THE FULL- MOON NIGHT.

Dawa kept his eyes on Markhang, who looked lonely yet dignified. Dawa realized that Markhang must have been an imposing dog once with his big body, long fur, piercing eyes and booming voice. He was old and could not look after himself. The areas under his eyes were wet as they watered. Large folds of his upper lip were hanging below his chins and there was a slight tremor in his body. He felt sorry for the dog and forgave him. Dawa found Markhang praiseworthy for his sense of duty and dignity. The old dog reminded him of Moley. Both living in the past and failing to adjust to the changing times.

 He decided not to take any more chances and head straight to Thimphu after spending a night at Kikila. Dawa knew that spending the night where the dogs had played an important role long ago, would be impactful on a believer. He climbed up the pass, to the mountain and made a bed of dry ferns for himself. He kept his eyes on Prati naktsang, the home of Thuksay Dawa.

He had hardly fallen asleep when he was awakened time and again by a number of trucks heading towards Chumey from Chokor valley, carrying firewood. He was irritated by the noise and frequently sought a new place. He must have fallen asleep, when he was awakened by a wet object touching his face. Looming above was a yak’s face, munching his breakfast!

Dawa was up on all fours, tail up, ready for battle when he found some 50 yaks all around him. He was in the yak pastures near Kidipu, miles away from Kikila. Each time he was disturbed by the blazing lights, groaning sounds and stinking smoke, he had moved further up to try to catch some sleep.

What a wasted endeavour, thought Dawa, feeling rather foolish, in front of the bemused yak, staring at him.

(Though we are yet to finish the chapter, today I asked them to answer few questions in the fourth period before lunch. They were given 25 minutes to answer the questions. Towards the end we discussed their answers, focusing on the main points.)

A.      Who were the women? Why did they come to Thowadrak?

Ans: They were pilgrims. They came to Thowadrak mainly for three reasons. Firstly, they wanted to visit the temple there. Secondly, they wanted to visit Gelong Ma Pelmo’s cave and light the butter lamps. Finally, they might have come there to acquire religious merits by offering gifts to the lama and the care-taker of the temple.

B.      What did they offer the care-taker of the temple?

Ans: The elderly women offered some fried biscuits, eggs and rolls of incense to the care-taker of the temple. They also offered him lots of other things which Dawa could not see clearly.

C.      What did the care-taker tell them about Dawa that made him really happy? How did Dawa feel about the care-taker’s remark?

Ans: The care-taker told the elderly women that Dawa was a harmless stray dog initially. But when they seemed a bit suspicious not knowing if it would be wise on their part to leave their luggage behind in the presence of Dawa outside the temple door, the care-taker told them that though Dawa looked ragged, he had a sensitive heart like that of a human. He never stole or bit other people.

He had not bothered much about Dawa’s looks and judged him for what he was. This made Dawa very happy. He felt like dancing in circles, chasing his tail, like puppies do in playful delight. This was the greatest gift that Dawa could have ever received.

D.     What was the significance of the full-moon night in Dawa’s life?

Ans: The full-moon night always played an important role in Dawa’s life. It was on a full-moon night that Dawa christened himself as Dawa Koto. Similarly, he started howling for the first time on a full-moon night as well. He became the leader of the howling pack in Paro and Thimphu respectively on a full-moon night. So finally when he found out the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo on a full-moon night, it was too much of a surprise to be coincidental and nothing short of a miracle. So there is a strong relationship among Dawa, the moon and Gelong Ma Pelmo's cave that ultimately leads to some sort of self-realization within him and to the discovery of his destiny.