Fresh Arabica coffee, quiet hill strolls interrupted only by the occasional most agreeable plantation worker, and late monsoon rain (apparently Coorg didn’t get the memo that monsoon season ended last week)… a painless overnight bus had Danielle and I exploring a piece of paradise 6-hours east of Bangalore. Coorg however (Kodagu as it is now known), had me captivated by far more than filtered coffee and the ubiquitous coffee plantations for which it is known. A rainy afternoon exploration of Bylakuppe, the largest Tibetan settlement in India soon led us to one of the most inherently beautiful sights I have seen thus far in India: row upon row of thousands of austere colored flags strewn neatly across, dancing swiftly in the wind.
The young monks in traditional golden yellow and maroon garb, shuffling about in pairs of two or three_ a sight in itself for two Americans_ their peacefulness emanating just in passing, were of no help in demystifying the scene before us. Nothing we are unaccustomed to outside of the strict confines of English-speaking educated elite India, nonetheless most frustrating, as per usual.
The Tibetan word for prayer flag is “Dar Cho”, where “Dar” means to increase fortune, wealth, health and life and “Cho” means all sentient beings. Based on the most profound concepts of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, prayer flags are holy “devices” that when activated by the wind, produce a “spiritual vibration” of peace, happiness, and good fortune that permeates outward as it is carried away by the wind. The yellow, green, red, white and blue pieces of cloth __ each color representing an element_ each has a sacred mantra and symbols embedded at its heart. “Lung-ta” or wind horse prayer flags for instance, are depicted by a wind horse at the center guarded by four great animals (the garuda, dragon, tiger and snow lion) at the corners, aiming to raise the good fortune energy of all beings. Whether strung high horizontally around one’s home, vertically throughout a garden, or erected on a pole around monasteries, all prayer flags are raised with proper attitude: “May all beings everywhere receive benefit and find happiness…” — the virtuous motivation behind the flags that greater increases the power of the prayers as they are imprinted in the wind producing a ripple effect of peace and good wishes.
“Dar Cho” discovery in Bylakuppe, highlighted far more than the inherent beauty in prayer flags and the good will of Buddhism. It turned my attention once again to the religious menagerie that is India. As the birthplace of Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, religious diversity is nothing new in India. Still, it is the first place I have lived where you can eat Haleem with Muslims on the street during Ramadan, while watching Hindus queueing up at the temple “opposite” (across the street) for evening prayer, only to run into a group of Christian women at the bus stop on the corner on their way to church. With religion informing nearly every aspect of Indian life, and with this much diversity existing within any single block, it is a unique phenomenon_ unlike any other on earth_ that India functions as peacefully and seamlessly as it does. Although I still can’t seem to keep it straight who celebrates which holiday when, for what purpose and how (of course varying greatly depending on the region), I do know that tomorrow commences Week 3 of Dasara (Dussehra) holiday for my school and quite possibly means no school, again. Bring it on, CSR outreach, pre-primary curriculum development, and waste-management workshop planning. It may not be the paradise that is Kodagu complete with idyllic prayer flags, but there’s got to be filtered coffee somewhere and perhaps an impromptu street parade or two :).