29th December:
We decided that on 29th we would be venturing into Tawang city. Last night we decided to visit Bumla pass, ignoring the warning of the Bengali family. Ronee and I were always ready to go but I had to convince others. So we gave money to a person for this pass but one thing is for sure, every time in life you don't get a second chance. The office was already closed for the day. We really got frustrated but we were so desperate to go to Bumla Pass that we changed our schedule and thought of staying back in Tawang for one more day and the guy who was in charge of the pass said he'll get it done by next day, that gave us some relief and we started our journey for today.
First we went to the monastery where 6th Dalai Lama was born. But this was also closed due to some reasons so we took some photograph from outside.
Now our next spot was Tawang Monastery. This Monastery has a great significance in Arunachal Pradesh. Tawang is believed to have derived its name from the grandiose Tawang Monastery perched on the edge of the ridge running along the western part of Tawang Township. “Ta” means Horse and “Wang” means chosen. As the legend goes the site of the present monastery is believed to have been chosen by a Horse owned by Merag Lama Lodre Gyamtso. Mera Lama Lodre Gyamtso who was on a search for an appropriate place to establish Monastery was unable to locate any appropriate site so, he finally decided to sit on prayer for a guidance of divine power. As he opened his eyes, he found his horse is missing. So, wearily he went out searching for his horse and found it on the top of the hill known as Tana Mandekhang where once stood a palace of King Kala Wangpo. Believed that it is a good omen, Mera Lama Lodre Gyamtso decided to initiate a work for building up of a monastery with the help of people living across the land of Monpas. This Monastery was founded by Mera Lama Lodre Gyamtso in late 1681 according to the wishes of 5th Dalai Lama. So far this Monastery is the largest Monastery in India.
Tawang monastery is the largest of its kind in the country and is one of the largest monasteries in Asia. Though it has the capacity for housing about seven hundred monks, the actual number of resident lamas at present is a little more than 450.
This fortified complex covers an area of 135 sq. meters enclosed by a compound wall of 610 meter long. Within the complex there are 65 residential buildings and 10 other structures. The library has valuable old scriptures mainly Kanjur and Tanjur numbering 850 bundles. It is dated back to 17th century A.D. Some portion of the Monastery has been destroyed during the 1962 Sino-Indian war by Chinese. For six months it was controlled by Chinese troops before the voluntarily treat.
It says that every year the height of the idol is increased by approximately 1 inch. Honestly speaking, I didn't dig into the matter to find the truth. But the view was truly majestic and we felt like we were in Tibet not in India.
We were done with today's outing. Though we could have finished rest of the spots in Tawang but as we had to stay one extra day in Tawang for getting the permit to go to Bumla pass, so we decided to visit other spot next day.
30th December:
Our today's plan was to visit the oldest Nunnery in Tawang and as expected Adi got ready before everyone else. Before going to that Nunnery we first headed towards war memorial.
The 40-ft-high multi-hued war memorial to the unsung heroes, designed by the Army and constructed at a cost of about Rs 15 lakh, was dedicated to those jawans who stood their ground against the Chinese assault for 31 days, fought bravely and gave up their life for the honor of the nation. They fought valiantly despite inadequate logistics back-up, which made them fight in cotton uniforms at sub-zero temperature and with just 50 rounds of ammunition per rifle.
When I saw that statue, I was not aware of him. Then I saw one placard which has been kept beneath that statue described the reason why this statue was erected here. I am going to write its full content without any modification.
Subedar Joginder Singh was the commander of a platoon of 1 sikh, holding a defensive position at a ridge near Tongpen La in Nefa. At 0530 hours on 23 October 1962, the Chinese opened a very heave attack on the Bum La axis with the intention of breaking through to Tawang, the leading battalion of the enemy attacked the ridge in three waves, each about 200 strong, Subedar Joginder Singh and his men mowed down the first wave, and the enemy was temporarily halted by the heave losses it suffered. Within a few minutes, a second wave came over and was dealt with similarly. But the platoon had by then lost half its men.
Subedar Joginder Singh was wounded in the thigh but refused to be evacuated. Under his inspiring leadership, the platoon stubbornly held its ground and would not withdraw.
Meanwhile, the position was attacked for the third time. Subedar Joginder Singh himself manned light machine gun and shot down a number of enemy soldiers. The Chinese however, continued to advance despite heavy losses. When the situation became untenable, Subedar Joginder Singh with his few men emerged from their position with fixed bayonets and charged the advancing Chinese, bayoneting a number of them before he and his comrades were overpowered.
