Part 2
Jhamtse
Gatsal Children’s Community School. A place in the sky: two hours of travel
from Tawang right on the border of Bhutan and just about 25 kilometers from the
border of Tibet and China! The entire school children, staff and all the
visiting volunteers were lined up to receive me and my host Vasudha Wanchoo ,
the head of the administration at the community who was returning from the U.S.
after two months. Lama Lobsang Phuntsok was right in front of the line to
receive me. Many silk scarves and flowers and beautiful hugs from the children
of all shapes and sizes made my fatigue of my seven-day journey disappear in no
time. I was there on top of the mountain surrounded by higher mountains and a lovely
community whose warmth was instantly overwhelming. A cup of tea and a guided tour by
Lama Lobsang Phuntsok around the
campus set the tone of my entire trip and I knew that the trip to the far away
land was not going to be a waste.
When I woke up the next day in my room and opened the curtains of the window, I saw the mountains of my dreams, the mountains I have been struggling to paint in my sketch books all these years! I could not believe it as I stood there with a sense of dismay and wonder. Dreams come true, do they? They do some day; I knew it at that moment. Very soon children were all around me wishing me Good Morning as I was temporarily put up in a teacher’s quarters and Lama Lobsang came apologizing asking me if the children woke me up too early. He did not know how wonderful it was to be embraced by so many loving children and repeatedly asked about all the film stars I may have met and seen in Mumbai and I knew that’s all they knew about film making: film stars!
When I woke up the next day in my room and opened the curtains of the window, I saw the mountains of my dreams, the mountains I have been struggling to paint in my sketch books all these years! I could not believe it as I stood there with a sense of dismay and wonder. Dreams come true, do they? They do some day; I knew it at that moment. Very soon children were all around me wishing me Good Morning as I was temporarily put up in a teacher’s quarters and Lama Lobsang came apologizing asking me if the children woke me up too early. He did not know how wonderful it was to be embraced by so many loving children and repeatedly asked about all the film stars I may have met and seen in Mumbai and I knew that’s all they knew about film making: film stars!
As I
slowly got acclimatized physically to the location and while secretly hiding my
fears about my fitness I got to know the wonderful institution of Jhamtse Gatsal
Children’s Community School. ‘Jhamtse’ a Tibetan word means Love and
Compassion. A dream come true for Lama Lobsang! Lama Lobsang belonged to that
region and having lived a life of poverty and deprivation he had resolved that
one day he would do something for the poor children of the region. And during
his stay in the USA he gave shape to his dream which finally took concrete form
just six years ago. And what I saw was
far beyond my imagination. I had not imagined that the place I was going to in a
far remote corner of the country would be an up to date, well organized
institution for the orphaned and underprivileged children of the region. Well constructed
dormitories, well equipped class rooms and dedicated teachers in that
breathtakingly beautiful unspoiled surroundings: I would have not believed it had
I not been physically present there myself. Well appointed kitchen and a mess
with wash basins with bottles of liquid
soaps and most of all clean toilets and bathrooms. A sight which one does not
very often get to see in a public place in India!
The
atmosphere there was very relaxed. While I hesitantly started to conduct my
Cinema Workshop for the children of Class 7th and 8th I
realised that the children there, 82 in all, were not as remote as they seemed,
from the day to day realities of the world and very soon they came on to my
wavelength leaving behind their persistent enquiries about the film stars which
I had banned after a couple of days into the workshop. Very soon we were into
serious orientation about the history of cinema and the methods of film-making.
The alternate day screening of some classics I had carried with me opened their
eyes in a certain sense, so to say, to the cinema which lay beyond Bollywood
and Hollywood which was their routine fare. Hopefully I was on the way to
change their mindset about cinema once and for all.
What
a wonderful life: to be hugged by ever loving children every time one passes
through the campus. Such bright faces full of smiles and eyes looking for love
from every passing soul. All the children in the community come from the
surrounding villages of the Monpa tribe barring a few Nepalese children whose parents
had settled down in the region. Many children there were orphans, a few belong
to single parents and some were just underprivileged. Lama Lobsang Phuntsok
himself went around the surrounding villages to admit the children in the school
by convincing the parents and guardians that education was of prime importance
if progress has to happen in the region. The region, according to some,
belonged to a larger Tibet, and the Chinese Govt. continues to call that entire
region of Tawang a disputed territory. Some locals still feel a sense of
insecurity on that issue and are afraid that one day the Chinese will just
march in and take over the disputed territory. But most people now believe that
it is not anymore a realistic scenario in the present context especially
because of the large presence of the Indian army in the entire stretch.
One
fine day during my workshop I ventured out with my host Vasudha to a Monpa village
down in the valley. Going down the slope was easy because there was a newly
built kachcha road. Looking at the
unspoiled beauty of the place , frantically taking photographs for eternity and
to show them to my family when I get
back to what is considered ‘civilization’ to prove that I have been to
places an average Indian cannot believe exist was an exhilarating experience. We walked down from a beaten path to the
nearest village down in the valley. The houses were made of stone and tin and
bamboo roof. Smoke was emitting from the rooftops and I was told that wood fire
is always burning in these houses to keep them warm and the smoke-filled houses
often created eye ailments in the people there. We came across a blind old
woman who was carrying a small child on her back who was pushing her to keep
walking. That made an interesting picture.
The
primary occupation of the people living there is agriculture. They cultivate in
small terrace fields and mostly grow a type of rice which does not require too
much water. The people there look poor and backward but there were signs of progress.
We saw a new school coming up nearby and we met a girl in the village who spoke
good English and we were told that many children go to nearby schools and some
had even studied in Jhamtse Gatsal School Community where I was staying. I also saw community water taps in the
villages; in fact everywhere in Arunachal Pradesh. A mix of old and the new and
I wondered how some people live in such places which we cannot imagine not only
in India but all over the world, sometimes blissful in their ignorance of the
rest of the world! Climbing on the way back was a tough task and I started
imagining the last words I would utter before I collapse like “Tell my family
that I love them.” Well, I survived all that nonsense to sit here and write
this report on my trip. It only reminded me that I was not young any more.
Photographs and Text
Vishnu Mathur.©
September 4, 2013.
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