LUNG TA

Chai, Reiko's  pale cream mongrel, ran ahead, only too glad to be off leash, she dashed up the mountain slope, looking behind every now and then.  We had walked up to Daremkot, high above Mcleodganj, with densely forested valleys and slopes - the highest peaks above us appeared and disappeared in the cloud and fog.

Everything felt cool and damp in the forest.  Ferns and moss covered banks and tiny pale violets grew wild wherever you looked.  Following the contour path, going higher and higher, an old shepherd, with his loosely tied top-heavy white turban, sat quietly contemplating the view.  Tibetan monks had built simple stone huts, hidden among the trees - they would withdraw to these huts at times for deepest contemplative prayer.  All was silent - the prayer flags, came as a visual surprise in this silent place - tied between the trees, so many of them - red, white, blue, green and yellow, each with a mantra, some with the 'Lung Ta' , the wind horse, which would carry the prayers and distribute their benediction.  I thought of Gothic Cathedrals, Renaissance Churches, Hindu Temples and Islamic Mosques - the prayer flags, created their own architecture.....