By Tenzin Tsundue
Mangalore – From next tommorow people in Mangalore are thinking of taking holidays for three days. Reason? They are excited that the Tibetan students in the city have promised them snowlions!
The Tibetan students strength in the city that touches almost three hundred has tied with the Indian Tibet support group Friends of Tibet (INDIA) to organize a Tibet show called ‘Cry of the Snowlion’.
To create more awareness about Tibet in the Indian populace here in this south Indian city, they have lined up heart warming programmes for three days. One student simply reasoned out, ‘so that from tommorow they stop calling us ‘ching-chong’ and take us as Tibetans.
The three day-photo exhibtion `Story of a Nation’ will be inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Mr. Dharmapal Negi the Inspector general of Police(IGP). The Chief representative of the Tibetan Government in Exile in South India has agreed to be the guest of honour.
Tibetan Cultural Dances and songs have been lined up to exhibit Tibetan culture to this seaside city. The second day will be a film festival on Tibet; four films on varrying subjects from history to the present situation in Tibet will further introduce Tibet to the Mangaloreans. They refer to any `chinky faces’ to the five Chinese restaurants the city has been watching mushrooming, the ‘hao ming’ and ‘hao haos’.
Tibetan students have especially learned and practised for many days some Kanada dances to further surprise the south Indians who are already shocked that many Tibetan students speak better Kanada than the many of the young breed Mangaloreans.
The third day of the Tibet festival will out do the famous five Chinese restaurants in their own bussiness. The Tibetan students have hired Moksangs from Bylakupee and brought in dry noodles from Kollegal to put up a Tibetan food festival! As the college students are raring to sing on those days will be the only fear as they do not seem to have sung on any commendable occasions.
Today was their final rehersals. As the Mangaloreans celebrate the special flower festivity the whole city is on holiday. I see Indian college students playing criket, football or just whiling away time. The Tibetan students around 200 sat around the basket all court, while the Indian students were playing just behind us. It was so juxtaposed, the youngsters of same age, belonging to two different situations.
The snowlion dance was being rehearsed, two boys in jump shorts and sneakers, holding to each other acting, looked more like Indian buffalo than a yak without the stinking hide.
For more details:
Contact TSAM Gen. Sec Sonam: sonorz@rediffmail.com
or Pemala: 09845636892, 09845308664, 0988610537
