.
There was tour to Beijing to see the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the Forbidden city and the next day we took return flight to Shanghai .When we reached Shanghai sometime in the evening , there was shuttle bus which took us straight to the international port.
The bus stopped right in front of the checkin counter , again bad luck ,the incoming Air India flight was late,we had to wait four hours. The flight took off at 12 O’ clock night for Bangkok , both of us were hungry we ate whatever was served and went off to sleep.
Early hours of the morning the aircraft landed.All the passengers were sleeping , many passengers got down . Fifteen days ago we had taken the same flight from Delhi ,last time maintanence crew had come on to clean the interior. This time it was all quiet , we kept sleeping. At five o’clock ,all the passengers were asked to deplane.
On return flight to India from Shanghai[2006], the Air India Boeing stops at Bangkok early 3 a.m for refuel while landing one of its tires burst almost capsizing the giant kite. but the Boeing landed safely and we were deplaned in Bangkok .A miracle had happened, air crash averted, the 336 passengers were saved.
We held each others hand tightly as we walked out of Bangkok Don Muang airport . Air India put all the India bound passengers in hotel Amari right opposite to Bangkok airport.there is a airconditioned bridge or flyover which connects it to the hotel. All the passengers were instructed to walk through this bridge.
Until we got a connecting flight We were put in a beautiful and luxurious room of Hotel Watergate Amari The foyer and lobby was unique there were indoor pools with lotus and water lily growing in them. In one of the halls , the interview of a some airline was in progress. About fifty young men and women were waiting in the lobby. Most of them wore business suits that’s the day I began appreciating western attire, they all looked very chic and smart . We were served a sumptuous breakfast in the dinning hall which had a vertical garden of tropical plants better known as a green wall.
Bangkok is a mixture of eastern mystique and western modernism . the pagoda stye architecture of the temples , the beautiful Thai girls dressed in sarongs and dresses . The gala sales in the shopping malls and the orchids displayed everywhere .Who can forget the floating market boats filled with fruits . Bangkok has many canals ,a part of old Siam I took visa after paying 500 baht so managed to do some sightseeing Siam , Wat Traimit temple of the golden Buddha statute origin is 13-14 th century when being moved to the present modern temple 1954 , a golden statue discovered under the plaster, which is the world’s largest gold figurine. We visited the Wat Pho the temple of the reclining Buddha which is 15m high ,this is the school of the famous thai massage and medicine We returned to Delhi by Thai airways since Airindia flight was cancelled. We enjoyed the flight ,the airhostess presented us orchids ,unfortunately I coulnot preserve the orchids as it was the month of may Delhi was very hot . Straight from Indira Gandhi airport we went to the railway station and boarded the shatabdhi express for Kanpur.
26 JUNE 1984 PIZZA IN KATHMANDU
I first tasted pizza in Kathmandu Nepal ofcourse didnot like it those days I was a college student I loved bananas and mango fruit. We took a night bus across the Indian border from Bhirganj and reached Kathmandu early morning .It had been a hot summer night so our clothes were rumpled and travelworn We three stood for almost an hour waiting for our relatives to come and collect us, the telegram never reached and our letters were delivered one month late ,those days the nepali postal service was rather slow. The taxi drivers looked disbelievingly when asked to go to Annapurna Hotel a place for ultra rich and famous .they were gesturing to each other ,‘They ! will go to Annapurna !’ the sarcasm was lost on three of us. Hotel meant just any hotel. We took a rickshaw to a near hotel and checked it .Later we searching for it Annapurna super deluxe luxury Hotel situated diagonally to the Narayanity royal palace on Raj path [ royal road] my dad’s cousin was working there, We did stay there in his flat inside the hotel , he was the manager of the Nirula’s icecream factory and was an employee of the hotel.
Kathmandu is beautiful with shopping malls and casinos,we were on a summer vacation I always was very eager to visit this mountain country ,because I had seen the popular hindi movie based on drug addiction and Hippie culture made by the filmstar DevaNand Nepal was a hindu country, churches and mosques cannot be constructed there. In Nepal Janakpur town .is the birthplace of Queen Sita ,the heroine of the epic Ramayan .
