Amid pomp and colour, the Tibetan community in Nepal observed the 87th birthday of Dalai Lama—their spiritual leader. At a grand event held at the Jawalakhel stadium in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, they worshipped the portrait of the Dalai Lama and sang Tibetan songs. The Tibetan community organized cultural performances ahead of the event.
Kathmandu-based diplomats from western countries including the United States also joined the event which was coordinated by the local Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office. In the past two years, Tibetans were not permitted by the Nepalese government to observe the birthday celebrations of Dalai Lama publicly owing to the COVID-19 restrictions.
European Union Ambassador Nona Deprez were among those foreign diplomats who attended the Dalai Lama birthday celebrations. The Dalai Lama turned 87 on Wednesday. He is the 14th Dalai Lama who was born at Taktser, a small hamlet in Amdo Province’s Kumbum region on 6 July 1935 to Choekyong Tsering and Dickyi Tsering.
He escaped into exile in India in March 1959 after sensing an inevitable threat to his life from the Chinese military forces stationed in Lhasa. Along with the Lama, about 80,000 Tibetans also moved to India, Nepal, and Bhutan. In May 1960, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) was moved to Dharamsala, situated in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Santosh Ghimire
Kathmandu-based journalist.
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