Friday, November 20, 2009

Tibetans in India trace exile story


Bangalore: A three day-festival capturing the trials and tribulations of Tibetans would be organised in the IT capital to commemorate the 50 years of exile of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, and as a mark of gratitude to India for extending refuge and support to homeless Tibetans.
"It is sad to think we have been away from home for 50 years. I left Tibet when I was four. Currently there are 1,40,000 Tibetans in exile, majority of whom were in India", Tashi, a Tibetan in exile, told reporters here today.

The festival would showcase Tibet's culture, art, medicine religion and its ancient traditions, Lobsang Choedak, press officer, deparment of informationa and international relations, Central Tibetan Administration, said.

The highlights of the festival include a panel discussion on Indo-Tibet relations by Claude Arpi (the French author of books like The Fate of Tibet) Bahakutumbi Raman, former addtional secretary, cabinet secretariat and the Tibetan born educationist Nawang Dorjee.

A discussion on climate change and its impact on the Tibetan Plateau, and Buddhism in the 21st century would also be held by experts in the field.

Tibet's journey in exile which has been documented through photographs would also be showcased at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad. The photo exhibiton depicts the beginning of the exiled Tibetan community and how it has transfromed over the last 50 years to become one of the most successful refugee communities in the world

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