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FOR 14 centuries, the majestic Potala Palace has been the abiding symbol of Tibet. Even today the stately red-and-white building towers over the fabled city of Lhasa. But dramatic changes have taken place elsewhere in the "city of sunshine". The residence of many Dalai Lamas stands on an elevation. Where the hillock ends and people prostrate themselves in reverence, there is a huge modern square. The most prominent landmark there is JiJi nightclub, where comely girls in hotpants serve Tibetan beer and harder stuff to gyrating couples. The civilisation which has had to metamorphose itself according to a Chinese template may be causing a cultural shock to the conservative Tibetans but today’s generation seems to love it. They frequent the happening place in hordes. Only a few metres away, an abandoned Chinese fighter aircraft has been strategically put on static display, as if to remind everyone what is in the air. Welcome to Lhasa, the ultimate Shangri-La, the mysterious city out of bounds for outsiders for generations. Today it attracts tourists like a magnet. Go with the clear understanding that it is year 2004 and the ancient city is now geared for the 21st century. It boasts of wide, clean roads crossing each other at right angles, as is the case in Chandigarh. Stone and cement showrooms sell the latest gadgets. It is not as if there are no old-style buildings which one has seen in pictures and on tapestries. Many of them have been well-preserved. Take the Nubralingka Palace, the summer residence of the Dalai Lama, for instance. It has the old architecture intact. Even the radio gifted by Nehru to the Dalai Lama is there with the three-lion emblem on it. The Tibetan museum is another imposing building in typical design but all around it are modern buildings. To get a feel of the old world, you will have to go to the Jokhang temple, the holiest pilgrimage centre for the Tibetans, young as well as old. It is surrounded by narrow streets which the faithful frequent. Rubbing shoulders with them are thousands of foreign tourists who have started frequenting Tibet. You won’t find many Indians here. Visa problems are cumbersome. But you won’t feel very lonely either. Pictures of Aishwarya Rai and other Bollywood stars stare at you everywhere. Don’t be surprised if MP3s in roadside shops belt out Hindi songs. Indians – ‘Indu’ as they are called – evoke considerable love and your features earn you many friendly smiles and concessions at shops. By the way, while there bargain to your heart’s content because haggling seems to be as prevalent across the border as it is in India. Incidentally, this love for India is noticeable all over Tibet. We travelled to Tsetang, the capital of Shannan prefecture 200 km away, to have a look at the life in the rural areas and also to visit the Samye, the first Buddhist monastery to be set up in Tibet. Surfing the TV channels in the hotel, we found only Tibetan and Chinese programmes and none in English. Imagine my surprise when I hit upon a cable channel showing songs from the latest Shahrukh Khan starrers! Barkhor Bazaar, close to the Jekhong temple in Lhasa, is the ideal place for picking up local handicraft items and trinkets. But don’t be surprised if many of these happen to be made in India. Even the saffron sachets being sold there have the Delhi address at the bottom. How come? Don’t forget that there is Nepal in between with which Tibet has considerable trade. The pity is that most of the Indian items that come through this route are of very poor quality. It was eerie to see milestones reading "Shanghai 3600 km away" once we reached Gonggar airport the next day and left for Lhasa 100 km away. The forced overnight stop at Chengdu due to "technical error" deprived us of compulsory acclimatisation at Lhasa. But when you go there never ever repeat that mistake because it can be fatal. For the first 24 hours or so, even if you feel perfectly healthy, walk slowly as if you have just been discharged from hospital; don’t bathe and don’t talk too much. Lack of oxygen can cause severe headache, sleeplessness, giddiness, disorientation and worse. The life on the street is a chiaroscuro of serenity and simplicity. It is best glimpsed at the all-night market. While most shops deal in cheap electronic goods and clothes, leisure shops and eateries are the most fascinating. There are two fond memories of Lhasa that I cherish. One is that of going inside a sunken room in front of the Jakhong temple where thousands and thousands of lamps were lit for prayers. And the second is looking at the Potala Palace when the sun suddenly came up from behind. Its golden rays inexplicably morphed it from a beautiful sight into a surreal, almost divine, vision. Some day I hope to go back there to convince myself that what I saw was only an optical illusion caused by rarefied air. |
