Sunday saved monks but reduced monastery to ruins

On weekdays the prayers end at the time the quake struck

September 23, 2011 12:35 am | Updated November 17, 2021 10:54 am IST - MANGAN (SIKKIM):

A Buddhist monk inspects the damage to a mural caused by the quake at the Ringjhim monastery in Mangan town, 70 km from Gangtok, on Thursday. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

A Buddhist monk inspects the damage to a mural caused by the quake at the Ringjhim monastery in Mangan town, 70 km from Gangtok, on Thursday. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

In another year and a half, the reconstructed Ringjhim Buddhist monastery of this hill town facing the Kanchenjunga mountain peak would have completed 100 years. On September 18, the monastery was reduced to rubble in the high-intensity earthquake, half an hour after the monks finished their routine prayers.

“Since it was a Sunday, the prayer session finished at 5.30 p.m. On weekdays, the routine afternoon prayer session is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The earthquake occurred around 6.10 p.m. Had it been a weekday, we all would have come under the rubble of the monastery walls and ceilings. We are fortunate to survive,” the Principal of the Institution of Buddhist Learning of the monastery, Acharya Prema Dorjee told The Hindu .

The monks are now offering their daily prayers in one of the rooms used for imparting lessons on Buddhist rituals.

Appeal to residents

Mr. Dorjee said a new monastery building would be constructed and efforts would be to start the work before the next annual congregation of 400 senior Lamas of different monasteries scheduled in March 2012. He has appealed to the residents of Mangan and nearby areas to help in the reconstruction. The monastery has five senior monks and 55 student monks.

The monastery was first set up in the 17th century. However, it was destroyed in a fire and a new building was constructed in 1913, Mr. Dorjee said. He plans to seek the Sikkim government's assistance during Chief Minister P.K. Chamling's scheduled visit to the monastery for a first-hand assessment of the damage caused.

Church collapses

A church also collapsed in Mangan while cracks have appeared in most of the residential and government buildings in this headquarters town.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.