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| Tibetans at bazaar day on Monday at Mundgod |
It was now at the end of the first year for Ngodup at
the monastic administrative office. Whatever the people had talked about the
recent comet with its luminous tail like a whizzing star caught still as the
sign presaging something inauspicious Ngodup hadn’t taken it so. And now there
were a few including Phuntsok who said the recent case of anti-Tibetan
sentiments stirred by a friendly looking Indian residing on the outskirts of
the monastery with a plot of land he had purchased from a local Indian as the
proof. His name was Jimmy and one of those who had migrated from Kerala. It was
rumored that he had procured the land on the roadside through sort of applying
his smiling manipulative devices like promising big but giving little. As per
his rather outgoing taste with a fixed broad smile on his fleshy face plus
sweet words facilitated by his effeminate softness over the short build he had
been known to many who he said as his friends ‘Mari Dhose’. He had later built
a simple bungalow with a telephone booth plus travel agency. The monks had been
going to him. He had had also soft drinks like Coca and Pepsi delivery deal
with the monastic canteens. Like he had appeared suddenly with the same broad
simile and sweet words he had taken all by surprise by going this far like he
could do so as his ultimate heinous wish to drive away all the Tibetans from
the settlement.
Even if it had been talked about with
minimum wonder or shock, no one had thought he would go that far in procuring
some leading figures behind him like the local president of Indo-Tibetan
Friendship Society, the principal of the central school for Tibetans and a
local businessman who was said as heavily indebted in loans. The reason of such
rancor by the two first figures against the Tibetans was unknown but the local
businessman had its doings with the monastic disciplinarians restricting grip
that had stopped naughty novices visiting his home at nights to watch movies by
paying per disk till morning. He had been able to make pretty income from such
as there were times when almost thirty monks were present. And such going had
been happening for more than two years. And for Jimmy it was the similar story
of monks being restricted from stepping into his temporary home for making a
call as per the precaution against possible case that Jimmy would run other
things that were against the monastic discipline. So such hatred had been
seeded into the two hearts.
It was towards a windy evening when an
unexpected rain was inevitable from the darkening sky with those mountainous
dark clouds lurching and closing in. The scraps of dry mango leaves were blown
everywhere in a rampaging movement and with a hissing sound. Ngodup was at home
after a day of hard work. Solidarity Committee was now carrying out a series of
major people protest programs in Bombay. As Ngodup was going to learn later,
the hundreds of ordained ones were staying at a major university campus. The
people of India there, especially the students, were very empathetically with
Tibetans through joining the protest programs and expressing solidarities
despite the somber case looming here at Tibetan settlement, Mundgod. ‘We are
with you’ was their motto. So, the heinous case here perpetrated by the two
possessed minds was evidently not to be taken that seriously as many did this windy
evening. Whispers could be heard everywhere in the monastery that a protest by
the Indian people of the nearby villages was coming the next day. Phuntsok had
just come back from a protest program in Pondicherry. He was sort of both
thrilled and dreaded. And with the same expressions on his skinny long face he
came to Ngodup.
‘What you haven’t heard about it? How
you can just stay like nothing is going to happen? What and how we are to
react? What those villagers would do? You know we won’t respond back in the
similar way. You know about the two such cases happened in Dharamsala years
back when Tibetans did nothing but fled. How the mob, mostly those poor used by
the ones behind, attacked our government offices, stole whatever they got hold
of and beat Tibetans. What justice was there? And the recent case there of beating
two young Tibetan girls who just attempted to intervene when those taxi drivers
harassed and beat a drunken Tibetan. I hate those guys called Jimmy and Japati.
But I have gone not more than twice at Japati at nights to watch movies. Oof,
see, now they, who know more about us, have gone that far to organizing such
mass hate against us just to meet their selfish ends. I can’t bear it,’ said
Phuntsok before telling about how the protest program from which he had just
come back had gone.
