Saturday 15 August 2009

The rest of our time in Dharamsala


hello, friends!! sorry for the long posting hiatus. i've been out of town and on the road since early july, touring with my band, The Bachelorettes and am now settled for a while so i will continue posting photos from india and other events!

The following photos were shot at the Norbulingka Institute outside of Dharamsala. "Norbulingka is dedicated to handing down tradition and restoring standards by providing training, education and employment for Tibetans. It supports an environment in which Tibetan community and family values can flourish. It reconciles the traditional creatively and respectfully with the modern, and seeks to create an international awareness of Tibetan values and their expression in art and literature." They also create absolutely beautiful handmade crafts, clothes, furniture and more.


designing the hand of Buddha




hammering away




the hand of BUDDHA!




they used very simple tools to create these huge copper Buddha statues. it was very impressive to see.




Women generally worked with textiles making clothes, furniture upholstery, pillows, handbags, etc.







This guy was just chillin in one of the sewing rooms.




The power went off when we were there. and on the women cutting and using non-electric sewing machines could work.



quilter






our extremely wreckless cabdriver!!!!! we thought that was it!
notice the 2nd thumb.



I hung out a bit at an organization in Mcleod Ganj called Lha (please check it out! such an amazing organization!!!) . it's a Tibetan refugee support center. This man above and the two below were in English conversation groups that i lead. They were so so nice!!!!!!





This photos above and below were from the yoga classes we attended with out new great friend Fiona. They were taught at Lha and all the money was donated to the organization. They were taught on the roof over looking the little city and the beautiful Himalayas.




Thanks for looking and more where this came from soon!!