About the 'Expressions' Section
This section is a window into the thoughts and emotions of a young Tibetan growing up in exile across various parts of India. Born in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, to parents who followed His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama into exile in the 1960s, their journey was one of resilience and adaptation. As teenagers, they found themselves in a new land, meeting each other and beginning what could only be described as a modern nomadic life.
Amid harsh conditions and countless challenges, they raised five children, but only two survived. My brother, 12 years my senior, joined the Tibetan army under the Indian establishment in Dehradun, while I stayed with my parents and attended regular schools. The Central Schools for Tibetans, jointly run by the Indian Government and the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, became my academic home.
The poems featured here were handwritten in a few notebooks that travelled with me through this journey of exile. From Tibetan schools in Manali, Dalhousie, Mussoorie, and Mundgod to adult life in Dharamsala, Delhi, Kolkata, and Siliguri, these notebooks somehow endured. Recently rediscovered, they stirred memories of that nomadic existence, encapsulating the emotions of a life lived in transition.
This section revisits those fragments of a younger self, reflecting on a past shaped by change, survival, and hope. It is also an opportunity to refine those words, preserving their essence while honouring the emotions they carry.
To read the intent behind this Substack blog, click here.