Going back to Bir. TYC graces my hometown…

View from my home

It’s been three months that I last visited my hometown Bir. It is a small Tibetan settlement two hours away from Dharamshala, capital of Tibetan exiles, in Himachal Pradesh, North India.

My brother often complains that I don’t spend enough time with family, and annoys me by passing such taunts! I manage to retort back by asking him if these are his concerns, then why did he go to Switzerland. Well I do say that, but I don’t really mean it. I know this sounds rather rude, but again, who doesn’t fight with siblings? And I am taking the advantage of being youngest in the family.

Our favorite hangout – Sunset at ILU road

My dads and mom always appreciate my work, though I can’t make it home as often as I’d like to. However when I do go home, I feel much more relaxed and at peace than in Dharamsala. I know I confused you with ‘Dads’, which isn’t spelt incorrectly. I belong to a Khampa nomadic family and it is a common practice for brothers to marry one woman. That’s how I have two loving dads.

TYC General Body Meeting commences at Bir Tibetan Society Hall

Indeed I had a lovely time with my family. Moreover, this Lhakar I had the opportunity to attend the opening ceremony of the Tibetan Youth Congress 43rd General Body meeting, hosted in Bir. There are more than a hundred participants from around 40 chapters from all over India, Nepal, and the U.S.

As I remained seated at the back, I was instantly reminded of my first TYC meeting in 2005 at Bylakuppe, where I was representing RTYC Baroda, comprising of Tibetan students studying in MS University. It was then that my activism for Tibet started.

Way to the meeting hall

It was also an honor to hear Rangzen torchbearer Gen Lhasang Tsering la, invited as the Chief Guest of the event. I felt that the most striking words Lhasang la said was: ‘Rangzen is not a business transaction, which is calculated by profit or loss. Rangzen is a fight for truth in which you cannot bargain, even if you are in loss, you have to fight for it, and stand by it.’

Here I wish to share few pictures of it and my beautiful hometown.

Pic Courtesy: Choenyi Woser and Bir News

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