KUNG FU NUNS ON ECO-FRIENDLY MISSION IN BHUBANESWAR
Arindam Ganguly, OP
Bhubaneswar: Women power has no limitations as they have proved that they can do anything and give a tough fight to their male counterparts. Such an example was set by a group of 200 Buddhist nuns and monks from Nepal who cycled into Orissa to spread awareness about a pollution-free environment, women empowerment and human trafficking. Clad in black sweatpants, red jackets and safety helmets, the cyclists are part of a Buddhist sect known as the Drupka Order and are part of the Druk Gawa Khilwa (DGK) nunnery in Kathmandu where they are taught martial arts and meditation as a means of empowering women.
The nunnery is home to about 400 nuns aged between 9 and 42 drawn from Nepal, India, Tibet, and Bhutan. The Kung Fu nuns Monday met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Secretariat. Patnaik welcomed them and gave them the Kalinga Chakra as a memento. Acclaimed as ‘Kung-Fu nuns’, they started the bicycle ride from Kathmandu (Nepal) and crossed through Gorakhpur, New Delhi, Nagarjunasagar, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam to reach Orissa.
The group visited Berhampur, Mangalajodi and Khurda before reaching Bhubaneswar where they visited Buddhists shrine Dhauli Shanti Stupa and Ratnagiri. “We felt the place as our home,’’ said group coordinator Jigme Yeshe Usually, the monks lead prayers and occupy powerful positions while the nuns are assigned jobs such as cooking and cleaning dishes for the monks.
In Druk Gawa Khilwa nunnery, however, the nuns are taught martial arts and meditation together as a means of empowering the young women, said Jigme Konchok Lhamo, another member. “We cover 60-70 kilometres a day meeting local people, government officials and religious leaders on way to spread the message of gender equality, peaceful co-existence and respect for the environment,” Jigme Konchok Lhamo added.
The monks started their journey December 23, 2017 at Kathmandu and travelled 1800 kilometres so far and will visit West Bengal and Bihar where they will conclude their journey. “This is our sixth cycle journey. We travel thousands of kilometres annually with the objective of creating awareness among the people regarding conservation of forests and imbibing the spirit of women empowerment. We want to send the message across the continent that women have the strength like men and they should be provided equal opportunity,” added Jigme Yeshe. Nearly 500 nuns travelled 4,000km on bicycle from Kathmandu to Leh (India) in 2016 with the message of women empowerment. The nuns had participated in the relief operations after the Nepal earthquake in 2015.. “We basically want to spread the message of women empowerment because they are equal to men in this world,’’ said Jigme Yeshe.
