INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
A local women demonstrating thanka painting. Photo: Sudeep Singh.
lama told me to stick with it. He really
was an excellent teacher. I like to draw
and paint, and was good enough at it
to have been offered an unconditional
place to study art at one of the London
art colleges many moons ago. But
this was such a humbling experience.
It takes years of training to get to a
top standard and I’ve no doubt not
everyone who trains gets to the level of
the lama who taught me. Looking my
thanka, at first glance it looks okay, but
when you look closely the only properly
straight lines and smooth curves you
can see were done by the lama when
demonstrating to me!
The other thing I learned was how there
is meaning to everything you paint in the
thanka. Every colour and every symbol
painted has its own meaning. Thankas
are complex, meaningful paintings that
require great skill when producing the
best. And doing the painting is a type of
meditation in itself.
In the end I spent 17 full days painting,
so I didn’t completely finish it. I was
very pleased when the lama said that
‘I’d done okay given I’d not had enough
time.’ Praise indeed I thought. I also
learnt a great deal more about a part of
Nepali life and culture by having a go
at doing something different. I learnt
something about myself and what I
could achieve if I set my mind to it. The
time spent focused on the painting
also enabled me to make big, well-
thought through decisions on my life.
The experience for me was literally life
changing.
You don’t need to have a history of being
able to paint to have a go (although it
may help). Attributes such as patience,
focus and perseverance are much
more helpful. And when you finish your
thanka (or like in my case, almost but
not quite), being able to appreciate what
you’ve done and love every ‘not straight’
line that looks straight to all your friends,
but to the lama has more bends in it
than the devil’s staircase, is very, very
satisfying. Painting a thanka was for me
one of the best ways to meditate too. A
journey of a different kind.
Yoga in Thamel
If you’re staying in Thamel and fancy going to a yoga class, you are
welcome to drop in at any of the three centers that can be found in
Thamel, the tourist district of Kathmandu.
Pranamaya Yoga Centre (www.pranamaya-yoga.com/)
The light and airy studio is above Himalaya Java, next to the Garden
of Dreams. Here there are a variety of styles of yoga taught, including
Hatha, Iyangar, Sivandar and Vinyasha Flow. In addition to classes in
Thamel, there is also a studio in Patan. The Yoga Centre also runs
workshops and retreats.
Charak Yoga Studio (www.charakyoga.comindex.php)
In the heart of Thamel, this studio teaches Hatha, Tantra, Power, Vinyasa,
Prana, Iyanger, Yin, Sivananda and Astanga yoga.
Hotel Himalaya Yoga (www.hotelhimalayayoga.com/)
Also located in the centre of Thamel, this hotel offers morning yoga
classes on its top floor (free to hotel residents).
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www.insidehimalayas.com | By Royal Mountain Travel | 2016
www.insidehimalayas.com | By Royal Mountain Travel | 2016
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