The city is directly bounded by several other municipalities of the Kathmandu valley: south of the Bagmati by Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City (Patan) with which it today forms one urban area surrounded by a ring road, to the southwest by Kirtipur Municipality and to the east by Madyapur Thimi Municipality.
The southern Terai region is fertile and humid. Lumbini, the birthplace of God Gautama Buddha, is located in this region. Lumbini is one of the holiest places of the Buddhist religion; it contains important evidence about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimages dating from as early as the 3rd century
Swayambhunath ,an ancient Buddhist complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. It is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. The stupa has a vast, round, white dome of the stupa, like a full solid skirt,with Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted onit. Between them, the number one (in Devanagari script) is painted in the fashion of a nose. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels., we had to climb a straight stretch of 365 steps to reach the top of Swayambhunath hillWe were breathless and sweating as we stumbled up the last steep steps and practically fell upon the biggest vajra (thunder-bolt scepter) that I have ever seen. The vajra was in the courtyard at the top . we three climbed all the wayup , you can see entire Kathmandu city from there.
Hanuman Dhoka is a complex of structures with the Royal Palace of the Malla kings and also of the Shah dynasty in the Durbar Square of central Kathmandu, Nepal. It is spread over five acres. The Hanuman Dhoka Palace (Hanuman Dhoka Durbar in Nepali) gets its name from the stone image of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, that sits near the main entryway. 'Dhoka' means door in Nepali.Hanuman Dokha the old palace of the royal family now open to tourists Bhaktapur and Shaktipur is full of beautiful temples ,old palaces Golden gate and the pagoda architecture combines Chinese and tibetian style There is a beautiful statue of Garud the eagle the mount of the gods in Patan city the Khukhri a symbol of the Gurkha an nepalese clan which has place in the Indian army as Gurkha regiment.it is a sharp edged dagger comes with highly intricate ornamentations on its handle and scabbard The Kathmandu valley is an open air museum where you can buy Thankas superb scroll paintings with religious motifs, bronze images of Budhha ,ivory Chinese figurines ,copper prayer wheels and papier mache masks
Who would have thought that new Narayanity royal palace with huge garden around it ,where I use to walk everyday from Anapurna Hotel ,around the corner was the SARC office with a beautiful garden , would be the site of the terrible massacre . Mystery surrounds the episode
We visited the only church in Wotu Tole in Kathmandu’ Church of Assumption’ Here I would like to add a bit of history here. After monarch Prithvi Narayan Shah's conquest in 1769, the Capuchin fathers and 57 newly converted Newar Christians were exiled to Bettiah, India. Then till 1950, missionaries were disallowed in Nepal.In November 1950, during a political plot, the reigning King Tribhuvan, along with other royals, fled to India, leaving the young Prince Gyanendra present monarch as the only male member of the royal family in Nepal. He was brought back to the capital Kathmandu by the Prime Minister Mohan Shamsher, who had him declared King on 7 November 1950. Gyanendra was not only crowned but coins were issued in his name. The Rana Prime Minister provided a three hundred thousand rupee annual budget as expenditure for the KingAfter opposition to the hereditary rule of the Rana Prime Ministers from India, a deal was reached in January 1951, and his grandfather King Tribhuvan returned to Nepal and resumed the throne The actions of the Rana regime to depose his grandfather and place Gyanendra on the throne was not internationally recognized.King Gyanendra studied with his elder brother King Birendra in St. Joseph's College, Darjeeling, India;
In 2001 According to a Palace inner member, Gyanendra killed King Birendra for the throne . prince Dipendra was angry with his parents and there was family disagreement regarding his marriage. One hour later, Dipendra returned to the party armed with an H&K MP5, a Franchi SPAS-12 and an M16 and fired a single shot into the ceiling before turning the gun on his father, The King Birendra who died including Queen mother Aishwaraya ,No one survived this disaster later the King’s younger brother was crowned. Seconds later, Dipendra shot one of his aunts. He then shot his uncle Dhirendra in the chest at point-blank range when he tried to stop Dipendra.During the shooting, Prince Paras suffered slight injuries and managed to save at least three royals, including two children, by pulling a sofa over them During the attack, Dipendra darted in and out of the room firing shots each time. and all the royal family and Later prince Dipendra committed suicide , by shooting himself . though he succumbed to his injuries after three days . King Gyanendra became king after the death of King Dipendra and King Birendra. A international press called the murder of nepali royalty a mystery About ten years later in a sensational move that added a new chapter to the stunning massacre of the royal family of Nepal in 2001, Nepal police on Thursday night arrested the man who had claimed 24 hours earlier that he was the mastermind. Tul Prasad Sherchan, a 59-year-old former student of the St Xavier's School in Godavari, had claimed he was the head of the Royal Bureau of Intelligence manning covert operations. Sherchan claimed he had planned the elimination of King Birendra and his entire family in 1975 after the royal family did not heed his warning not to siphon off the funds that came from foreign donors. The placid Sherchan claimed he was in prison when the massacre took place and had told everyone in the jail on June 1, 2001 that the royal family would be wiped out by night. "Neither King Gyanendra nor India nor the CIA had a hand in the massacre," he said. "I designed it and have video tapes to prove it."
