Tibetan settlement

Many Tibetans fled their homeland starting in 1959, and many came to the Mussoorie area.  There is a thriving Tibetan community, cultural center, and several schools on the western end of Mussoorie.  On Saturday morning we took taxis there (about an 8 mile trip) and were given a tour of the area.  We saw the main school which educates children through highschool, and also a small vocational school which trains in tailoring and painting (for both areas, training is in both traditional Tibetan art and clothing and in modern/western styles). We made a brief visit to the Buddhist temple there also.

This is the junior library at the school. One of the murals is of TinTin in Tibet.

Some of the children are orphans, or their parents work elsewhere in India, or their parents are still in Tibet but they have gotten their children to India for a better life and more opportunity: these children are housed in group homes with a Tibetan couple as house-parents.  There is much emphasis on retaining and transmitting Tibetan language and culture, so that this is not lost in the diaspora. The photo is of a group of these homes.

Adventure

On Friday the group had a long, but very interesting day.  Part of the group started out early by taxi as far as Seokholi (a village about 5 miles along Tehri Road to the east), and then they hiked down the north side of the range down into the Aglar river valley and the village of Tatur (7 miles).  Right before Seokholi there is a great view of the peaks east of Bandar Punch.

The rest of us were not as energetic (including me - especially because I have a bad cold) took taxis all of the way down to meet the walkers in Tatur.  This is a beautiful area with pine forests and small villages and terraced farms. We met the hikers in Tatur, then continued by taxi across the Aglar and along the south face of the next ridge, this time travelling in a westerly direction. 

Around noon we stopped in a village to visit a school.  M. had been here several times with other groups, and the head teacher is a friend of some Woodstock staff. The school has children from ages 4 to about 10 or 12.  This is a private school, and was situated in this village so the younger children would not have to walk more than 4 kilometers to school .. the nearest government primary school is at least a 6 km walk for some students. The students learn Hindi, English, math, "general knowledge" (which includes social studies and sciences), and music and art.

The students were playing a local form of tag which involves a lot of strategy.

In honor of our visit, some of the younger students changed into local hill costumes and performed a folk dance for us. My thought was how much friends B&S would enjoy watching this!

After this we went on in the taxis for another hour or so, stopped an had lunch, then walked down below the road to the village of KhasKodam, which is featured in the video Palayan (I have a copy and will be glad to show it to folks back home).  This is a poor village, but very picturesque as some of the houses still have the traditional Garhwali architecture with wooden walls and slate roofs.  The main crop seems to be corn - though they were also drying beans, chilis, and greens.

They still prepare flour in traditional ways . here is a photo of small stone grinder and also some pestles that are used in stone mortars.

After a short visit there we continued on our way down into the valley to the confluence of the Aglar with the Yamuna .. across the river and back up into the far western side of Mussoorie, past Kempty falls and finally back to the Hanifl Center. The distance was not far, but the roads are narrow and very windy, with a lot of hair-pin curves.  If you have ever watched the tv show about the world's worst roads .. these were a step or two better, but not a whole lot!  I just tried not to think about them as we were going along!

A quick plug for Woodstock School

Yesterday (Thursday) the class members who had gathered thus far took a leisurely walk up to the top of the hill and all around the chukkar again. The view of the snows was even more clear than the previous time I had seen them.

In the evening we were invited to the home of Dr. Long, the principal of the school.  After a very nice dinner and visit with classmates, staff from the alumni/development office, and Dr & Mrs. Barton, retired teachers who had been on the staff for 17 years, Dr. Long outline some points in his vision for the School.  What he had to say made me excited again for the great potential of Woodstock School as an international school in a very unique geographical and environmental setting.

If there should be folks out there on the web that happen to stumble across this blog - here is a plug for the school.

High school students anywhere in the world who might want a semester or year in India should consider the SAGE program. Through SAGE one can arrange high school study abroad in India, Costa Rica, Cameroon, or Thailand .. but of course we hope you'll choose Woodstock in India.

 High school graduates who are seeking a 'gap' experience before starting higher studies are also served by SAGE with several gap year and volunteer programs.

Any young people I have talked to that have come to Woodstock as a SAGE student have found it life-changing. Some who have come as 10th or 11th graders opt to stay to finish their education here.

Where else can you get a world-class education, participate in a strong music and extracurricular program, and live in such a spectacular setting?

Sunrise

The dorm rooms in the Hanifl Center face east.  One of my favorite views here is of the ridges of hills off to the east.  This morning we are watching the sun rise over them.  The highest peak to the very left of the photo is Sircunda Devi (ca 9000 ft?) where there is a Hindu temple on top.  We hiked there and climbed to the top when I was in high school.

Hanifl Center

I have just moved out of the guest room at the school and relocated to the Hanifl Center. Here about ten members of my high school class will be gathering for a reunion. A few have come already, another group will be getting in this afternoon, and a couple will be here just for the weekend.
The HC is quite an impressive complex and I look forward to learning more about the various groups that use the facilities here and the various activities supported by the center.

I will walk back to the school for one more meeting with the Advancement/Alumni office staff, and for lunch.  Then I am going to try to take a good nap before others get here as I have come down with a cold.

Electricity

The electricity goes off here at random moments, but so far they have only been brief.  Most of the major appliances (such as the small refrigerator in the guest suite) have surge protectors. Above is a photo of just one light pole/power line, but it will give you an idea of the scope of the situation!

Trees and forest

(an aside - woke up again to the singing of the Whistling Thrush - what a treat!)

The School sits in a protected forest area.  There are very strict regulations about felling trees and even in cutting branches - one has to get permits and pay fees and it all takes a long time.  This is a good thing, as other areas nearby are somewhat deforested or the lower branches of trees have been lopped off for cattle and goat feed.

The primary tree in this area is an oak - locally called banj - Quercus Incana or Quercus Acutissima.

There are also a lot of long-needled pine - locally called chir -  Pinus longifolia. They grow to be quite large: in one of the photos you can see a few rising up above an understory of oak.  The closeup of the single pine is the "Lyre Tree" - the symbol for the School.

Another common tree is the Deodar - Cedrus deodara - which is kin to the Cedar of Lebanon.  Deodar means 'gift of god.'

Rhododendrons grow here as large trees. There are many of them down near the upper school dormitories and Hansen Field. Other trees include a Himalayan dogwood, two different kinds of maple, and the horse chestnut.