Arunachal monastery's healer nuns have no panacea for themselves

Arunachal monastery's healer nuns have no panacea for themselves
KOTA NEELIMA

TAWANG (ARUNACHAL PRADESH), SEPT 15: The streets here have no names. While not many dare scale the treacherous peak at 15,000 feet, it is home to a group of 40 women and girls who trek all the way down and back again to get supplies during winter months.

The place is the Brahma Dung Khung monastery, one of the rare three Buddhist monasteries in the country. It houses only women who worship Buddhist goddess Tara and her cult.

But the dilapidated two-storey building may not be able to support them for long. Says 60-year-old Lopsen Choten, the head priestess: ``We have collected a loan of Rs 1 lakh from the locals for repairs.''

Choten, who basically comes from Tibet, adds: ``We are known for our powers of healing. That is why we are called for occasions which are both auspicious and somber -- like to cure a disease,'' she says.

By road, this monastery is about 30 km from the famous Tawang monastery, which is among a revered place of worship for Buddhists. But there is little contact between the two.

``We have no relations with either the Tawang monastery or the Government. We are on our own,'' says Choten. ``They do not give us money, and the last time the Dalai Lama came to Tawang, he did not even visit our monastery.''

Two thefts -- last year and again early this year -- of precious statues and `tankhas' (Buddhist religious paintings) are a telling comment on the state of affairs.

Choten feels bad about the tough life the group of senior priestesses are sharing with her. ``There are young girls here who have chosen the tough life of celibacy and hardship. But I hope we all go to heaven, which is what our prayers are. But as long as we live, we cannot do without a little help from the locals who give us supplies for the winter months,'' she says.

While the whole of Tawang is out of bounds for the rest of the state in the winter season from October to April, the nunnery gets completely isolated as there is no way food can be brought there.

``We gather ourselves whatever we want, trekking down to Tawang. We are happy here because if my girls mix with the Lamas or the locals, that would be the beginning of corruption,'' Choten says, commenting on why the inaccessibility of the monastery is a boon.

There are various reasons why people send their young daughters to become nuns. Though most of the time it is due to their devotion to Buddhism, many do it to get rid of their girl child, unable to spend a hefty sum on her marriage.

Says Situn Zangmu, a 20-year-old member, ``When I was a child, my parents found me to be showing a lot of interest in the teachings of Buddha. But as I was a girl, there was no chance for me to join the Tawang monastery. At the same time, they could not afford to get me married. So they sent me to the nunnery.''

Says another member, 40-year-old Titpu Umjhe, ``I fought for coming to the nunnery. My parents are Buddhists but they wanted their sons to be Lamas and daughters to be married. I refused and came here 20 years ago.''

Down in Tawang, a local Tibetan craftsman calls the nuns Annies. ``That is the Annie gompa. They are all nuns and have magical powers. They can cure anything if they want to. And they are better than the Lamas because they follow the tenets of celibacy and puja more stringently than the men,'' he says.