CHENNAI: Living away from home, Tibetans hold on to their culture passionately. Tibetans have rich culture and they are very religious. Almost all the Tibetans are Buddhists. Since Buddhism is one of oldest religions which promotes non violence, benevolence, patience, and compassion, naturally most Tibetans are bound by good conduct. Tibetans practice the Mahayana form of Buddhism, whereas most countries like, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, and Japan they practice Hinayana. In Mahayana the ultimate aim is to free all the sentient beings from suffering and lead to the path of enlightenment. However in Hinayana, it is self-enlightenment. Tibetan students in Chennai carry out their religious practices individually and sometimes on auspicious occasions they gather at one place and to perform rituals and chant mantras. There is no Tibetan Buddhist temple in Chennai.“It’s not that Tibetans are not allowed to visit Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in Chennai as we all are the followers of Lord Buddha’s teaching. It’s maybe that students don’t have enough knowledge about these temples in Chennai” said Lhundup, father of a student who stays at Dharamsala. A Tibetan dress (Chupa) is more like a Japanese Kimono. The attire has a certain uniqueness in the quality of the cloth and the design. Tibetans mostly prefer a simple designs and avoid heavy jewels in their everyday routine. On occasion, they wear precious stones and gold with in traditional styles. Tibetans in Chennai are not able to wear their traditional clothes daily due to the sultry weather of Chennai. Western clothes have a great influence on the youngsters and Tibetan youth are not an exception to the rule. Yet, Tibetans do dress up in their traditional clothes on special occasions and also on college ethnic days. Tibetan medicine is very well known throughout the world. Men-Tse -Khang (Tibetan medical and astrological institute of his holiness, the Dalai Lama) opened a new clinic in Chennai on August 20 last year, and is located in the compound of the CP Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation.Tibetan cuisine is admired worldwide with the spacious range of varieties. Momo, while thukpa, tsampa, shabhaklap, pingsha, and tsamthuk are some of the most popular dishes.Almost half of the Tibetan population in Chennai is vegetarian. Even though there is one Tibetan restaurant called Kailash Kitchen owned by a Tibetan, it is more visited by Chennaiites and people from the north east. When asked why less Tibetans are spotted here compared to other people, the answer is simple. “Tibetan students make food by themselves in their room and they get same meals every day, whereas local residents, mostly youth find it refreshingly different and like it,” said owner of Kailash Restaurant. He also added that he has a large number of Chinese and Taiwanese regulars as well. In a year Tibetans in Chennai carry out a number of major and minor activities. Among the various activities, December 10, the day on which His Holiness, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize marks an important day of various activities, as well as many games and a sports tournament with Manipuri and Bhutanese included to increase friendly relations.“The most awaited activity by all the students is the ‘Rangzen Rolling’ which is a big event in itself where Tibetan students in the Southern gather in Chennai and conduct many games. It is a sort of get together and we have a healthy competition,” said Richen Namgyal, TSAM president. Being a president of the student group here, he is going to take a major step towards the good conduct of the academic section of the students by hosting various workshops and programmes that will enrich the knowledge of Tibetan students in Chennai.There are a number of problems that Tibetans face in Chennai. “Lack of guidance is the major problem that Tibetan students face in Chennai,” said Rinchen. Other than that climatic conditions also causes them some problems as Tibet is a cold place. Students living in hostels or PGs, usually have a problem with the spicy South India foods. The chorus of a popular song they sing during their gatherings goes something like ‘We shall overcome, we shall overcome… Deep in my heart, I believe that someday, Tibet will be free’. No matter what is their political plight or challenges in life is, Tibetans students in city are always found courageous and positive about their common goals. The Tibetan momo (similar to Indian samosa) is steamed with a thin skin made of dough, filled with either vegetables or meat. Unlike a samosa, which is deep fried, the momo is steamed and prepared using a special vessel called Moksang, simliar to an idli-plate . There are various filling — ranging from be beef, chicken momo, vegetables, and cheese. Thukpa is another most common Tibetan dish that people eat during cold weather. It is basically noodles with soup, and the noodles may have different shapes as well. Some are square (Thenthuk), there are also small cubes (Bhakthuk). Tsamthuk is a very traditional Tibetan soup that is made of Tsampa (roasted barley powder). Mok-thuk is a special dish that the Kailash restaurant serves; it is a mixture of both the momo and thukpa. “Mok-thuk is the most preferred food here by Indians, Manipuri and Chinese youth who come by,” said the owner of Kailash Kitchen restaurant. Tibetans rarely put rice in their menu but rice is the basic requirement in South Indian cusine.
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