Throughout this action, Subedar Joginder Singh displayed devotion to duty, inspiring leadership and bravery of the highest order, and finally made the supreme sacrifice.
What I have seen on the wall of that memorial was a big list of names of those soldiers who sacrificed their life in 1962 war. The list was so huge that I was not able to count how many of them were listed there. Standing there in front of that list I felt ashamed of myself for being a selfish person who only thinks about himself and not about the country.
After self-criticizing by myself, I moved towards our next location which is Ani Gompa.
Brama Dung Chung Ani Gompa (nunnery) is the oldest Ani Gompa (Nunnery) in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh. This nunnery is located in the lap of a far off mountain surrounded by natural beauties. It is located at a distance of 9 km from the main township of Tawang. The nunnery was established by a Lama named Karchen Yeshi Gelek from Tsang province of Tibet in the year 1595 AD. At present there are 45 'Anis' or nuns in this monastery. Being very poor, the inhabitants of Brahmadungchung Ani Gompa depend on begging for sustaining themselves
Anny Gompa was our last spot for today. As I have already mentioned that one day is enough for sightseeing in Tawang. But still we've kept our hopes high for Bumla pass. Our tomorrow's plan was if get the permit then we'll first go for Bumla pass then after lunch we'll come down to Bomdilla. So keeping in mind about tomorrow's big journey we had dinner at 9 0'clock in the evening and were off to bed.
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We decided that on 29th we would be venturing into Tawang city. Last night we decided to visit Bumla pass, ignoring the warning of the Bengali family. Ronee and I were always ready to go but I had to convince others. So we gave money to a person for this pass but one thing is for sure, every time in life you don't get a second chance. The office was already closed for the day. We really got frustrated but we were so desperate to go to Bumla Pass that we changed our schedule and thought of staying back in Tawang for one more day and the guy who was in charge of the pass said he'll get it done by next day, that gave us some relief and we started our journey for today.
First we went to the monastery where 6th Dalai Lama was born. But this was also closed due to some reasons so we took some photograph from outside.
 |
| Urgelling Monastery - Birthplace of 6th Dalai Lama |
 |
| Credit goes to Adi for this excellent photography |
Now our next spot was Tawang Monastery. This Monastery has a great significance in Arunachal Pradesh. Tawang is believed to have derived its name from the grandiose Tawang Monastery perched on the edge of the ridge running along the western part of Tawang Township. “Ta” means Horse and “Wang” means chosen. As the legend goes the site of the present monastery is believed to have been chosen by a Horse owned by Merag Lama Lodre Gyamtso. Mera Lama Lodre Gyamtso who was on a search for an appropriate place to establish Monastery was unable to locate any appropriate site so, he finally decided to sit on prayer for a guidance of divine power. As he opened his eyes, he found his horse is missing. So, wearily he went out searching for his horse and found it on the top of the hill known as Tana Mandekhang where once stood a palace of King Kala Wangpo. Believed that it is a good omen, Mera Lama Lodre Gyamtso decided to initiate a work for building up of a monastery with the help of people living across the land of Monpas. This Monastery was founded by Mera Lama Lodre Gyamtso in late 1681 according to the wishes of 5th Dalai Lama. So far this Monastery is the largest Monastery in India.
 |
| Tawang Monastery from a distance |
Tawang monastery is the largest of its kind in the country and is one of the largest monasteries in Asia. Though it has the capacity for housing about seven hundred monks, the actual number of resident lamas at present is a little more than 450.
This fortified complex covers an area of 135 sq. meters enclosed by a compound wall of 610 meter long. Within the complex there are 65 residential buildings and 10 other structures. The library has valuable old scriptures mainly Kanjur and Tanjur numbering 850 bundles. It is dated back to 17th century A.D. Some portion of the Monastery has been destroyed during the 1962 Sino-Indian war by Chinese. For six months it was controlled by Chinese troops before the voluntarily treat.
 |
| Tawang Monastery - Front view |
 |
| Gautam Buddha Idol - 18feet tall |
It says that every year the height of the idol is increased by approximately 1 inch. Honestly speaking, I didn't dig into the matter to find the truth. But the view was truly majestic and we felt like we were in Tibet not in India.
 |
| In the evening... |
We were done with today's outing. Though we could have finished rest of the spots in Tawang but as we had to stay one extra day in Tawang for getting the permit to go to Bumla pass, so we decided to visit other spot next day.
