The Dandelion: When we sat down to read!

reflections on the experience of reading in public with ladakh writer’s club

By Lhundup Gyalpo

Picture this: An alpine desert forest is yet to receive its share of rain. For now, all it boasts of is an overgrowth of shrubs and thorns; dull, prickly, and urgently jostling for every nook of the forest. In a busy yet insipid corner of the parched forest, a yellow dandelion blooms silently, perky yet serene, pleasing to watch, and assuredly present.

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The Lamp!

By Lhundup Gyalpo

Buddha Purnima, the full moon day of the 4th month of the lunar Calendar, is celebrated as the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Lord Buddha. Of the many celebratory events that mark the day, one, in particular, is peculiar to Ladakh; the procession of Buddha’s scriptures. People carry thick and heavy volumes, usually wrapped in saffron cloth, over their heads and shoulders and tread across the rugged expanse of Leh town for almost a whole day!

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The Frozen Mirror

By Lhundup Gyalpo

A bunch of yellow and listless leaves rustled in a small eddy by the closed door. The wind blew in a melancholic whirl, whistling in a doleful hum. Nine thirty-two in the morning, the house was still dimly lit, bereft of light; a thick overcast kept the sun away in its sombre folds.

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The rainbow within

Written by Rinchen Angmo

Rainbow body. What could it possibly mean? I had often come across this term, without being able to fathom how one could logistically turn into a rainbow body. I’m no closer than I was, but I suppose I have given it some thought. After all, if we look close enough, we’re bound to notice the creation of rainbows in our everyday experience of the light and sound show called life.

Different schools of Tibetan Buddhism have their own terminology to express the Buddhist notion of emptiness. From what I understand, the Nyingma school expresses it in the form of a rainbow body. 

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On Dams and Electricity: A Story from Malana

By Sonam C

In the early summer of 2018, right after I had finished my Class 12 CBSE Board exams, I went with my family to the village of Malana. When I recall this time, I instinctively tell people “We went on a spiritual tour, like a pilgrimage.” Hardly, anyone believes that a group consisting of me, my sister, my mother, uncle and aunt, my cousin, her husband and her two kids travelled and trekked to Malana to pay our respects to the local god Jamlu.

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