It might be unexpected to find an English Church among the Tibetan Buddhist Glory of Dharmashala but there is an old church here built during the time of when Lord (James Bruce, the 8th Earl of) Elgin ruled India. The place was built in the mid 1800s and is at a height of 5742 feet above mean sea level. This church is at McLeod Ganj, a 20 minute walk downhill from the bus station there. It is best to walk there than attempt motorised transport.

It is an Anglican Church to St. John the Baptist; a religious figure in several Abrahamic faiths for his “baptism” and a precursor to Jesus.  It also houses a cemetery and houses the remains of Lord Elgin who died there. I felt definitely an element of haunting spiritual melancholy here with the graveyard so close by. The church is made out of stone and has stained glasses that were apparently gifted here by Lady Elgin. They are uniquely beautiful in their glass tapestry!! Somehow I knew I had to offer a prayer and did so.

Everyone and more had stated that this is a must visit and I am here and a journey on spiritual grounds deserves a temple visit or two and here are some driving instructions if you’d want to follow! I found this link rather informative but am not sure it is still being updated. This temple is said to be at the site where Lord Shiva blessed the Pandava – Arjun that he’d have victory over the Kauravas in the great battle of the Mahabharata.

The place meanwhile is at Khaniyara (which by the way means slate mines); a village about 9 kms from Dharamshala town, situated in the foothills of Dhauladhar mountains, in the Kangra district of the state of Himachal Pradesh at India. There is an obvious spirituality about the place given the several multi cultural places of worship here. This specific temple is built atop a gushing stream that seemed to be a source of never ending energy!

Have been off travelling for a while and building out the home base at Delhi. Couldn’t take it anymore needed a break and hit the road. Thought I’d head to Tibet and meet the Dalai Lama – but hey visa and then I realised his holiness the Dalai Lama resides here at India – fairly close to where I live and no visa needed. Packed up and headed to Dharmashala and here I am waiting to meet his holiness.

It was then that a chance call from a relative living in Macleod Ganj to spice up thing’s for me. They asked me to come over to see the paragliding championship’s taking place in their city. I flew in on the morning Spice Jet Flight from Delhi into the beautiful Valley. I was welcomed by the Shivpuri Family who had a beautifulhouse at the hillock far away on the mountain’s. A family of four with two dog’s , tortoise , parakeet’s and a rock garden to boast . I felt at home immediately and had a hearty Kashmiri Lunch . 

The next day Sunny (Chandan) the elder son of the family took me for a tour and the guy was quite a hipster! MacleodGanj is where all the Tibetan Monasteries .I visited the Namgyal Monastery where i learnt how to do a special prayer by prostrating to the buddha .It was like doing push up’s ,  a prayer and an exercise all in one. Then a quick de tour of the Dal Lake at Naddi and a dip in the holy pool of the Bhagsu Nag temple. Here i jumped into the icy water of the pool after performing my prayers. (At the temple pool) All the activity had gotten me hungry so I asked Sunny to take me to the German Bakery near the MacleodGanj town centre .We ate a chicken biriyani and had fresh lime soda. 

I strolled into the by lanes near the Dalia Lama Temple taking pictures and chatting with the local’s . The buddhist temples are very bright in colour and they prefer red and gold as their primary colours . I made a wish after spinning the wheel in the temple and then did some shopping for Khushboo (daughter of Mrs Shivpuri) , bought her a little purse made out of a yak . At the Namgyal Monastery , I submitted a request letter asking to meet with the Dalai Lama and handed it to his secretary who assured me that they will get back to me in a few days . His holiness is in Macleod Ganj for a few weeks and i have a good chance to get an audience with him.

Next day me , sunny and Khushboo went to explore the Norbulingka Monastery which is the summer palace of the Dalai Lama .It was like heaven lot’s of flowers , walk way’s , garden’s and a water fall in the middle . At the centre was the prayer room with a huge statue of the buddha , with circular roof’s , which reminded me of the architecture of the Buddha Temple’s in Korea. Then their was a doll’s museum , a workshop where tibetian artist created sculptures from bronze  . A near by museum talked about the struggle of the Tibetian people from Chinese operation . How many had self immolated themselves to bring the world’s attention to their plight and how ruthlessly the Chinese were trying to finish them off and erase their culture and heritage .

