Mau, Chitrakoot: Having one of its’ historical and cultural significance, where the flatted land of Uttar Pradesh start transforming into micro hills with bushes and plants instead of farm and vegetation, touching near to the northern border of Madhya Pradesh, Mau – one of the tehsils of Chitrakoot District of UP witnessed a day of Tibetan event at Mahamati Prannath PG College.
Sh. Sundarlal Suman, Regional Convener for Eastern and Central UP, Core Group for Tibetan Cause – India, apart from his social and community service engagements, has also been actively involved in showcasing the need and its reason for educating India’s relation with Tibet. It was his effort and planning that this event was organized at said premises. Dr Santosh Kumar Chaturvedi, Principal, Mahamati Prannath PG College welcomed the guests including Dr Ramesh Chandra Negi, Buddhist Philosophy Faculty, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath; Ven.Tenzin Nyima, Ph.D student and Sh. Jigmey Tsultrim, Coordinator, ITCO.
MMPN PG College that was founded by the late Mata Badal Jayaswal in 1974 was given a new look from its entrance to the venue hall for the celebration of this event. Dr S. Kunil, Political Science, MMPN, while shouldering the master of ceremony of the event followed by Saraswati Vandhana prayer highlighted the historical importance of today’s event at this countryside of UP State. Sh. Sundarlal Suman introduced the guest speakers along with traditional garlands and shawls. He shared about the proposed essay competition that was held earlier upon the subject of India and Tibet which was participated by 30 students from the college. Since it was kept open and not forced upon, going ahead, he stated that while looking at those essays he didn’t feel like shortlisting some of them for prize felicitation whereas he decided to felicitate all of them for their endeavour. As such, all these students were awarded the token of souvenir that shall serve as their memory for at least engaging something upon Tibet. He categorically underlined that today’s event was planned not only for the prize distribution of essay competition but also for the celebration of Universal Human Right’s Day along with the Nobel Peace Prize Day Celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Moving apart, Dr Ramesh Chandra Negi, Faculty of Buddhist Studies, CIHTS, Sarnath, Varanasi presented India’s historical, cultural, religious and geographical relation with Tibet. He touched upon the importance of traditional knowledge while adhering to the practicalities of modern education. By saying this, he indicated upon the education of human values that is what been seen as shredded in different forms of the modern education system.
Dr Negi urged the faculty to bring up such a course of exercises where the students shall come to know not only about today’s popular institutions and colleges but also about the past existent of Nalanda and Takshila that beholds the repositories of India’s wealth of education and morality. He, furthering upon, highlighted the scope of expanding infinite knowledge source that has made more accessible from today’s advancement of technology.
Sharing the perspectives in knowing the cultural and social boundaries of India with Tibet and ecological significance in this regard respectively, the Coordinator, ITCO, in his address, profusely thanked the College, its administrative members including the Principal and his colleagues in making this historic visit possible at Mau. He addressed the students from black and white of Tibet’s history to coloured life of Tibetan people until the 1950s when it fell prey to expansionist Communist China.
Towards the end of the program, Dr Santosh Kumar Chaturvedi, Principal, MMPN, read out a Hindi poetry which is originally written by Bhuchung D Sonam that reflected the pain of separation of Tibetan people from its motherland. Around 500 students along with faculty members attended the event with a productive Q&A session that witnessed deliberate concerns, expressions and queries (especially from students including Abhishek, Gitanjali, Nikita, Shibu Dubhey and others). The event started at 11:30hrs and ended at 14:30hrs.
-Report filed by India Tibet Coordination Office (ITCO)