Seventh IIM to be setup in Shillong

According to The Hindu’s report country’s seventh IIM will be set up in shillong.

The HRD minister, Arjun Singh, had in mid June last year announced that a new IIM would be set up in North-East in a city chosen by Chief Ministers of region in consultation with Union Department of North-Eastern Region (DONER).Its a healthy step in direction of engaging ties with engaging ties with North-east which has hitherto been neglected in drafting policy.

Trip To Mcleod Ganj:- Dalai Lama’s Abode

Mcleod Ganj a Tibetan exile situated amidst lap of nature was an apt place to hang out & mark end of our college days. After days of planning we zeroed down on this serene place where we decided to find solace from hectic life.

Rising 4000m above floor of valley Dhauladhars will follow you where ever you go , their sides covered with fields of mustard flowers & daisies, red roofed houses, garlands

of colorful Tibetan prayer flags wave to heaven & sometimes unfortunately tangle of electric cable line.

We started first leg of our journey by train fro

m Rohtak to Ludhiana with group size of 4 to my chachu’s place. Second leg of our journey in plains as well as mountains was covered by Maruti ZEN motored by a convivial aged man. Our companion a white beard 50 yr old man who was native of Hamirpur (H.P) kept us occupied with his anecdotes & riveting knowledge of land. He was a skilled driver assured us & allayed all our fears regarding treacherous journey in mountains. Mastering excruciating curves with aplomb he went on lengths about his experiences & kept us showing scenic expanse of majestic Dhauladars.

We checked in our Hotel (Him Queen) at

9 pm. There are other better alternatives present in terms of a Government Hotel as well if you hap

pen to visit the place. We took our dinner at a compact hill side dhabha( a rare site to be seen).A funny incidence happened, a lady(foreign tourist ) had a stomached attributed to spicy Indian food which her petite & fragile stomach couldn’t digest .She had a small tiff with manager & later on manager was able to cajole her to pay despite her stomached. After witnessing this fiasco we took a stroll in a street called Diabora road (where Natives of Tibet with Mongolian countenance were settled).They can be seen displaying there checkered attire & drooling in contemporary fuddy-duddy dude ishtyle clothes. We woke up in morning at 9:30 am & schedulized

our itinerary. We then headed towards our first destination Dalai Lama’s temple. We took a stroll down treacherous stony path from our Hotel. Temple was a serene place constructed in traditional Tibetan architecture displaying rich folklore Tibet has. We found sanctity & very intrigued by enigmatic history of Tibet that the temple flaunted with. Temple was esoterically built up with two chambers. It was a yellow building with huge red roof. Temple was built on a principle of “KALCHAKRA” where Kalchakra & many other deities were painted on northern & eastern wall depicting different state of mind, body & soul. Three walls were resplendent with huge paintings where each bore significant. On centre wall was a huge portrait at whose centre

was Lord Budha encircled by eight charkas (Hindu rashiphal).Other two walls bore different stages of Dalai Lama. It also displayed every state of mind like anger, happiness, love, hatred etc. Buddhist monk can be easily found chanting “OM MANI PADME HUM” around the temple & offering prayers to deity by making postures like Hindu SuryaNamaskar asana. We also rolled golden cylinders inscripted with “OM MANI PADME HUM” a ritual which is believed to bring peace on earth & good for humanity. These temples are believed to maintain forces of evil & good balanced.

Next on list was Tibetan Museum where a sweet Tibetan lady greeted us at ticket counter. Museum was a pristine place with brilliantly planned ambience. It was replete with history of struggle between Republic of China & Natives of Tibet. Pictures & Paintings goes to show how LHA (native town of Tibet) was vandalized. It also showcased struggle in terms of ravaging of their monasteries oppression of religious leaders & rebels. We also came to know through an advertisement outside museum that youngest Dalai Lama who turned 16 was apprehended& kept under custody of china

We then moved to BhagsuNath temple ( Shiv Temple) on our Zen after taking light breakfast on a roof top restaurant cum tailor shop. From there we headed for a treacherous uphill track which leads to the most coveted tourist attraction of Mcleod Ganj. Waterfall a visual treat was 1 Km uphill from lap of BhagsuNath Temple. Track was stony, excruciating yet provided us a splendid view of valley. Panting on the way we some how managed to reach at bottom of spectacular waterfall. We witnessed awesome site of multiple streams of spine chilling cold water coming down with a splashing sound in a reservoir abundant with pebbles. We then audaciously decided to take a dip in cold water posing for pics. We then headed downward but this time through a different & difficult path. Posing all the way for pictures we managed to find ourselves many an exquisite location. Sitting on a make shift wooden “Puliya” with water thudding in background I was feeling Divine intervention. After our macho stint of trekking we relaxed by taking a dip in chilling water of swimming pool in front of temple. Outside temple was a Punjabi Dhabha where eat to our fill like hungry lions. Getting a glass full of sweet lassi with Tandoor ki roti & makhani dal was cherry on cake. We then moved on to last destination to witness a spectacular sunset. We witnessed Sun going down behind snow peaked mountains which were said to be on Chinese side. Make sure to reach there on time so as to see Chinese side with binoculars which we missed. There were some destinations that we missed were: - Norbulinka Institute 4 Km from Dharmshala is dedicated to preserving Tibetan literature and visual crafts. Walk down shady paths, wooden bridges, and small streams and through waterfalls the preserved included thangka painting, appliqué, woodcarving and metal craft. Kanga Art Museum & the War Memorial were two other attractive destinations. A stroll away from main town and hidden away in cluster of pines is the church of St John in the wilderness, a Gothicbuilding whose cobble-stonned floors, stained glass windows and cool dimness will hush you into prayer.

We then started our downward journey & according to itinerary visit the Holy shrine of several of avatars of Mata. We paid homage to holy shrines & experienced a spiritual solace. Every avatar had a story to tell. At shrine of Jawali ji we witnessed Ma in her Sakshath roop in form of fire. At ChamundaDevi mata shrine was a cremation ground where it is said that Ma asks for a bali everyday. Villagers from adjoining village offer one dead person to Ma. Then there was shrine of Ma Naina devi where eyes of Ma fell. Last of all shrine was Ma Chintapurni’s shrine who believed to take all your anxieties & sin away. All your wishes come true if you tie a thread around holy tree.

We had a memorable ending to our college days where we enjoyed to hilt. We all will cherish these days & keep these memories for all our life. Let’s see the pledge we took to visit this place will be met or not.