monsoon

Ugh- a winter monsoon has descended- pelting rain, howling gales and general sogginess all day. We couldn't even see the mountains outside- it felt like we were right in the middle of a vast cloud. And it was cold, so cold that Karen and I ended up buying 2 very colourful and soft blankets and wrapped ourselves up for the day. It should have been an indoors day but we decided to return to the Centre for one final art class. There isn't usually a program at the weekends, but Ama-la made a special exception for us as we were there for such a short time. Because of the torrential rain, the class was held downstairs in the women's dormitory, and the tables had been carried down so the children could draw properly. They seemed very happy to see us again, and we found another visitor there, this time a reporter from Finland who is based in Beijing and was acompanied by Lobsang, a local photographer who has been to the centre many times before.

Back at the hotel, we chatted to Steve who was leaving later but keeping his bag in our room until it was time for him to catch his bus. Apparently he has emailed many of his friends back home in the hope that some of them will be interested in helping Art Refuge UK. He also promised to meet up with us in Nottingham in May when the Dalai Lama comes over. I look forward to seeing him again and hope we can include him in the charity somehow.

In the evening, the Tiblets wanted to join in the candelit procession as it was a very special evening. Children from the 3 major Tibetan schools in the area gathered in Mcleod Ganj to lead the procession, along with banners they had prepared in school, the most gut wrenching of which read: Stop Killing our Parents. We watched them all pass by our hotel, then joined in with the rest of the locals. It was an incredibly moving time, walking in solidarity with the Tiblets, holding hands, them chanting the prayers as loud as they could, over and over; elderly Tibetans passing us and acknowledging our presence with a nod and a broad smile of gratitude; video cameras from news reporters recording faces and banners, the overwheming feelings of sadness and anger and frustration...The march ended at the main temple, where there were speeches, and video footage and photos of the troubles in Tibet. The Tiblets got a little agitated and wanted to leave at that point, not wanting to stay for the beginning of the Tara prayers that the other children were settling down to do for the whole night. So we returned to our room, after dinner, and chatted and watched TV. A slightly more sombre evening than the previous night.