Ghum

import Media from './components/media'; import { Gallery } from './components/wrappers';

“The village of Ghoom [...] is already consecrated Buddhist ground, for here stands a long-established lamasery. Its twenty inmates belong to the Yellow Hat order, the most important Tibetan sect. The houses of Ghoom, for the most part wretched wooden huts, follow the line of the road, which at this point runs on towards Darjeeling along a ridge that drops steeply on both sides. The village creates a thoroughly dismal impression. Even when the sun is shining in nearby Darjeeling the weather witches swirl above the Ghoom Ridge. The local inhabitants say quite rightly that Gloom would be a better name for the place than Ghoom. The landmark of Ghoom is a group of three conical hills, on the summits of which stand the buildings of the Buddhist monastery.”

[Nebesky-Wojkowitz, René von. 1957a. Where the Gods Are Mountains: Three Years among the People of the Himalayas. Translated by Michael Bullock. New York: Reynal and Company, 18]