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About
Trongsa |
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Trongsa is a small village and capital of Trongsa District in
central Bhutan. Trongsa litarally means "new village" in
Dzongkha. The first shrine was constructed in the year 1543 by
the Drukpa Kagyu lama, Ngagi Wangchuk, who was the
great-grandfather of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the person who
united Bhutan.
Trongsa offers a strategic central location to manage Bhutan
and for centuries it was the seat of the Wangchuck dynasty of
penlops (governors) who effectively ruled over much of eastern
and central Bhutan, and from 1907 have been rulers of Bhutan.
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Trongsa Dzong |
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Trongsa Dzong is the biggest dzong fortress in Bhutan, located
at a very prominent location is a very important Gompa, situated
in Trongsa in Trongsa district, in the centre of the country.
Built on a spur overlooking the gorge of the Mangde River, a
shrine was first built at the location in the year 1543 by the
Drukpa lama, Ngagi Wangchuk son of Ngawang Chhojey.
Chokhor Raptse Dzong at Trongsa which was founded in the year
1644, earlier it was the seat of power of the Wangchuck dynasty
before it became rulers of Bhutan in the year 1907.
Traditionally the King of Bhutan first becomes the Trongsa
Penlop (governor) before being named Crown Prince and finally
become King.
It
is the main Gompa which has about 200 monks. The monastery
houses a prominent printing house, responsible for the printing
of many sacred texts in Bhutan. |
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History |
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Trongsa means "the new village" in Bhutanese, which includes
hermitages, retreats and shrines of monks. Its prosperous
history dates back to the foundation of a shrine in the area by
the Drukpa lama, Ngagi Wangchuk, ancestor of Zabdrung Namgyal,
who came to this place from Ralung in 1541, and constructed a
tiny meditation room in the year 1543. One day he had been
meditating in the adjacent village of Yuling and observed a
light ("from a body of lamps") at the furthest point of the
spur. He considered this to be a favourable sign and erected a
shrine on the spot, on a mountain spur elevated over the gorges
of the Mangde Chhu, at a height of 2,200 metres. He finally
construct a small meditation centre, a tshamkhang, at that
place.
Another myth states that Ngagi Wangchuk after observing the
lights from lamps, went into a cave nearby for meditation where
he found a tiny spring. He then construct a small shrine, which
has now become the main shrine Gunkhang. He also expanded it
into a small village with some houses and the place thus came to
be known as drongsar and generally known as 'Trongsa'. The
original site of shrine is situated at the end of the dzong, at
the shrine of Chortens.
Trongsa Dzong was damaged in the 1897 Assam earthquake. It was
repaired and modernized by both the 1st king, Ugyen Wangchuck
and the 2nd king, Jigme Wangchuck in 1927. The old village of
Trongsar is located below, but there is a new village of
Trongsar, which has been under construction on the mountainside
since the year 1982. Tibetan immigrants settled in the valley in
late 1950s and early 1960. The shopkeepers are mostly of Tibetan
and Bhutanese origin. |
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Architecture |
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Trongsa Dzong is a beautiful built fortress which is made
up of dzong architecture. Trongsa Dzong is a widespread
complex; the biggest complex all over the Bhutan, and is
situated on many different parts.
It includes a maze of courtyards, corridors and
passageways and the complex has about 25 shrines. The most
important shrines are those devoted to the Tantric deities
of Kalacakra, Cakrasamvara, Hevajra, and Yamantaka. The
Shrine of Chortens is situated on the places where the
original 1543 shrines had stood. It has about 15 paintings
of the Buddha Akshobhya (Mitrugpa) and of the Arhats.
Watchtower of the fortress known as Ta Dzong, is over the
gorge at the eastern part of the dzong. The watchtower is
thin and has 2 sections that project in a v-shape from the
main division of the building.
It also has a temple, built in the year 1977 to honour the
warrior god, King Gesar. In the year 2008, a museum was
added to this compound. The interior ornamentation of the
shrines dates back to the time of the reign of the first
ruler, King Ugyen Wangchuk.
