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| Letter from India: All change in Dharamsala | Letter from India: All change in Dharamsala |
| (30 days later) | |
| The Dalai Lama may be the only sign of stability left in Dharamsala. A symbol of peaceful, principled resistance, the Dalai Lama has lived through the total transformation of Dharamsala, especially its upper part known as McLeodganj, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. | The Dalai Lama may be the only sign of stability left in Dharamsala. A symbol of peaceful, principled resistance, the Dalai Lama has lived through the total transformation of Dharamsala, especially its upper part known as McLeodganj, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. |
| The vast valley with pine trees at the back of the bazaar lane has now acquired a cement cover of guest houses and small hotels. The green slopes you saw a few years ago, walking to Dharamkot, en route to Shiv temple and Triyund peak – looking over the China border – are also covered by a concrete labyrinth. The latest in this line of developments is the shining red Indian Premier League cricket stadium. | The vast valley with pine trees at the back of the bazaar lane has now acquired a cement cover of guest houses and small hotels. The green slopes you saw a few years ago, walking to Dharamkot, en route to Shiv temple and Triyund peak – looking over the China border – are also covered by a concrete labyrinth. The latest in this line of developments is the shining red Indian Premier League cricket stadium. |
| This summer has been unusually hot in Dharamsala. The smoke caused by forest fires all around hung over the town for days. Some say that arson has become a source of entertainment for miscreants. On 31 May, the World Health Organisation honoured Himachal Pradesh – where Dharamsala is located – for becoming India's first state to make smoking in public spaces a punishable offence. Was there a link between the ban on smoking and this year's unusual forest fires in the area surrounding Dharamsala? | This summer has been unusually hot in Dharamsala. The smoke caused by forest fires all around hung over the town for days. Some say that arson has become a source of entertainment for miscreants. On 31 May, the World Health Organisation honoured Himachal Pradesh – where Dharamsala is located – for becoming India's first state to make smoking in public spaces a punishable offence. Was there a link between the ban on smoking and this year's unusual forest fires in the area surrounding Dharamsala? |
| Other theories attribute the fires to the pine reforestation programme which has resulted in substantial hill areas being carpeted by highly combustible pine needles. This year's unprecedented intense noontime heat may well have caused the forest floor to burst into flames. | Other theories attribute the fires to the pine reforestation programme which has resulted in substantial hill areas being carpeted by highly combustible pine needles. This year's unprecedented intense noontime heat may well have caused the forest floor to burst into flames. |
| Fires demand water. One raged barely 20 metres away from the guest house I was staying in. A forestry official was called; he admitted his department had neither water nor means to transport it. All he had was a bill hook, to chop off branches of trees about to catch fire. Finally, the rainwater my guest house had stored in plastic tanks was emptied out with buckets to control the fire. That did not help my throat, and the next day I developed heatstroke. | Fires demand water. One raged barely 20 metres away from the guest house I was staying in. A forestry official was called; he admitted his department had neither water nor means to transport it. All he had was a bill hook, to chop off branches of trees about to catch fire. Finally, the rainwater my guest house had stored in plastic tanks was emptied out with buckets to control the fire. That did not help my throat, and the next day I developed heatstroke. |
| There was no choice left, so we hired a taxi and rode for 10 hours to return home to Delhi. As our taxi entered the city, we saw a western disturbance hitting the sky with towering cumulus clouds. A brief shower temporarily settled the dust in advance for the arrival of monsoon rains. | There was no choice left, so we hired a taxi and rode for 10 hours to return home to Delhi. As our taxi entered the city, we saw a western disturbance hitting the sky with towering cumulus clouds. A brief shower temporarily settled the dust in advance for the arrival of monsoon rains. |
| Every week Guardian Weekly publishes a Letter from one of its readers from around the world. We welcome submissions – they should focus on giving a clear sense of a place and its people. Send submissions to weekly.letter.from@guardian.co.uk | Every week Guardian Weekly publishes a Letter from one of its readers from around the world. We welcome submissions – they should focus on giving a clear sense of a place and its people. Send submissions to weekly.letter.from@guardian.co.uk |
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