GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) Sabha today offered land to a visiting Thai delegation to set up a Buddhist monastery here and decided to take steps to strengthen cultural ties between Darjeeling and Thailand.
The 31-member Thai delegation which comprised a former minister, serving generals and entrepreneurs, was in the hills to attend a ceremony in which the statues of Buddha and two disciples were installed today at Dichen Tashi Choling Gumba at Singtam, 8km from here.
GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung was present at the consecration that was also attended by Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the Indian ambassador to Thailand.
After the ceremony, the Thai delegates made a courtesy call on Gurung at the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan in Darjeeling.
After the meeting, Gurung said: “The GTA has decided to give land to them to set up a monastery in Darjeeling. They will build the monastery in their own architectural style.”
Buddhists constitute over 30 per cent of the hill population.
The GTA has also decided to strengthen the ties with Thai nationals. “Since there are a number of Thai students studying in the hills, we have decided to organise cultural programmes involving them and local children in Darjeeling every week. The GTA will also look after the welfare of the Thai students and ensure that they do not face any problem in the hills.”
Gurung said: “There was also a discussion on the possibility of working together in tourism, agriculture, food-processing and horticulture. They have invited a GTA delegation to Thailand. We will be going there, possibly in January, to take today’s discussion further.”
The Indian ambassador said there was considerable interest about Darjeeling in Thailand.
“In Thailand, when you say you are from Darjeeling, there is lot of interest as the people there are not only aware of the place — as many Thais who are holding high posts have studied in Darjeeling and also see Darjeeling as a beautiful place with strong cultural heritage,” said Shringla.
The four-foot Buddha statue and the statues of his two disciples had been donated by 37 Thai nationals who had pooled in around 1 million baht, which roughly translates to nearly Rs 20 lakh. Of the 37 people, 31 visited Darjeeling to attend the statues’ consecration.
Nalinee Taveesin, a former minister attachéd with the Prime Minister’s office of Thailand and the co-ordinator of the Thai group, said all the delegates were batchmates at National Defence College in Thailand. “We have also collected Rs 1.5 lakh for the Singtam monastery,” said Taveesin.
During her address at the monastery, Taveesin said: “We are all very delighted to be part of this auspicious occasion (consecration). We thought we would only be sending the statues but we have actually come here.”
As the condition of the road from Darjeeling to Singtam was bad, the Thai delegates had to be ferried in two different types of vehicles (with local drivers being used to ride over a difficult hill patch) to reach the monastery.
Gurung arrived at the venue in an all-terrain vehicle.
The delegation also handed out 300 replicas of the Buddha statue and two cartons of medical kits to the management committee of the monastery to be distributed among the people.
Taveesin had studied at Mount Hermon in Darjeeling. The Thai initiative was basically worked out by Shringla and the Darjeeling based Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association.
S.L. Palzor, president of the association, said: “People of Singtam have constructed the gumba (monastery) with their own contribution. Since they did not have a statue, we got in touch with Harsh Vardhan Shringla and everything fell into place within three to four months.”
Source: Telegraph
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| statues of the Buddha and his two disciples which were installed at Dichen Tashi Choling Gumba at Singtam; (right) Gurung rides an all-terrain vehicle to reach Singtam on Sunday. |
GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung was present at the consecration that was also attended by Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the Indian ambassador to Thailand.
After the ceremony, the Thai delegates made a courtesy call on Gurung at the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan in Darjeeling.
After the meeting, Gurung said: “The GTA has decided to give land to them to set up a monastery in Darjeeling. They will build the monastery in their own architectural style.”
Buddhists constitute over 30 per cent of the hill population.
The GTA has also decided to strengthen the ties with Thai nationals. “Since there are a number of Thai students studying in the hills, we have decided to organise cultural programmes involving them and local children in Darjeeling every week. The GTA will also look after the welfare of the Thai students and ensure that they do not face any problem in the hills.”
Gurung said: “There was also a discussion on the possibility of working together in tourism, agriculture, food-processing and horticulture. They have invited a GTA delegation to Thailand. We will be going there, possibly in January, to take today’s discussion further.”
The Indian ambassador said there was considerable interest about Darjeeling in Thailand.
“In Thailand, when you say you are from Darjeeling, there is lot of interest as the people there are not only aware of the place — as many Thais who are holding high posts have studied in Darjeeling and also see Darjeeling as a beautiful place with strong cultural heritage,” said Shringla.
The four-foot Buddha statue and the statues of his two disciples had been donated by 37 Thai nationals who had pooled in around 1 million baht, which roughly translates to nearly Rs 20 lakh. Of the 37 people, 31 visited Darjeeling to attend the statues’ consecration.
Nalinee Taveesin, a former minister attachéd with the Prime Minister’s office of Thailand and the co-ordinator of the Thai group, said all the delegates were batchmates at National Defence College in Thailand. “We have also collected Rs 1.5 lakh for the Singtam monastery,” said Taveesin.
During her address at the monastery, Taveesin said: “We are all very delighted to be part of this auspicious occasion (consecration). We thought we would only be sending the statues but we have actually come here.”
As the condition of the road from Darjeeling to Singtam was bad, the Thai delegates had to be ferried in two different types of vehicles (with local drivers being used to ride over a difficult hill patch) to reach the monastery.
Gurung arrived at the venue in an all-terrain vehicle.
The delegation also handed out 300 replicas of the Buddha statue and two cartons of medical kits to the management committee of the monastery to be distributed among the people.
Taveesin had studied at Mount Hermon in Darjeeling. The Thai initiative was basically worked out by Shringla and the Darjeeling based Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association.
S.L. Palzor, president of the association, said: “People of Singtam have constructed the gumba (monastery) with their own contribution. Since they did not have a statue, we got in touch with Harsh Vardhan Shringla and everything fell into place within three to four months.”
Source: Telegraph