30th December:
Our today's plan was to visit the oldest Nunnery in Tawang and as expected Adi got ready before everyone else. Before going to that Nunnery we first headed towards war memorial.
 |
| While we were going towards war memorial we saw one helicopter was landing inside an army base. This helicopter service is available for civilians from Guwahati to direct come to Tawang. It shuttles every alternate days and fare is Rs.3000 per head approximately. But it's not quite reliable because it depends on weather. |
 |
| Tawang War Memorial was dedicated in the memory of the Indian soldiers who lost their lives defending the borders of out nation during the 1962 war with China. |
The 40-ft-high multi-hued war memorial to the unsung heroes, designed by the Army and constructed at a cost of about Rs 15 lakh, was dedicated to those jawans who stood their ground against the Chinese assault for 31 days, fought bravely and gave up their life for the honor of the nation. They fought valiantly despite inadequate logistics back-up, which made them fight in cotton uniforms at sub-zero temperature and with just 50 rounds of ammunition per rifle.
 |
| 40 mm antiaircraft Bofors |
 |
| Machine gun installed at war memorial gate |
 |
| Subedar Joginder Singh |
When I saw that statue, I was not aware of him. Then I saw one placard which has been kept beneath that statue described the reason why this statue was erected here. I am going to write its full content without any modification.
Subedar Joginder Singh was the commander of a platoon of 1 sikh, holding a defensive position at a ridge near Tongpen La in Nefa. At 0530 hours on 23 October 1962, the Chinese opened a very heave attack on the Bum La axis with the intention of breaking through to Tawang, the leading battalion of the enemy attacked the ridge in three waves, each about 200 strong, Subedar Joginder Singh and his men mowed down the first wave, and the enemy was temporarily halted by the heave losses it suffered. Within a few minutes, a second wave came over and was dealt with similarly. But the platoon had by then lost half its men.
Subedar Joginder Singh was wounded in the thigh but refused to be evacuated. Under his inspiring leadership, the platoon stubbornly held its ground and would not withdraw.
Meanwhile, the position was attacked for the third time. Subedar Joginder Singh himself manned light machine gun and shot down a number of enemy soldiers. The Chinese however, continued to advance despite heavy losses. When the situation became untenable, Subedar Joginder Singh with his few men emerged from their position with fixed bayonets and charged the advancing Chinese, bayoneting a number of them before he and his comrades were overpowered.
Throughout this action, Subedar Joginder Singh displayed devotion to duty, inspiring leadership and bravery of the highest order, and finally made the supreme sacrifice.
 |
| Jay Hind |
What I have seen on the wall of that memorial was a big list of names of those soldiers who sacrificed their life in 1962 war. The list was so huge that I was not able to count how many of them were listed there. Standing there in front of that list I felt ashamed of myself for being a selfish person who only thinks about himself and not about the country.
After self-criticizing by myself, I moved towards our next location which is Ani Gompa.
 |
| Brama Dung Chung Ani Gompa |
Brama Dung Chung Ani Gompa (nunnery) is the oldest Ani Gompa (Nunnery) in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh. This nunnery is located in the lap of a far off mountain surrounded by natural beauties. It is located at a distance of 9 km from the main township of Tawang. The nunnery was established by a Lama named Karchen Yeshi Gelek from Tsang province of Tibet in the year 1595 AD. At present there are 45 'Anis' or nuns in this monastery. Being very poor, the inhabitants of Brahmadungchung Ani Gompa depend on begging for sustaining themselves
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| They were not interested to take photograph because they believe that taking photographs decreases their life span. |
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| What we heard that one of them died last week, that's why they had gathered and were praying for condolence. Though we were not allowed to join them but they were pretty good about their hospitality towards a guest. |
Anny Gompa was our last spot for today. As I have already mentioned that one day is enough for sightseeing in Tawang. But still we've kept our hopes high for Bumla pass. Our tomorrow's plan was if get the permit then we'll first go for Bumla pass then after lunch we'll come down to Bomdilla. So keeping in mind about tomorrow's big journey we had dinner at 9 0'clock in the evening and were off to bed.
 |
| having momo at dinner |
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