44: The next morning, and it is now Saga Dawa, we met this pair of ladies out to see the events of the day. In part of the wall around Gyangtse there is a huge pylon which shows a large sloping face to the town. Actually it is used for grain storage, but on this special day the monks from the Monastery hang on that huge wall a giant thanka with a picture of the Buddha. The central part of this thanka is a huge panel about 100 feet on a side. On each side were additional panels about 20 feet wide. All of this is not painted as might be supposed, but is made of textiles cut into appropriate shapes and the right colors to make the picture. All of this has been sewn and appliquéd onto a base so it can be hung. One of the side panels is missing. No one seems to know what happened to it. But what is left is impressive enough. Because of its fragility it is only hung and visible on Saga Dawa from six in the morning until eight. When the sun begins to rise over the Pylong, the thanka is lowered, folded carefully and carried on poles by the monks back to its storage place for another year.