129. RECLAIM THE SWASTIKA!

 


On a recent escapade to nearby Malaysia to a small sleepy town of Batu Pahat, I came across this temple with a gate that caught my eye - it was adorned with the spiritual symbol of the Swastika. I went in to take a look - it was a new looking temple with nothing much except for a Buddha image with the swastika emblasoned on its chest...just like what I've seen elsewhere in Nepal and India and I'm sure many other places in Asia I've not been to yet...

It's perhaps hightime those passionate enough need to be more vocal and not be afraid to go forth to reclaim this beautiful spiritual symbol - I wrote about it in detail in Post 100 - countries like India and Nepal can do more to enlighten those who associate the Swastika with evil..
This is my way of reclaiming it - write about it...

 

The Batu Pahat High School - where I spent a short time during school hols staying in the teachers' quarters

Herba egg anyone? This stall uses up to 10 herbs, they claimed, it was really fragrant - was what attracted me to this little shop selling all manner of dried herbs...Batu's old malls are like a throwback to the 70's - it was a walk back in time, I felt transported to another era, the van I travelled in was the Time Machine!

128. SIKKIM

Tiny former Kingdom of Sikkim now a state in India

 


                          








To enter Sikkim a special entry and exit permit is necessary at this office for all non residents

Rumtek Monastery, below, was quite a walk uphill. As in Tibet, everything's up the hills and up the stairs...

The Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies. In nearby Bihar state, a Nalanda University and University town is being constructed with some participation from Singapore

Fooding & Lodging would be Sangay's way of saying Bed & Breakfast...

There's an Institute of Tibetology which functions as a museum and historical treasure throve of anything Tibetan

The capital of Sikkim, Gantok, is a mini Tibet. (post 45/46  On The Roof of the World). The Tibetans are a displaced people, India has been generous in taking large numbers in. After what I saw in Tibet and several places in India with large Tibetan communities, I believe they are better off in the latter country. So too with the Nepalis born and bred here.

The Teesta River forms a natural boundary between the states of West Bengal and Sikkim

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling has a nice museum




Welcome to my parlour (and larder) said the spider to the fly...






...the Indians coexist with Mother's creatures and do nothing to eliminate them, making the environment full of natural life, unlike Singapore's - sterile, sanitised...it's not natural to have as much plant life as we have and not see nests or insect life nestled among them...

At this Tibetan refugee center, most of its residents are elderly. They would very likely not see the land of their birth again. They spend their days quietly in a tranquil place up in the hills living a simple life. The carpets woven here fetch a high price in the cities...

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway spewing dark smoke from its charcoal fired engine. It's an ancient rail system from colonial days, now used for tourism purpose as a fun ride to view the countryside, tea plantations - on several stretches, it cruises through the town...it's a UNESCO World Heritage site

Like most Asians, its people are communal. It's a happy people with much chatter and laughter and interaction and that wonderful Indian trait - Give & Take (see post 8)

As with most border regions, people have moved around freely from time immemorial before the advent of immigration controls and border security. Large numbers of Nepali people over several generations have lived here. India has been generous in taking in Tibetans - a displaced people - who have created Little Tibets in several parts of India. In the course of history, wars have been fought in this border region bordering Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Sikkim was a British protectorate before its people decided to join India. This little kingdom had its own King than. The result of this hodge podge is a people who are now Indian citizens who look anything but...lovely

This maiden (right) spins yarn from a bicycle wheel...

 
This English style hotel in Kalimpong was a holiday home to an English family. The 'Britishers' certainly knew how to live - they escaped the awful heat of the Indian summer by adjourning to the hill stations...for one night, I savoured that life...

 

The roads up the hills to Darjeeling and Gantok are not the best. Pot holed and stony, narrow with hair pin bends, at least, at the end of the ride, we were rewarded with spectacular scenery, nice people, wonderful weather and clean air.

The states of West Bengal and Sikkim derive substantial tourist dollars but it dosen't look like they've bothered with inproving the infrastructure in these hilly regions. Yet its residents are so damn nice, helpful, kind, decent folks, despite the hardships...

This roadside dhoby's iron fascinated me so I moved in for a closer look...

The hilly terrain made delivery of bulky items difficult either on trolleys or on pickups which, in any case, are not permitted to operate here ..... so delivery workers were the beasts of burden. I saw the same mode of delivery in Nepal (post 89) Than and now, it was painful to watch...

 



These red bananas are a different species altogether. In Singapore, they are available in the Indian Quarter...

At this roadside market, I spotted some veggies the likes of which I've never come across before. Although relatives of some common vegetables, these are harvested or grown in the forested regions in which some cross-breeding has taken place...like among the humans...

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Spotted this in a shop...thought it's fitting for the times we live in...the Dalai Lama's a wise owl...he spews gems Westerners love and the Chinese Government find hypocritical. They should be more fearful of the Christians penetrating their country...they are today's Crusaders...