19-07-2025
Tibetan festival marking 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama commences in Mysuru
The four Tibetan settlements in Mysuru-Chamarajanagar districts inaugurated a two-day cultural festival in the city on Saturday to mark the 'Year of Compassion', which commemorates the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama.
This is in tune with the directive from the Central Tibetan Administration which has declared the period from July 6, 2025 to July 6, 2026, as the 'Year of Compassion', marking the 90th birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama.
The event is being held at Kalamandira, and the organisers said that this is meaningful to the Tibetans as the 80th and the 90th birthdays of the Dalai Lama hold great spiritual and cultural significance, and is referred to in Tibetan as 'Gyaton' and 'Ghoton' respectively.
The Tibetan settlements organising the event are Lugsung Samdupling and Dekyi Larso in Bylakuppe, Rabgayling in Hunsur, and Dhondenling in Kollegal, all of which are under the Central Tibetan Administration.
'This event reflects the collective effort of the local level administration of the Tibetan community in India to honour the 'Year of Compassion', and to celebrate the life and values of the Dalai Lama,' said the organisers.
As part of the programme, there will be inspirational talks and exhibitions on the life and teachings of the Dalai Lama, display of Buddhist art, rituals, and traditional Tibetan cuisines, apart from Tibetan cultural performances, according to the organisers. The programme intends to spread the enduring message of compassion and resilience propounded by the Dalai Lama, they added.
The Tibetan monks also expressed their gratitude to the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka, and recalled the contribution of late S. Nijalingappa, the then Chief Minister of what was Mysore State, who offered land for Tibetan rehabilitation in the 1960s.
