Mundgod …. Little Tibet

By Savio Dcosta

Did you know that Mundgod, a small town some 41 kilometres from Hubli in Karnataka is home to one of the highest concentration of Tibetans outside Tibet?

When you arrive in Mundgod, you feel as if you are in Tibet. The landscape is dotted with multi-colored monasteries decorated with yellow and red rooftops. Our guide monk, Saldrine is an American woman who has lived at Doeguling Tibetan Settlement for a number of years and is happy to show us around. I make it a point to meet Saldrine on my occasional trips as she is eager to to converse in English during my short time. As we enter the courtyard, Saldrine gives us a background of the Settlement.

The 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet is a dark period in Tibetan history with the loss of over 6000 monasteries and temples and the flight of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader to India. With India and later Karnataka’s support, some 4000 acres of land in Mundgod was given to the Central Tibetan Administration and Tibetan Government in Exile to help resettle Tibetan refugees in Southern India.

Doeguling Tibetan Settlement is made up of 11 camps of which two - Drepung and Ganden - are only for monasteries. The Settlement has seven monasteries of which Drepung is the biggest with a prayer hall that can accommodate over 5000 monks. When you walk inside the monastery, you come face-to-face with large gold-plated statues of Buddha and Tibetan deities. You will see Tibetans dressed in their traditional attire just waiting for the bus or engaged in their daily tasks including praying and studying.

Just being at the Settlement evokes a wonderful feeling of being at complete peace.

The Settlement is the centre of monastic education. Doeguling Monastic University is fashioned after Tibet’s reputed 500 year old Doeguling Monastic University which was destroyed by the Chinese in 1959. It is home to student monks from many countries who receive a Mahayana-Buddhist theological education and live a simple monastic life Today there are more than 8000 monks in the settlement, certainly a Little Tibet!

We had lunch at the local eating house which served authentic Tibetan cuisine. The meat-filled dumplings (momos) and noodles were accompanied with a mild flavored soup called thukpa and fragrant butter tea. Tibetans weave traditional rugs which are sold at handicraft centers located within the village.

As we bid farewell to monk Saldrine, we realize that despite the odds, Tibetans have managed to preserve their culture and way of life. Now you have an opportunity to visit Tibet without leaving India.