By SANGEETA J
Dharamsala, March 2 – The quaint town of Dharamsala, known as the abode of the Dalai Lama, has stirred into activity with the three-day Indo-Pak match. Residents are excited about the arrival of an international team who will play on their grounds for the first time but one wonders how the Tibetans react to big-time cricket happening at such close quarters.
‘‘Tibetans love cricket, especially when it is being played between India and Pakistan,’’ says Tenzing Tsundue, a youth activist and writer. ‘‘But it’s happening at the wrong time,’’ he says, adding the annual teachings of Dalai Lama is on at Dharamsala. ‘‘It is actually a competition for attention. How can you attract a Tibetan to watch a match when His Holiness is holding his annual teachings,’’ he says.
‘‘Cricket is big-time for us,’’ echoes Lobsang Wangyal, producer-director of the Miss Tibet pageant. ‘‘And obviously we are Indian supporters’’, adds Wangyal.
The match between the Board President’s XI and the Pakistan team will start tomorrow but will there be many Tibetan spectators? ‘‘We’ll definitely be there once we finish attending His Holiness’ teachings,’’ says Jamyang Chemchok and Tenzing.
‘‘There would be some hard-core cricket lovers,’’ says Tsundue while Lobsang is confident a sizeable number would attend the match.
But the intervention of politics in sports has left a bitter taste. And how do the Tibetans react to the recent controversy created when the Pakistan Cricket Board bowed to Chinese pressure and objected to the Dalai Lama inaugurating the match? ‘‘Tibetans are saddened. His holiness is an international figure and we thought it was befitting that he should inaugurate an international match,’’ says Lobsang.
