Yesterday I went to Bylakuppe, a Tibetan settlement about 45km from Mysore that houses more than 10,000 refugees. The settlement is surrounded by agriculture- lots of coconuts and cows- and radiates a slower friendly pace of life. We visited several monasteries, but did not see nearly as many monks as you might normally expect due to the celebration of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. The temples were filled with the chirping songs of birds instead of the prayers of monks, and since they were relatively empty we were able to spend as much time as we liked immersed in the incredible art work and sculptures without feeling like we were bothering anyone. I am really looking forward to visiting Dharmsala and seeing a Tibetan monastery in action now that I've seen one on holiday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures!
Oh yes, and yesterday was my birthday. I woke up and hadn't thought about it until Hannah wished me well on my way out the door for yoga. I guess it wasn't technically my birthday yet at that hour though because I was born in EST. So I've been celebrating all morning today too. I had a beautiful gulab jamoon for dessert last night instead of a cake. That is, a fried doughball floating in sugar syrup........ sounds horrid, but is really so wonderful that Hannah and I took almost 10 minutes to eat them as we traded a spoon back and forth in the dark -power failure- taking tiny savory bites and murmuring with delight.
Thanks for the good-wishes!
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