Dzong was modernized recently with the support of an
Austrian team. Ta Dzong, the watch tower has now changed
into a state-of-the Art Museum (National Museum) with
technical and financial assistance provided by Austria.
Trongsa is a large Gompa and presently has around 200
monks. A large printing house is also situated at the
dzong, where printing of sacred texts is prepared by
traditional woodblock printing. |
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Festival |
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Trongsa Tse Chu is celebrated in the northern courtyard of the
shrine in the month of December or January. This festival lasts
for 5 days.
This
festival is celebrated in every monastery of Bhutan with zust
and zeal. The festival commemorates the arrival of Guru
Rimpoche to Bhutan in the 8th century, a mark of victory of
Buddhism over evil. It is celebrated in spring and autumn
seasons as per the Bhutanese calendar.
Some
of the prominent features of this festival are masked together
with the exhibition of a very huge Thanka (sacred painting) on
cloth of Guru Rimpoche and other shapes called the thongdrel. A
fire blessing in the form of people running though "an archway
of blazing straw" is also observed in the festival. |
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Architecture
of Bangladesh |
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The architecture of Bangladesh bears a extraordinary impact on
the tradition, lifestyle and cultural life of Bangladeshi
people.Bangladesh has attractive architecture from historic
treasures to modern landmarks.The architecture of Bangladesh
has a long history and is rooted in Bangladesh's culture,
history and religion. It has evolved over centuries and
assimilated influences from social, religious and exotic
communities. Bangladesh has many architectural artifacts and
monuments dating back thousands of years. |
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History
of Bangladesh |
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Bangladesh is now a part of the historic region of Bengal, the
northeast portion of the Indian subcontinent. Bangladesh
consists mainly of East Bengal (West Bengal is part of India
and its people are primarily Hindu) plus the Sylhet district
of the Indian state of Assam.
The initial reference to the region was to a kingdom called
Vanga, or Banga. Buddhists ruled for centuries, but by the
10th century Bengal was primarily Hindu. In 1576, Bengal
became part of the Mogul Empire, and bulk of East Bengalis
converted to Islam. Bengal was ruled by British India from
1757 until Britain withdrew in 1947, and Pakistan was founded
out of the two predominantly Muslim regions of the Indian
subcontinent. For almost 25 years after independence from
Britain, its history was part of Pakistan's .
West Pakistan and East Pakistan were united by religion
(Islam), but their peoples were separated by culture, physical
features, and 1,000 miles of Indian territory.
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Dress
of Bangladesh |
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The Sari is by far the most widely worn dress by Bangladeshi
women. A union of weavers in Dhaka is renowned for producing
saris from superb Jamdani muslin. The salwar kameez is also
quite famous, particularly among the younger females, and in
urban areas some women wear western clothes. Western clothing
is more widely adopted among men. Men also wear
thekurta-paejama combination, often on special occasions, and
the lungi, a kind of long skirt for men. |
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Geography of Bangladesh |
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Bangladesh, on the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal, is
enclosed by India, with a small common border with Myanmar
in the southeast. The country is low-lying riverine land
passed through by the many branches and tributaries of the
Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. Tropical monsoons and
frequent floods and cyclones inflict heavy damage in the
delta region. |
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How to Reach Bangladesh |
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By Rail
There are no direct trains that can get you to Bangladesh from
any neighbouring country. However, the border is accessible
from West Bengal and Assam (India) by train and then cycle
rickshaws and buses provide the cross border connections.
By Road
You can drive into Bangladesh from India from two points on
the border – Benapol (from Calcutta) and Chilihati (from
Darjeeling). These are the only two entry points on the
India-Bangladesh border open at the moment. The roads are,
however, best avoided during the monsoons (rainy season). The
entry from Myanmar is no longer open.
By Air
Bangladesh can be reached by air from any part of the world.
You can take a direct flight into Dhaka, the capital city,
from 27 major cities in the world. In addition the national
carrier, several international airlines also fly in and out of
the country. The national airport is at Dhaka, 20km from the
city. You can rent a car, take a cab or bus to get you to the
city.
By Sea
The main seaport is Chittagong. Ferries from Myanmar and India
connect to the southern coastal ports of Bangladesh. |
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