The Dalai Lama’s Birthday Bash in Dharamsala
By scott.poniewaz | July 6, 2007
As the mist settled into the Himalayan peaks surrounding McLeod Ganj, India, it was expected that the birthday celebration of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, would also bring with it an annual rain shower. The rains held off for the morning of dance, song, recognition and celebration that would culminate with a final dance from the Eastern Tibetan tradition by the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.
As the day progressed, the rains eventually fell and the clouds floated right through town, but it fortunately held off until everyone could be in a comfortable spot for lunch. Every year around this time, thousands pour into the town of McLeod Ganj and fill its simple guesthouses and dine in their eateries filled with traditional Tibetan food of momo’s, thukpa, and as any place where the foreigners find, pizza. Most come to McLeod to practice the art of nothingness, immersing themselves into the world of yoga (often taught by westerners), meditation, Buddhist practices and other alternative spiritual educational opportunities. This time of year, the Taiwanese also sponsor the rainy season teachings by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.
I had to head to Delhi on July 4 by taxi, drop someone at the airport on the 5th, then return to McLeod via an overnight taxi ride 11 hours home. The 7:30 a.m. arrival gave me just enough time to get my camera gear situated after finding out that I got my press pass lined up for today’s birthday bash, which His Holiness did not attend, however the Karmapa Lama (3rd highest in Buddhism), Tibetan Prime Minister, and many other important VIP’s were in attendance. It was explained that the Dalai Lama never attends his party, simply because it is an offering by the people towards His Holiness and they don’t expect him to come. This year offers more significance in the life as it is his “Obstacle Year,” which occurs every 12 years, and is considered a challenging year for the continuing life of the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and one which ultimately puts the option in the hands of this reincarnated Dalai Lama to continue his life, or give way to the next Dalai Lama. This is a very simplified explanation of the obstacle year, but I am a bit short on time with this post and simply wanted to get something up here to explain a little about the photo background.
Being my third time attending the teachings, I am becoming a bit spoiled. When I returned from my trip in March and saw the spring teachings, I was greeted by newspapers and headlines throughout Madison when I went to visit in late April highlighting the Dalai Lama’s visit to Madison. I have to admit, I had to scoff at the ridiculousness of people paying over $125 to see him speak, when all I have to do here is walk into the Information office, give them two passport photos, a copy of my passport and I’m good to go. I feel so privileged to be able to see him give teachings in his home temple for the third time now! Its quite incredible! Other than the Tibetans that live here, I don’t think many people can say they have seen him three times in his home temple giving teachings, as well as attending his birthday celebrations!
I was fortunate to receive a press pass and will hopefully be able to market these photos to a paper back in the states…any takers? The way the press pass works, is you can only have it for one day of the teachings, so tomorrow morning I will be able to cover the first day of the teachings and take pictures of certain parts, so more photos will be coming after that. From that point on, I will simply be there to enjoy! In the meantime, please enjoy these images of a variety of songs and dances from around Tibet! I apologize for the short post, especially since I haven’t posted in so long, but there just hasn’t been a lot of time for me! I’ll try to get better at it as the summer slows down for me in July! Keep checking back, or just subscribe and you’ll be able to receive notifications when I have new (and often sporadic) posts. I will try to get a bunch of my India posts together and am actually thinking about putting a DVD together for when I get back home, as the upcoming year’s travels should include Thailand again, Fiji, Australia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, maybe the Ivory Coast and perhaps even Peru and Costa Rica!
Topics: Travel, Photo Galleries, General, India |
One Response to “The Dalai Lama’s Birthday Bash in Dharamsala”
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12:28 pm on July 6th, 2007
Great shots. Good luck in getting some photos and maybe someone will pick them up even.
Take care.