Next was a stroll to the Aghanjar Mahadev Temple in Khaniara Dharamshala. I chatted to the local priest their and told him that i was a Bollywood actor and i had acted in my film’s like Rab ne Bana di Jodi with Shah Rukh Khan , he nodded “ Sorry sir i am south indian , we only know Rajni Kanth .” that was the end of our conversation i guess . Now of to have dinner with this great Kashmiri family , who are making me feel really at home.The Namgyal Monastery

Next day me , sunny and Khushboo went to explore the Norbulingka Monastery which is the summer palace of the Dalai Lama .It was like heaven lot’s of flowers , walk way’s , garden’s and a water fall in the middle . At the centre was the prayer room with a huge statue of the buddha , with circular roof’s , which reminded me of the architecture of the Buddha Temple’s in Korea. Then their was a doll’s museum , a workshop where Tibetan artist created sculptures from bronze  . A near by museum talked about the struggle of the Tibetan people from Chinese operation . How many had self immolated themselves to bring the world’s attention to their plight and how ruthlessly the Chinese were trying to finish them off and erase their culture and heritage

A view of the monastery !!

India like most western civilisation is exposed to the celebrity cult. A culture where if you are a Bollywood Star, Singer or someone seen a lot on T.V; you are a celebrity and your opinion, rants, style matter more then that of others. Celebrities have the power to influence the common folks and are seen as pinnacles of success. They dress better, look better, talk better then the rest of us. They perhaps also think they are more intelligent then us, have better sex lives and get into trouble more often than the rest us. They are supposed to live a charmed life , the glamorous life . A life all of us should aspire for , fuelled by a hungry content guzzling Media circus slapstick that the celebrity bandwagon rolls on. Whether it be talk show’s , dial in radio show’s , new’s debates or new’s paper articles their opinion matters the most . The page three culture is where celebrities are paraded like trophies .

They are out there selling product’s on T.V and endorsing brand’s all happy faces asking us to be like them. But what is the reality behind this cult? Let’s look at Bollywood star’s most of who are celebrity descendants; star son’s and star daughters or some one related to the other. There are a few like ShahRukh , Priyanka , Deepika have made it on their on stream with the traditional back up of family. But for the rest it is a free pass and every kid on the street wants to be like them, wants to earn as much money as they do and enjoy everything else that these trappings come with.

Armed with image consultant’s and P.R professional’s this glamorous money making racket moves on. Whether it be award’s ceremony or other fan fare they keep telling us that it is they who stand for success in our society today. Be like us they say , dress like us , be seen like us , let your hair down like us . But in this dog eat dog world of name and fame many drown and loose themselves. Young get corrupted and very soon fall off the bandwagon. Young women from smaller town’s fall prey to the casting couch. But after a point sleeping around just don’t get you the roles that matter or the “break” everyone seeks and many end up finding success or a modicum thereof, in the vernacular film industry. In the clutches of co-ordinator’s , director’s and producer’s most new comer’s who come to a city like Mumbai feel trapped and are disappointed when the progress is slow and their contact’s add to nothing at all.

Let’s look at the celebrities that we have and I mean people like Rahul Mahajan, Veena Malik, Bobby Darling these are people with and they give opinion’s right from the state of the economy to the political crises in the middle east. We get to hear about their opinion on just about everything , being a celebrity gives them that right , although they might lack a lot more right up in their grey cell’s . With a plethora of New’s Channels hungry for content their opinion’s are the most sort after , even if a lot of them are the most ill equipped to talk on the subject at hand . Spreading mis information and unnecessary rhetoric with their warped opinion’s they further create dissonance in the mind of the youth. They fuel a desire in all to be like them . But if you see the shallow culture they propagate it will be mind boggling bereft of substance and devoid of thought . Celebrities should be seen as plastic doll’s not flag bearers of intellectual thoughts , to be toyed with and not to be taken to seriously.