BRAVING DECEMBER IN ARUNACHAL - 4

Day4 : Tawang (29^th Dec)

The next day I woke up to another surprise. It was the first snowing day of the season in the town of Tawang. We concluded that the heavy rain at the first day in Tezpur had set an amazing chain in motion for us that we were indeed witnessing the ‘Glory of Winter’ in this amazing place, but we were unaware that Mother Nature had still held the last & the optimum card to herself. We ran to the rooftop for our early morning photo-session & truly the view was amazing.

Later as we came down for breakfast, we realized that our driver was nowhere to be seen. We were to explore Tawang & also to visit the Seno-Indian Border – Bumla which was further up & the weather was worsening. The snowfall had by now grown from a mild drizzle to a heavy fall which was piling up in our heads & jackets.

Though it was an experience of a lifetime, but we were growing uneasy as it was nearly 2 hours & no one really knew the whereabouts of our driver. At last nearly round noon we found our driver, who had been at a garage as the car needed some immediate attention after previous day’s ordeal. Immediately we stated for uphill, but were obstructed at the check post. The road which went further up to Bumla & theMadhuri Lake was closed (Madhuri lake is named after famous Indian actress Madhuri Dixit who has shot for the movie Koyla in Arunachal). The guard told us that the road would be closed for the entire season as the weather would not likely clear up before March. So, losing hope we went for the Tawang monastery. It is world’s 2^nd largest monastery & biggest outside Tibet. This was the main point of conflict in the ’62 war asChina wanted this part of India to be its own territory. Many Chinese maps still show this area as its own part, which is of course a false & disgusting statement. We made our way to this serene place, which has an inherent humbling feeling about it. We explored the monastery & the adjoining museum.

We then went to visit the ’62 war memorial. It was a truly majestic place with the Indian flag flying high & the names of the martyrs are etched in the walls of the temple. It has a museum carrying various details & memoirs of the battle. The helmets there, still bore the bullet-holes which forces one to acknowledge the hardships borne by our soldiers to ensure our well-being. The place also had a special chamber for MVC Jaswant Singh whose eternal spirit has been mortified with a torch urging us to gasp the biggest lesson of martyrdom.

We also visited the local handicraft center before returning to our hotel. By now we have shifted to cheaper Government guest house. In this rest house the cast & crew of the movie 'Koyla' had stayed while shooting in Arunachal, so we get to hear many stories from the local caretaker. We strolled round the town in the late evening as there was nothing much to do.

Contd. In Later Parts ……