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Tibet
Photos by Kiran Ambwani
Dans l'ombre du Tibet: Un
culture en exil | In the Shadow of Tibet: A Culture in Exile
Since the invasion in 1949
by the Chinese, Tibet has become a country in peril. Its people
have been persecuted, its land desecrated and its religious traditions
all but annihilated. Yet the Tibetan culture has proved extraordinarily
resilient and inspirational, steeped as it is in a Buddhist philosophy
emphasizing compassion and forgiveness above all else.
In Tibet, spiritual training
and practice, and even learning the Tibetan language, are severely
restricted by the Chinese. Much of Tibetan culture has now had
to take refuge outside its homeland. In their refugee settlements
in India, they have established Tibetan-language schools and
cultural institutions, reconstructed several monasteries, and
established large monastic universities to help preserve their
cultural identity. For Tibetans, Buddhism permeates through everyday
life and participating in sacred activities like praying, reciting
scriptures, making mandalas and hanging prayer flags is believed
to create a positive collective karma which overcomes epidemics,
hunger, war and other negative effects hindering peace and harmony
in the world.
My first awareness of the plight
of the Tibetan people came from a fellow Tibetan student in India,
a refugee. It was then that I realized the strength of the Tibetan
people. I am inspired by their perseverance to safeguard their
cultural heritage in exile. Through this photo reportage, I would
like to highlight the resilience of the Tibetan culture despite
the cultural genocide it faces. In my ongoing odyssey to capture
the spirit of the Tibetan people, I have travelled to Tibetan
settlements, children's villages and monasteries in Dharamsala,
Bylakuppe, Ladakh and Nepal and hope to travel one day to a Free
Tibet.
The project was made
possible with the support of the
Department
of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online Strategy
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