starts sometime in early July according to the Tibetan calendar, and lasts a month. By tradition, early morning when Venus rises in the sky, the mass bathing starts. As the star sets, the bathing ends. Local legend says bathing at this period is not only cleansing but beneficial to health. According to Tibetan Buddhism, the water in Tibet at this time has eight advantages: sweet, cool, soft, light, clear, clean, harmless to throat to belly, and because of the natural environment and climate of Tibet, the river water has a relatively high temperature and is suitable for bathing. Tents, big and small, dot the beaches, and thousands of Tibetan men and women enter the rivers and lakes to have their annual bath. And due to the lack of running water and the bitter winter temperatures, that’s it for the rest of the year. Of course, while in Tibet, Sudha and KC bathed regularly, hauling and heating water, as this was their custom.

In August, Sudha received word from her mother that she and her younger brother Dinesh would be spending the summer holiday with them. She had decided that a change of environment would be good for both of them, and so they made the journey on horseback from Gangtok just like everyone else. Unlike Sudha, her mother was used to horse riding as she had been on many pony treks with her husband before the children were born.

For her ten-year-old brother, this was to be a never forgotten adventure. He would spend the entire day running through the forest outside Agency House collecting strawberries and gathering all the children, organizing teams and holding little cricket matches, a game he had to teach them. He made lots of friends and had a blast. This was also a special time for Sudha and her mother. They had lots of time by themselves, having great fun talking about the families and sharing anecdotes. Sudha’s mother was so happy to spend time with her granddaughter, who was the apple of her eye.

Sudha’s first year in Yatung was exhilarating, yet peaceful and serene‚ the prayer flags fluttering and the prayer wheels spinning. The environment was so stunning and exotic, the people so spiritual and gentle, their work so absorbing and satisfying.

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