To live in Kunpan School without the students is like being in a body without a heart: all life and vibrancy has gone because the beating has stopped. It can also be quite eerie: one keeps expecting to meet a student coming down the stairs or coming out of a room; and wasn't that the sound of excited voices in the corridor and I could have sworn I just heard the dinner bell sound. The life that animates the building during term time had left for Bodh Gaya and the Kalachakra at the end of December and the building was now a shell resonating with vibrations that were becoming more faint as the days of January moved along and the echoes of wonderful voices were becoming harder to detect.
The volunteers who had waved the students off on their adventure to Bodh Gaya now experienced Winter in their students' absence: the weather that had been so kind and patient for months decided to lose its temper on the night of January 6 when thunder and lightening took to the stage and put on quite a show! Both sheet and forked lightening illuminated the mountains and the thunder thundered for hours! The heartbeat of the students in the volunteers' lives was now replaced by the beating of the rain on the metal rooves of their outside rooms. When the storm abated the snow came and on Saturday the whole district woke up to a white landscape.
The villagers of Upper Sukkar were clearly amazed and there was excitement as the snowball fights began and the snowmen started to be built. The joy of seeing the first snow for years was quickly dampened, however, by a power cut that lasted four days: candles and torches were now the only form of illumination in the whole of Dharamsala and it was good to have the gas burner to ensure hot drinks and hot water bottles in those cold days.
As the sole volunteer now remaining in a village gradually returning to normality - and that meant sunshine too! - it was wonderful to receive a phone call from Choephel announcing the adventurers' return. Friday 13 is supposed to be unlucky in the UK but on that day in January the life came back to Kunpan.
It arrived on a bus, and it could have been the same bus returning all those weeks ago, for there was the same buzz of excitement and electric activity as students disembarked, exchanged the warmest of hugs and unloaded all their luggage. Everyone looked remarkably fresh and everyone was eager to spill out their stories and most of all, most of all, to get into their rooms and renew their acquaintance with the home that is Kunpan.
Three new volunteers arrived that weekend as the students settled back into their lives here. The volunteers were not greeted by the kindest of weather: it rained continually for two days and it was cold. But by Tuesday 17 and the start of term the sun was starting to become constant and classes got off to a wonderful and lively start. The students had clearly been energised by their time in Bodh Gaya and the Kalachakra had brought refreshment and nourishment to their spirits'. It was good to feel the heart beating in Kunpan again and to see real students coming down the stairs and to hear real voices in the corridors and to hear the dinner bell for real!
Meal times, always a special family occasion in Kunpan, have been made even more special in 2012 by the arrival of our lovely and gentle new Cook, Tashi Choezom. Her skills in the kitchen are already being greatly appreciated by everyone and people look forward to arriving at the tables to see what delightful dishes await them - I think people are starting to put on some weight here!
The timing of the Tibetan New Year is complicated and because of the situation in the Land of the Snow Lion any celebration is bound to be muted. But Monday 23 January was another special day at Kunpan. It was, first of all filled with glorious golden sunshine and was the warmest day of the year so far; so what a start! But then Choephel and Karma joined forces with Choezom to cook the most wonderful buffet lunch; it was as good as the lunch on Students' Day back in November!
A basketball match in the afternoon at Norbulingka followed and the day then drew to a peaceful and very satisfying close without the dancing and singing that normally accompanies our days of celebration– that was so right and proper as a mark of respect to a nation that is still suffering awful torment and anguish as we go into 2012.
Where has January gone? It came and went so quickly but it was rich and rewarding. It saw the family that is Kunpan Cultural School return and bring something special once more to the lucky villagers of Upper Sukkar. May the rest of 2012 be as rewarding!
