Landscape as Text

COMMUNAL HARMONY: PUNJABI & TIBETAN

In cultural studies, though culture is seen as a text, every imagery or landscape is open for interpretation ie. reading. Myths, symbols and images serve as the basis of perception and reading the landscape (Lavrenova O.2019). Concept of textuality transcends the certainty of boundaries and broadens the scope of human geography. And there is Inter-textuality and inter-subjectivity and the notion of palimpsest fuel the process. Texts of different era overlapped onto each other provide a blend of new cultural-historical context.

Delhi, the majestic, cosmopolitan, sprawling capital of the nation viewed as one of the global nodes bustling with life in haste. It has maintained its identity as a pluralistic amalgamation with myriads of ethno-religious groups and minority communities. Such is the very famous, our own ‘little Tibet’- Majnu Ka Tila situated at a stone’s throw from the Delhi University North Campus. Officially known as Aruna Nagar Colony is the universal gathering place for Tibetans living around Delhi and a transit point for the people of the trans-Himalayan range and conversely a gateway to Tibet for the Indians and foreign tourists alike as the capital city enjoys a status of a flourishing educational and political hub.

Iron foot over-bridge

Tall buildings on either side make the narrow alley so dark it’s as if the sun never makes it here. Shops on either side sell only exotic Tibetan jewellery, Buddhist artefacts and crockery. In this labyrinth of a colony, the stalls are full of copies of branded shoes and clothes, reflecting the latest in fashion trends across Asia. Many of the tiny outlets sell Buddhist curios and Tibetan literature. Ahead, the alley opens into a bright courtyard facing the monastery. Old ladies sit in the sun, making fresh momos and laphing, pancakes rolled with chilli paste. Besides MKT is a Foodie's paradise, the eateries here are not only popular for its momos, but one can also enjoy authentic Tibetan, Chinese and Korean delicacies along with the yummiest of the English pastries. Majnu Ka Tila not only is limited to Tibetan community but is constituted by the Punjabi community as well which has a historical context.

HISTORICITY OF THE STUDY AREA

There are two monasteries, the Drepung Ngakpa Monastery and the Jangchupling

Lhakang Monastery and a Sikh Gurudwara. This Majestic Gurdwara is situated on the right bank of the River Yamuna on the Grand Trunk Road, opposite Timarpur, Delhi.

It is believed that Iranian Sufi bhakt Abdulla lived here during the rule of Sultan Sikander Shah Lodi (1849-1517). He would help people to across the Yamuna River with his boat and would not charge anything for this service. It is said that he had a very strong desire to meet the God. He was so oblivious to the world around him that people would call him as ‘Majnu’ which implies a symbol of intense love in Sufi literature. Abdulla's quest for enlightenment, made him vow to meet Guru Nanak dev when he heard that the great Guruji was in the vicinity. He finally did meet him on July 20, 1505. Majnu had a khanqah (hermitage) which was on a hill along the bank of Yamuna river which is known Manju ka Tila presently. Many People were attracted by Majnu’s divine personality.  Because of the heartily devotion towards the guru, this place was made a religious place. Sikh Leader Baghel Singh had stayed here and he had converted this place to Gurdwara in 1783, later known as Majnu ka tila Gurdwara. The Sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind ji also stayed here when Emperor Jahangir invited him. 

The Gurdwara was made by Maharaja Ranjit Singh who also endowed it with his income from his jagir. The income from this jagir was spent on the maintenance of this historical shrine. In 1950 a big gurdwara building was made by Delhi Sangat. Right around the corner from the gurudwara, there lies Majnu ka Tilla. In the present day, 54 years after the uprising, the number of ethnic Tibetans in India is currently at about 120,000. there are numerous small Tibetan communities as well as 54 formal settlements scattered across Karnataka, greater Dehradun and Himachal Pradesh and the Northeast states. Though their status remains as foreigners under the 1946 Foreigners Act but are accorded basic rights of most citizens following ad-hoc policies of the 1951 Geneva Convention of the United Nations.

The iron foot over bridge (ref. pic 1), is considered as a spatial edge and limit tracing ethnic frontiers between the two communities. The Punjabi Basti is a key economical point. Most of the Tibetan restaurants and hotels are dependent on the Punjabi Basti Market for the ration.

 FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

• Sikh shrine named after a devout Iranian Sufi believer and Tibetan settlement presents an exemplar amalgamation of faith and harmony.
• Identity (Self and the other): The diasporic condition is a factor as well, as it inevitably puts one in a position of awareness of how similar or different ones looks, one’s culture, one’s habits and beliefs are from the majority, and forces one to be continuously aware of ones identity in everyday life.
• Symbolic boundaries are delimited according to notions of purity or impurity. The bridge acts as a frontier for the Tibetan enclave separating and linking the Tibetans with the ancient Punjab colony. The first immigrants were from Pakistan during the partition of India in the late 1940s. Nowadays Punjabi Basti is populated by varied groups including people from Rajasthan and the descendants of the first Punjabi immigrants. Tibetans are the most visible groups in the area recognizable with the coloured praying flags, smelling cuisine and prayer chants. 

 REVIEWS FROM THE RESIDENTS

A resident recalled “MKT used to be very poor, compared to now, everyone sold chang (alcohol), even my mother did, when we were younger. We didn’t have proper electricity, no water supply. In summer, when I was around three or four years old, we had no power at home, and we had to go outside to sleep, it was too hot in the house. I remember sleeping by the footpath, and these trucks and buses moving past us at night. It was very relieving, when vehicles moved past us with a cool breeze. A lot of people did the same in those days…And it changed. Later people got engaged into business, Indians felt good buying from us, you know.”

Another locallite said “Majnu ka Tilla has been a haven for me.” While a local immigration agent views “We live in India but somehow still feel like outsiders, this entire area is unauthorized, you know. We all pay the authorities as well as these eunuchs to turn a blind eye at us. All this just so we can survive.”

CONCLUSION

 The area provides a microcosm of diversified India where there is invisible transition and diffusion of identity, culture of distinct communities and Indianisation of Tibetan lifestyle.

For instance, many Tibetans who cannot afford the rising rents of the Tibetan enclave (due to hotels and tourist activities) are forced to live in the Punjabi Basti where renting an apartment is cheaper comparatively. Living in Punjabi zone is seen influencing a cultural and identity loss. To diffuse with the Punjabi population is perceived as a risk “of identity loss”, and forgetting your Tibetan culture. These frontiers are mental, social and religious. Nonetheless, the ethnic groups interacting and sharing a space is a matter of pride as community harmony.

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