By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, June 3: His Holiness the Dalai Lama will visit Paddar in the mountainous district of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir this week to address a religious congregation, inaugurate a Buddhist centre and conduct prayers.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is also scheduled to attend the functions according to media reports.
“The Dalai Lama is reaching Gulabgarh for a day June 5 where he will bless his followers and attend religious functions the next day,” IANS quoted Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary at the Dalai Lama’s office, as saying.
Gulabgarh is a small Buddhist-dominated town in Paddar sub-district, famous across the world for its blue Sapphire mines. It borders the picturesque Zanskar Valley in Kargil district.
Padder is said to be the only place in Jammu region where Buddhist population lives. According to media reports, near about 7000 Buddhist people live there and perform religious activities with ease. It is for the first time that Dalai Lama is visiting the area. So far, the Dalai Lama’s visit to J&K have remained limited to Buddhist region of Ladakh.
“This would be the first visit of the Dalai Lama to Kishtwar,’ Taklha said.
The programme is being organised by Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Society (HBCS), which has set up a four-storied centre at Paddar especially for the Dalai Lama’s visit.
Jigme Norbu, president of the HBCS, said: ‘The Dalai Lama will attend Kachous (a religious function) at the centuries old Lossany monastery.’
For the past fifteen years HBCS has been consistently approaching Dalai Lama to visit Padder to address the congregation of Buddhist population and since then HBCS has been working on to build and furnish the center, where the Dalai Lama will stay during his one day visit.
“In this building two rooms have been especially designed for Dalai Lama only and the rest of the building will be used by his close companions who are going to accompany him from Dharamshala,” Norbu told Hindustan Times.
Around and inside the building Z+ security cover will be put in place during the Tibetan leader’s visit there.
Also a chair, designed on order at Ladakh, will be put in place for the Buddhist spiritual leader at Padder. “The chair was epically designed at Ladakh and it cost us Rs 3.5 lakh. Dalai Lama will address the congregation while sitting on this chair only,” Jigme said.
Jigme also said more than 25,000 Buddhists from Himachal Pradesh and the Ladakh region of Kashmir would converge on the occasion.
Even local Hindu and Muslim population are also said to be eagerly waiting to get a glimpse of the Dalai Lama.