Sherchan told TNN that he had warned Prince Dhirendra, Birendra's youngest brother, in London in 1973. However, the royal family ignored it was the ramblings of the mad man and he was compelled to do the deed to save the country. Sherchan created a furore when he announced his culpability at a media club. He was stopped by police in the Sundhara area of the capital and arrested, when he was returning home near midnight after an exclusive interview to TNN,
The Nepal Defence Army is a mainly ethnic Terai armed pro-Hindu group in Nepal. They were responsible for a bombing of a church in Kathmandu in 2009, and also attempted another triple bombing in 2012. They call for the return of the Nepalese Hindu Monarchy
Darjeeling is different from other hillstations of India , the beautiful town famous for the tea gardens ,here the residents speak bengali,assami,nepali, butanese and english since there is a influx of tourists all the time.
There beautiful teagardens surround you as you driveup from Tigerhill, Ghoom there are Buddhist monastries everywhere .In Darjeeling ,there are lots of Christian schools Mount Hermon School, St Pauls School , St Joseph’s College and St Mary’s Convent .My search for a job took me places After completing my Ph.D in chemistry I was under no illusion that I will get a job according to my academic qualifications.I had applied for the post of chemistry teacher in all schools in the hillstations of India .Mount Hermon is one the top of a hill at North point near Mountineering institute .Those were one of the happiest two months of my life as a teacher I enjoyed interacting with children who were from Bhutan , Nepal and Sikkim another beautiful mountain country is Tibet which is a part of China .On a clear cloudless day you can see the Mount Kanjanjunga and the entire grand Himalayas from the school playground.
Richard Gere the hollywood actor who paired with Julia Roberts “ Pretty woman’” is now a buddhist and follower of The Dalai Lama lives in Leh Ladaakh of India we visited the tibetian rehablihation center near the school .
Initially I went there as I was in depression and thought I will never get a job. They school principal Mr Mathew gave me a room in the science block ,next to chemistry lab facing the Himalayas.We use to eat downstairs with boarders .Every day after breakfast Dad would walk down to North point holding a umbrella, he loved walking around the town.
My parents went to Gantok , Sikkim , I did not accompany them as I was teaching class .There was school break in june, we decided to visit Thimpu the capital of Bhutan .
Better known as the land of the sleeping dragon ,this mountain kingdom can be reached only from siliguri ,the traveling to Phunsholing the border town ,obtaining a visa from the India house then proceeding to Thimpu . Luckily a bhutanese couple had come to collect their son , I requested them for a lift to Phuntsholing ,they graciously agreed. Phuentsholing, is a border town in southern Bhutan, and is the administrative seat (dzongkhag thromde) of Chukha District The town occupies parts of both Phuentsholing Gewog and Sampheling Gewog.. Phuentsholing lies opposite the Indian town of Jaigaon, and cross-border trade. From almost anywhere in the city, one can see the road to Thimphu snaking up the hillside, and in the evening it is easy to see the headlights of distant vehicles heading towards the capital.
