The Unconference at BIR - Dhauladhar Range of Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh)

Fascination to Himalayas and its stories always enamored me. When I saw the Learning Society having organized an Unconference at BIR a village at the foot hills of Himalayas on the 4th April 2011. I couldn’t resist the idea that I would be meeting a gathering of people on the agenda of “Change “with Contemplation, creativity, compassion and Courage as the theme.

Without much planning just packed up and landed in Delhi on 3rd April by early morning flight with my mother who was also fascinated with it being an educationist for 33 years .Her curiosity promoted her to join me. There reached ISBT and got into a regular bus to Chandigarh. From Chandigarh it was another 9 hours long journey. When we reached Baijnath it was 3 am, in the biting cold we were the only ones at the bus stand with everyone in their warm bed. Luckily we found a Taxi to the small Tibetan village(upper) BIR in the backdrop of Dhauladhar Ranges of Himalayas. which is about 2 hours drive to Dharmashala the Tibetan Govt in Exile.

kishor Jagirdar at Dalai lama temple near NEEDI

In the morning the sun had risen and I had my first visual of the Himalayan beauty as the envelope of darkness receded and in the morning light the snow capped mountains emerged in front of us decorated with coniferous forests in lush green. The air around us was thick with oxygen and there was pure experience all around.
The Unconference was at the Deer Park Academy.BIR comprises of monasteries Palyul Chökhorling Monastery (Nyingma) and Chökyi Lödro College of Dialectics (formerly Dzongsar Institute). A center for higher Buddhist philosophical study with about 600 monks in nearby Chauntra.

My mother and myself were accommodated with a team of Iranians in the Guest house of the Nyingma Monastery .This is where I met my brothers from Iran Aydin and Morshe all three of us were bundled in the same room. There were totally 200 odd participants from several countries.

The Unconference was great experience with multiple topics being hosted and everyone here were the speakers, students, audience, silent listeners, contributors and moderators simultaneously. The gathering had a diverse group comprising of children, teenagers, adults, senior citizens again from homeschoolers, management professionals, NGO owners, entrepreneurs, Social activists, Civil Servants, writers, Monks, philosophers, educationalist etc

We discussed on various topics, themes , issues etc .There were art work on side where creativity was splashing colours playfully , some other place street plays enthralled us, dance and music in some place, traditional knowledge in the garden which included clay works, paper stuffed items etc…..in the amazing womb of nature all natural and most ordinary talents were glittering with extra ordinary enthusiasm and desire to learn.

The place had an aura of simplicity and connection to life itself is some kind of magic that we don’t get to see in the rest of the country. The Monks dress in the yellow and maroon tunics so physically fit due to the low carbohydrate food and vigorous physical exercise they undergo in the mountainous terrain. Sudden glimpse of monks on flashy bikes are the only semblance of modernity. The silence of the mountains all around and greenery is so welcoming. The dogs standing up on their feet or lost in meditation all attracted the scenes around.

The constant gurgling water flowing in haste all over the place from the melting from the melting of the glaciers all through the year is so much like of a music which is part of the the daily life here spreading its cool aura all around.

The occasional sightings of the para-glider from the highest point over the mountains at Beling which is nearly 12,000 feet above the sea level , landing near us after a 45 minutes flight in the air.

The kitchen which offered us great variety of food stuff right from Italian, Tibetan, north Indian and Indian with some exotic cuisine with all homemade stuff and rich diet so complete with herbal tea is something that we all really cherished
The two videos that were show which made a deep impact on me

As Helena Norberg Hodge (Director, Economics of Happiness) puts it – “Young people today are looking for acceptance. They are being told if they want to be accepted in the society, by the peer groups, they should have the latest gadgets, latest running shoes, latest clothings and of course as they go down the consumer path it leads to separation and envy and not to the sense of connection, to the love that at the deep level they are looking for“

In search of Kabir – a Shristi Art Production – a very moving and a powerful free thinking concept on the real messages of the saint Kabir on looking beyond the explicit knowledge and finding the original streams of learning in oneself transcending bigotism and religion through universal love and brotherhood.
The place from 4th April to 9th April was a gathering of all the colours of the universe and busrt of sparklers of joy .

The last day was an enlightening session with the Prime Minister of Tibet govt in exile Sri Samdhong Rinpoche, who graced us with his pearl like wisdom on the aspects of goodness and the need to save the planet.

This place transformed me in some strange mysterious way.As my friends Biren Shah expressed "like some wind blowing through the body"

I saw peices of me in each participant in the garden of the DEER Park.As I gathered and put them together I saw in it my own reflection....asking me this question how to leap from knowing the path to walking the path.

While unconference got over and we all headed our different paths , mentally I remained at BIR only my physical part moved on .