Kathmandu: The Tibetans in Nepal gathered at Samdupling Tibetan Settlement in Jawalakhel, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, to celebrate the 90th birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

Chuwar Kyabje Kuntse Rinpoche attended the commemoration as its chief guest, alongside special guests Representative Tsepri Lopan Tulku Ngawang Chokdup, former Tibetan Justice Commissioner Ngawang Thupten, and Ambassadors and Diplomats from Nepal-based Embassies and Diplomatic Missions of countries from America, Europe, and Asia.

It was also attended by the officials from the Government of Nepal, members from Himalayan Buddhist communities, as well as representatives from the Tibetan settlements, Local Tibetan Assemblies, Regional Tibetan Freedom Movements, monastic communities, local Tibetan schools, and other Tibetan civil societies, totalling around more that 1000 participants.

The ceremony filled with festivities and colourful performances of traditional dances and songs by the Nepal Tibetan Women’s Association, yak and snow lion dances by the Nepal Trehor Welfare Society, and various songs performed by local people of all ages – elderly, young, and children.

During the ceremony, Representative Tsepri Lopan Tulku Ngawang Chokdup presented foreign dignitaries with copies of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s autobiography ‘Voice for the Voiceless,’ along with bilingual (English-Tibetan) documents related to His Holiness’s reincarnation that were distributed at the recently wrapped 15th Tibetan Religious Conference.

-Report filed by Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office, Kathmandu