One of the staff members gave me some addresses of Pastors in Thimpu and hotel owned by Christians. Mr Shering Dhorjee was a very good driver ,dad sat next to him in the front we three women in the second row and the wo little boys at the back,reached by late night and checked in a hotel. Shering Dhorjee was going to Thimpu the next day, he invited us to come with him in his car. Dad accepted his invitation and we joined him after obtaining a visa from the India house . Road to Thimpu is through dense forest and high winding road , deep down you can see treacherous ravines .Electricity obtained by harnessing the river at Chukka power plant. The car drive was scenic , Shering Dhorjee showed us the palace where his car had fallen down, his life was saved because it had got entangled in trailing vines of creepers . We reached Thimpu late afternoon with Shering Dhorjee ,located Mr Dava Samdrup’s house . He and his family welcomed us with open arms, the flat next door was the church where we stayed for a week. This was a Penticostal house church . During that week we walked around and interacted with people who were friendly. Thimpu is in a valley those days was a small town , where citizens had to wear the national dress ,houses were constructed and painted with similar motifs and dragons. The traditional dress for Bhutanese men is the gho which is a knee - length robe tied at the waist by a fabric belt known as the keyra . Women wear an ankle-length dress known as the kira, secured by a woven keyra around the waist, and fastened at the shoulders with silver brooches called koma. A long-sleeved blouse, wonju is worn underneath the kira and a jacket called tego, won on the outside.Tshoglam or the traditional footwear for both men and women is boots with leather soles, but. On formal visits to a Dzong or an office, Bhutanese men wear a scarf identifies the rank of a person.
High up in the hills you could see the Dzong which is a distictive type of fortress structure found in buddhist kingdoms of the himalayas, it’s massive with towering walls surrounding a complex of courtyards ,temples, offices and monks quarters having chinese style flared roofs with massive entry doors made of wood and iron.
Tsechu festival where you can see buddhist theme art motifs, masks known lena Wang Chu Rue are used in mask dance or the charm dance. We can never forget the fellowship and hospitality of Mr Dava Samdrup an officer in telecommunications. He also the pastor the church , a brave christian in a buddhist country.
Let me tell you about William Joseph Mackey ,a Canadian Jesuit priest who was responsible for establishing the modern education system in Bhutan, including its first high school (which is now its first accredited university, Sherubtse College. Mackey joined the Jesuits in 1932, and was ordained priest in 1945. In 1946, he left Canada for the Jesuit mission in Darjeeling district of India. He served there for 17 years, during which time he participated in many education programs and was headmaster of two high schools. However, he also became unpopular with local authorities, and in 1963 he was ordered to leave the country.When the King of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, learned of Mackey's imminent expulsion from India, he invited Mackey to become an educator in Bhutan, as part of that country's ongoing modernization efforts. Mackey accepted the invitation when Mackey arrived in Bhutan in October 1963, the Jesuits became the first Roman Catholic religious order allowed in the officially-Buddhist nation. During the three decades that followed, Mackey performed no conversions of Bhutanese citizens, as that was forbidden under Bhutanese law.In 1973, Mackey was awarded the royal Druk Thuksey medal for his services to education in Bhutan. In 1985, he was granted honorary Bhutanese citizenship, and in 1988, when the Jesuits had to leave the country, their schools being taken over by the Government of Bhutan, he was allowed to remain. (1915 in Montreal, Canada - October 18, 1995 in Thimphu, Bhutan)
This time we returned to Phuntsholing by bus , the people in the villages eat traditional food , a man was carried the huge leg of a cow that is dried beef on his shoulder wraped in newspaper , he got down somewhere near chukka. Interesting feature that bhutanese buddhists eat beef and all non vegetarian food available in the himalayas.
We reached Phuntsholing by evening ,checked in the same hotel , I will never forget the lizards , the mating sound was like an office table bell , intially I thought that someone was at the door,later I realised it was the lizard.like most of the indians I’m also scared of lizards, so you can imagine what happened . I did not sleep that night.The next morning we returned to Darjeeling taking the two sons of Shering Dorjee with us.
We have the experience of visiting three budhhist countries , where they eat meat mutton , beef and pork with every kind of fish unlike the Buddhist of India who are vegans .
Himalayas are the most magnificient mountains towering over us ,our senitels , no airplane can fly over them so we fly around them.