By Patricia Mukhim
Published by Roli Books
On reading Vinay Sheel Oberoi’s book ‘Monpas, Buddhists of the High Himalayas’ one is transported to an idyllic world, away from the rough and tumble that defines the life of a city dweller. This is what marks out Vinay Sheel Oberoi, an IAS officer with a passion for capturing the essence of the land where he spent a good part of his life. As a career bureaucrat, Oberoi served in Tawang and Dirang both located in the extreme North Eastern periphery of India. What captivated the writer is perhaps the gentle and compassionate nature of the Monpas who are deeply influenced by Buddhism. What is revealing is that much before the advent of Buddhism, the Monpas had a belief system – the Bon faith an animistic form of worship that most indigenous tribes practice. It involves propitiation and subjugation of the spirits and demons while also seeking the blessings of the gods for immunity from diseases and pestilence and to ensure a good harvest and wealth.
Here is a piece of paradise yet untouched by the crassness of modernity with its noise and distractions and Vinay Sheel Oberoi records his exploratory venture into this little valley cradled in the lap of the Himalayas with extraordinary fervour.
Before the Macmohan line was drawn, Tawang was an extension of Tibet. It is no wonder therefore that Tibetan Buddhism which includes both the Mahayana and Theravada forms are observed by the Monpas who form about 13% of the population of Arunachal Pradesh. Oberoi defines the Himalayas as a sturdy bulwark; almost impenetrable and which continues to guard India in the North. Only pilgrims, travellers, merchants, explorers and scholars have been able to discover the paths that bring them to India.
The 14th Dalai Lama has written an impressive foreword to the book. He recalls that while fleeing his country, Tibet, “It was only when I finally crossed the border through Khenzimane into India in 1959 and stepped on the soil of Monyul, the land of the Monpas, that I felt safe and secure. I spent the first few days at the Tawang monastery and the local people showered me with respect and devotion, extending the same immense kindness to the many Tibetans who followed me into exile.” This speaks volumes of the hospitality of the Monpas.
The Dalai Lama also records his appreciation for the assistance that Oberoi provided to the Central Institute of Himalayan Culture studies at Dahung in West Kameng, which has made immense contribution to the preservation of ancient Indian wisdom and knowledge of ahimsa and karuna that strongly permeates the Monpa culture.
This book provides a scintillating account of the culture, history and tradition of the Monpas with brilliantly vivid illustrations. Oberoi delightfully captures the changing colours of the seasons in this little Himalayan abode. The pictures are a fascinating montage of the transition of the Monpas over the course of history. The narrative is akin to poetry yet it also gives the readers an insight into the tough life in this stark Himalayan terrain where the weather can sometimes be forbidding and life a constant challenge. Yet all this is more than made up by the splash of colours that the Monpas seem fond of weaving and adorning themselves with.
Vinay Sheel Oberoi has left an indelible stamp on the North Eastern state of Assam and Meghalaya where he served as a civil servant. Perhaps his stint as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UNESCO in Paris actually triggered in him a desire to pen this book as a tribute to a little known tribe of a distant horizon – India’s last frontier as it were – before leaving for his eternal abode in April 2020. The Monpas could not have asked for a more comprehensive account of themselves from a disciple of the Dalai Lama, an ambassador of peace, Vinay Sheel Oberoi.