Land of the Thunder Dragon

Living on the edge is not a great philosophy for life, I realised. My epiphany came as I barely kept my balance on a horse that was both homicidal and suicidal, determined to fall off a cliff-face taking me along for company. I was looking down a vertical drop and could not, for the life of me, see the valley below.

I was half way up the trail to Taktsang Monastery, or Tiger’s Nest, as the Bhutanese call it, set on a vertigo-inducing cliff. But I didn’t have too long to ponder on weltenschauungs, for a taxing climb awaited me. Almost a thousand rough rocky steps on the mountain, mostly without handrails.

I was in Bhutan on a whirlwind trip and was determined to take in as much as I could of it. A bit ambitious for a short spell, but who can resist temptation when the emerald hills of a pristine country makes you forget about time and life as you live it?

I was staying in Thimpu, the charming Bhutanese capital. It’s a perfect showcase for the direction Bhutan is taking — modernity is making inroads, but it’s amalgamated and engulfed in the living traditions of the people rather than making an assault on them. And I found a resonance of this amalgam in the Taj Tashi, the place where I put up.

Its architecture and decor are typically Bhutanese and it impresses effortlessly but does not impose itself on the landscape. There is strong accent on the local elements — from their Ara bar (try the potent Bhutanese wine ara) to the Jiva spa where you could indulge in the hot stone bath, the Bhutanese specialty restaurant Chig-je-gye (I had a nine–course meal here with everything from ema datshi to stewed pork with radish) to the view of the mountains that the rooms offer.

On my first day in Thimpu I watched the crowds that thronged the Thimpu Memorial Chhorten, moving fast to make three rounds of the shrine. Word was out that the king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, was visiting. Unfortunately, my brush with royalty was contained to running my hands on His Majesty’s Toyota Land Cruiser on my way out.

But it was actually in Punakha, the old Bhutanese capital about three hours’ drive from Thimpu, that I felt how Bhutan immerses its visitors in its beliefs. My first stop was the 15th century Chimi Lakhang, a fertility temple dedicated to Lama Drukpa Kuenley and a pilgrimage stop for childless couples. As I walked through the rice terraces of Punakha valley, I wondered how and what to pray for.

A singular lack of spouse or anything in that direction is a bit of a handicap when you go to a fertility temple, if you ask me. But as I entered the premises, with colourful prayer flags fluttering against an azure sky, serene people sitting underneath a holy tree, I felt strangely calm.

It seemed but natural to ask for a blessing here, whatever form it may take. The priest made me take three dices and roll them. I was puzzled, but Leena and Sonam, my companions, explained that the number on your dices reveal whether your prayers would come true. Each monastery has its own divine number. Mine, I was happy to note, evoked a big smile from the priest.

Thus encouraged, I went over to the Punakha Dzong, built in the 1630s and now the winter home of Bhutan’s central monastic body. It is about an hour away from Chimi Lakhang and was rebuilt after a fire destroyed parts of it in 1987. But the inner sanctums are still as regal and awe-inspiring.

The central hall with its huge gleaming statues, colourful paintings and the butter lamps lit by devotees, speak of amazing grandeur. All coronations are held here.

I was to visit Taktsang Monastery next day. Not overly concerned about the climb, I asked people about the holy number there —thirteen. But it came with a rider. If you roll your dices and get it the first time, your wish comes true, but you can’t bear the way in which it does. To offset it, you have to roll thrice.

Taktsang is said to be the seat from where Buddhism originated in Bhutan. Legend has it that Guru Rimpoche flew in here from Tibet on a tiger and meditated in the cave around seventh century AD.

This is the holiest monastery in Bhutan and has survived many fires, though the inner shrine where the holy relics are kept has never been touched. At nearly 10,000ft above sea level in the Paro Valley, it sits high on a cliff-face close to 3,000ft above the nearest village.

We started early the next morning and a two-hour drive from Thimphu took us to the village at the base. Fortified by the deceptively gentle elevation at the base, I started walking, which in a matter of minutes became panting steps with the muscles threatening to go on strike. I was never happier to get on a horse. Except the happiness was short-lived. The horse kept uncomfortably close to the edge, inspiring many anxieties and changes in life-views. I was never happier to get off a horse either. And then came the steps — vertiginous, steep and taxing.

The Taktsang trail is difficult, but not impossible. And when you reach the top, you get the point of it. Sombre and a bit forbidding at first glance, Taktsang makes you aware of the weight of its history and the spiritual significance it has for the Bhutanese. It demands respect in harsh tones, though once you enter the inner shrines, you perceive an equally strong sense of benediction. The hushed prayers, the lamas going about their business, the gleaming statues of Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche, the solemn expressions on the devotees as they seem almost to plead for, rather than pray for, blessings — it seems very removed from the world you live in.

And that sense of displacement stayed with me for a long time, even as we climbed down the trail, trying to race ahead of the rains on the mountain behind us.

Back in Thimpu, as I sat thinking about the strength of faith and the power of beliefs, the rains caught up with me, beating a gentle tattoo on my windowpanes. My time in Bhutan was up.

Ready reckoner

Getting there: Druk Air has direct flights from Kolkata to Paro.

Staying there: The Taj Tashi is an excellent 5-star option. Room rates range between $300 and $650 per day, depending on room category. For more details, call (toll free) 1800 111 825.


The Personal Telegraph