Culture & Festivals

Chotrul Duschen, the Great Prayer Festival of Tibet falls in the first lunar month of Tibetan calendar just after Tibetan Losar - New Year festivities. It was once observed with great religious fervour by the Tibetans in Tibet every year. More

Lo-sar1 means New Year in Tibetan. It is the first day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar. This year's Tibetan Losar, Iron-mouse year, falls on 24 February. Losar celebration is one the most festive periods of the year observed with a lot of religious, cultural and merrymaking events for a week or two. More

Chotrul Duschen [Tib: Cho 'phrul smon lam chen mo], the Great Prayer Festival of Tibet falls in the first lunar month of Tibetan calendar just after Tibetan Losar - New Year festivities. It was once observed with great religious fervour by the Tibetans in Tibet every year. More

For a long time, I had this wish to write about Yonchab (water offering), which is an integral part of our tradition and also a part and parcel of our daily lives. Living with my grandma, one of my most important task (which I jokingly called 'chore' to irritate her) was to do the 'water offering' every morning. More

Almost a month back, I attended a workshop on gender sensitisation organised by the Women Empowerment Desk under the Department of Finance, Central Tibetan Administration. Until then, my understanding of gender was very rudimentary, limited only to the distinction between male and female and so was the understanding of most of my fellow participants. More

Let me share a very special feeling I experienced this Lhakar as the temporary Official Photographer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Last night I received a call assigning me to take photos of His Holiness' teachings. Therefore this morning was a very different experience. I woke up earlier than usual, took a shower and went straight to Tsuglagkhang. At first, I was curious as well as bit tensed. More

It was a sunny day on July 6 and everyone was in a festive mood to celebrate the 83rd birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Thousands of Tibetans, Indians, and foreigners gathered at the Tsuglagkhang to witness the grand celebrations. I was at the event venue on an assignment to take photos for CTAs news websites. I was enjoying the performances by different troupes. More

I was at the office and thought to listen to His Holiness' public talk going live on Facebook. Going through the live feed, I watched His Holiness present a traditional white scarf to Remigijus Šimašius, Mayor of Vilnius after he offered a framed picture of Tibet Square nameplate to His Holiness. More

By Tenzin Phende, Photo-editor Yet another day of Lhakar arises under a biting cold of a 2.c temperature. After a sumptuous breakfast of my usual Tsampa and Tibetan butter tea, I made my way through the unusually empty alleyways of the town towards the main market. From the market, I went straight to Youngling school, a daycare center cum kindergarten. More

As the sun rose to a new day, I knew that today was a different, special event, because every Wednesday I get to bask in the warm embrace of our Tibetan identity. It is a day where we foster the feeling of being Tibetan, being who we really are. More