The Golden Temple at Coorg, better known as Namdroling Monastery, is a centre of Tibetan culture in South India.

When I first got to know about solo travelling, I was just a college student pursuing my higher studies in English literature. Back then, travelling alone to my college, 30 kilometres away from my house, was, in itself, a big leap; there was no scope for solo travel to an unknown place.

So I quietly and shamelessly brooded over the very romantic and challenging idea of solo travel for the time being, keeping my fingers crossed. But solo travel was always on my bucket list of wishes.

And I finally got to travel solo! The destination was the Golden Temple at Coorg, in Karnataka, better known as Namdroling Monastery, where I could find and feel the vibrant tapestry of Tibetan culture.

A few months after my marriage, my husband and I headed to Coorg. From Mysore to the resort at Coorg, we enjoyed the lush greenery of coffee plantations and sandalwood forests. As I sipped on a hot cup of Madikeri special coffee served in the evening at the resort garden, I hesitantly revealed my hidden desire for solo travel to my husband.

After listening to me, we discussed and came to a consensus. He suggested I head to the Golden temple situated nearby, where I can reach safely, spend time, relax my inner self and reflect on the spiritual and metaphysical absurdities and enigmatic realities of human life. Oh, that sounded crazy and philosophically heavy, but I somehow managed to reach there the early morning the next day.

While travelling in the taxi to the Golden Temple, I did not forget to research and arm myself with some information regarding its history and cultural significance. His Holiness the 3rd Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche laid the foundation stone of the monastery in the year 1963.

His Holiness Dalai Lama visited there to consecrate it and bestowed the name Namdroling. Located in Bylakuppe of the Mysore district of Karnataka, it is the largest teaching centre of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. Wow! What a perfect place to go solo.

At the gate of the monastery, I stood like another statue, excited and embarrassed. I never expected such a divine radiance and silence lingering there. A well-maintained, well-landscaped place. It had a kind of special emotional connect even to the first visitors, I felt.

While standing at the gate, I got a feeling that the real world had ended outside the gate, and inside, it was another surreal world. The celebration of colours was evident in the paintings and architecture, and I was allured by its charm. There, I noticed the big picture of His Highness Penor Rinpoche, who is said to be an incarnation of Vimalamitra, an 8th-century.

The centre of attraction was the calmness in the surroundings. Though there were visitors wandering here and there, all were keeping silent, or better yet, they might be talking to themselves like they had never done before.

The Smiling Buddha statue warmly greets us, and we human beings feel so small in front of this 60-foot statue. At a glance, we get a bitter self-realisation that we are only this much, ripped of our petty ego and superiority complex.

The tranquillity entraps you, making you wonder if reached some kind of enlightenment. The beautiful interiors of the temple, with its shimmering gold and dark red colour palates, par excellence, and the meditative silence, were infectious.

I remember the curios and wall hangings were there for sale in the outlet; though not cheap, it was a worthy buy for its uniqueness. I still have with me an antique wind chime I bought from a monk, safely hung on the balcony of my flat. Every time I listen to its delicate musical notes, an ancient silence touches me, and I breathe in a kind of pristineness.

The memories of my first solo trip still remain fresh in my mind, and the Golden Temple was an ideal choice, with no regret. Yes, there are certain places where we can experience loneliness and estrangement. Being alone in a crowd is enough to get that absolute feeling, because the true communication between the self and the universe finds its grammar only in loneliness, I feel…

Riya Joy, the writer, works at the Malayala Manorama in Kochi.

source: http://www.theweek.in / The Week / Home> News> Tourism / by Riya Joy / February 02nd, 2025