Ngodup listened and let him fume. He
wasn’t that affected as Phuntsok. He just thought, if such a protest was to
come, that could be no more than a handful of people. The Tibetans hadn’t had any
strife with the neighboring villages but relationship in terms of those coming
to work at the monasteries from construction, dairy farms to handicraft
centers. And those doing business in supplying groceries to the monastic
canteens and kitchens had always been friendly. So why not those of upper
levels coming to the monastic offices. And in terms of the whole settlement
with nine camps and four major monastic universities the case had been bright
and mutually beneficial with the respective neighbors. Even if a few cases of
such conflicts had happened at the biggest Tibetan settlement, Bylakuppe and
other parts in India, they were of such possible in a human society fed by
attachment and hatred at personal level. So Ngodup couldn’t believe Jimmy and
Japati could coax all those hardworking villagers in plunging themselves into a
sort of hypnotized movement without any grounds for justice. But Phuntsok
couldn’t be reasoned.
‘You know they have visited village
after village with such false statements against Tibetans and monks like throwing
plastic bottles filled with dirty things from a taxi when passing through
villages between the monasteries and Hubli, the village lads picking them up
and getting sick after drinking unknowingly. And so on. How possible such case
can be? They have cheated the villagers like making them believe a village lad
hasn’t eyes or is as hungry as a crazed. After giving such hate speeches they
could have been able to make some come forward and sign, their weapon against
Tibetans by forging false accusations and collecting signs. It is said they
have been able to collect some. You know the villagers can be cheated as per
their simplicity and docility like by a selfish one, who has seen more, with
blind malice and sadism. That’s the case all over India in terms of human
trafficking to child labor that the constitution defends against. I am worried
that they would pour into in hundreds wielding sticks and stones.
And how they have made the head of our
settlement, as per his foolishness and cowardice, rush here and there at
different locations for negotiation. What negotiation? What are they? And he
out of fear or concern for Tibetans has obeyed like a hypnotized one too. Then
how they, those sadists, have laughed at him when he found no one at the said
venues? What are they? Why he obeyed so? Now people are angry with him. If he
is that coward, why he has chosen to be our head? Hasn’t he learned about the
first bold and well read representative of our Mundgod Tibetan settlement? I
think a representative these days is just a scrap. How people deride at him and
a few past ones. But leave it. I am concerned about the looming case now,’ said
Phuntsok almost ceaselessly.
‘It won’t be so. Don’t worry. You know
the two of them. I can’t believe such nonsense.’
Phuntsok’s nervous long fingers ran over
his stubble infested pointy chin to over the whole face. His eyelids were
bobbing speedily as he cast glowering glances at Ngodup.
‘I think you are worried about your
home, your sweet cozy home that cost Rs.90, 000.’
‘It isn’t a joke Ngodup. I don’t care
about my home. I can’t stop visualizing their smiling cunning faces before me.
How they dare to do so just for personal hate against us? Oh, it isn’t safe.’
‘It isn’t safe everywhere. Even if such
mob comes tomorrow, the constitution of India won’t spare them. You know it. We
aren’t here illegally. Now stop frowning that way to me.’
Phuntsok kept on brooding over with his
twig like fingers running over his face, head and chest. Nyima was walking
along his usual ramp as his voice could be heard inculcating a line from a text
in his hand. Ngodup got up to prepare cups of tea for them. When he got back
with two mugs, Phuntsok was still in the same pose with his head aslant
revealing his narrow long profile with moving cheekbone.
An announcement from the representative
office had been made all over the settlement not to resort to violence if such
case was to be true. The next morning was nothing of the sort as Phuntsok had
dreaded. After the early morning clanging for tea and bread to morning debate
class till evening debate class not a single villager came. Yes, there was such
sign like releasing a long pressed breath. Now people talked about a certain
senior Himalayan monk named Sherpa had averted it. Yes, he had visited nearby
villages to refute the false cases against Tibetans engineered by Jimmy and
Japati. Yes, he had done great. But, even if he hadn’t done so, how people
could be that gullible? But the news of the major figures behind the two
flunkeys wasn’t known yet but only later when the justice was to name them and oust
from their posts.
A lesson was
said as learned. But how many more lessons had been learned and ignored. Such a
spark was ignited by a personal hatred in the first place. So when dealing with
them communication skill plus local knowledge were the foremost. But they were still
at such infantile levels at large.
