Last Time I Saw Tibet

Contents: Preface. 1. A farewell to my roots. 2. On the way. 3. A Tibetan family. 4. The city of Yatung and Dungkar Gumpha. 5. Phari. 6. A Nocturnal journey. 7. Kiangphu Gumpha and Lama Tshering Jong. 8. To Gyastse. 9. On the eternal pilgrimage. 10. The pilgrims' first offering. 11. Meditation on the Arya Tara. 12. From Gyatse to Samding Gumpha. 13. The Dorje Pamo. 14. The language. 15. My first glimpse of the Sangpo. 16. The Chaksam Gumpha. 17. On the threshold. 18. The Drepung Gumpha. 19. Lamas and learning. 20. A Tibetan tale: history and faith. 21. Lhasa and Jokhang, the core temple. 22. Lhasa. 23. Potala, the Royal Palace. 24. Lama Lamdup. 25. Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama's Summer Palace. 27. The Dalai Lama. 28. Lhasa: the last days. 29. Gearing up for Kailashnath. 29. In search of the route to Kailash. 30. The exorcist of Sangpo. 31. A night of terror. 32. Strangers become friends. 33. Shigatse. 34. The Panchen Lama. 35. On the way to Kailash. 36. The sage of Pasaguk. 37. Tradum. 38. At the end of my tether. 39. A few more steps to heaven. 40. Heaven, at last! 41. My first night at Mansarovar. 42. Kailashnath. 43. Kailash Baba. 44. Tibet's eternal flame: Milarepa. Afterword: Lhasa once more in the new millennium.

"Bitten by wanderlust at a young age, Bimal Dey has travelled the world, including the Arctic and Antarctica. But it's his journey across Tibet, from Gangtok to Lhasa and Mansarovar when he was a teenager, that holds a special place in his heart. The Last Time I Saw Tibet recounts his adventures during this trip in 1956: a time when Sikkim was not yet part of India, the fourteenth Dalai Lama still ruled in Tibet although Chinese presence was marked, and Indians were not banned from travelling there.

Ordained as a Buddhist Monk by his Guruji just before the start of the journey (only Lamas can stay in monasteries), posing as one who had taken a vow of silence (he did not know enough Tibetan to convince the Chinese Authorities), Dey trekked across the Nathu La pass, Chumbi Valley and the Sangpo river along with an intrepid band of Lamas, before reaching Lhasa, or Hla-Sa ('abode of the Gods'), many months later.

He visited the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka, the summer palace, was witness to the grandeur of the Potala Royal Palace where the Dalai Lama resided, and even had an audience with his Holiness. From Lhasa, the author trekked on his own to Kailashnath and Mansarovar, the holiest of pilgrimages for any Hindu. During his journey, he encountered the deep generosity of the local people, made friends among ascetics and mendicants, and the awe-inspiring majesty of the Himalayas brought with it a true understanding of spirituality and faith.

Many years later, in the eighties, the author would have the privilege of visiting Mansarovar twice, but he always hankered to travel alone across Tibet, a wish that was eventually granted by the Chinese Authorities only at the cusp of the new millennium. This time he saw the ravages of the Chinese occupation in Lhasa, a slow decimation of the Tibetan culture across the countryside, which convinced him that ever more visitors is one way of keeping alive Tibet and its rich and unique traditions."