Lama Dances

Lama...not Llama...just to get things straight right off the bat.

The Sherabling Monastery in Bir hosted the Lama Dances yesterday. It's a day-long performance that celebrates the eight manifestations of Buddha (the Lamas). The performance ran from 9am until around 6pm, with occasional recesses for chai.

It was on par with any broadway musical as far as elaborate costuming goes. The Lama dances are a 300 year old tradition that ended when China invaded Tibet in 1959. This is the third year since the tradition was reestablished in exile.

Bir is another Tibetan refugee community down in the valley about 2 hours from Dharamsala. I hired a cab to get to the monastery where I met up with my friend Khenrab, who had been in Bir since Thursday filming a documentary about the dances. He actually grew up in Bir, and everyone he introduced me to was either a brother, sister, cousin, in-law, or something familial.

Last night after the dances I stayed in a guest house then rode back up to McLeod with Khenrab on his bike. Turns out extended rides on motorcycles aren't very comfortable, especially with camera gear strapped to your back. And to make the ride more enjoyable, I got stung by a bee on my hand. If you blow up a latex glove like a balloon--that's what my hand looks like now. Maybe in the end it was fortunate, though. Khenrab pulled off the road to make sure I was ok, and right below us there were two brown bears sleeping.

Changing the subject: I booked my bus ticket for Delhi. I'm leaving McLeod Friday night, getting in to Delhi Saturday morning, and hopefully leaving the same day by train for Varanasi for the remainder of my stay. I'm traveling with my friend Phoebe, and will be meeting up with some other volunteers in Varanasi. I'll take the train from Varanasi back to Delhi to arrive the morning of Dec 18, get all my luggage, then head to the airport to catch my flight that takes off at 1:00a.m. 19 Dec.