one of the doors of the Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh, India
Just because it is such a photogenic place, I have selected a few more photographs of the Tawang monastery, in Arunachal Pradesh, and close to Tibet and Bhutan. It is the biggest Buddhist monastery in India, with some 560 monks in residence. It belongs to the Gelug school of Vajrayana Buddhism and had a religious association with Drepung Monastery of Lhasa.
Until 1914, this region of India was under the control of Tibet, but with the Simla Agreement of 1913-14, the area – including the whole of the Tawang region and the monastery – came under the control of the British Raj. This disputed territory was the bone of contention for the 1962 Sino-Indian War, in which the Chinese occupied Tawang, including the monastery, for six months – but they did not desecrate it.
Enjoy the colourful photos!
a small building at the edge of the complex, with the first of many prayer wheels
the main temple in the monastery
the entrance door to the monstery complex
one of the 65 residential buildings at the compound
more prayer wheels when you get nearer the central square
some of the youngsters
view of the one side of main temple
and this is the centre of the temple, with a cardboard cut-out of the Dalai Lama in the centre
among the musical instruments, the trumpets
and one of the gongs, present in the main prayer hall
another view of the main prayer hall, towards the side
one of the side buildings
and further residential buildings, on the way out
another prayer wheel, almost hidden
then this is a more obvious choice for turning
a window
and the series of prayer wheels at the entrance, and exit, of the monastery
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