Back Home in Dharamsala, a Grand Reception

Chanting and Incense Fill the Air as HHDL Returns After a Month in the West

As reported by Phayul.com; October 3, 2006

By Phurbu Thinley

Dharamsala, October 3 -- After a month-long visiting tour abroad, the exile-Tibetan leader today arrived here in Dharamsala, his exile home town and the base for Tibetan Government in Exile led by Him in India.

A grand and special welcome-reception had been arranged for the Dalai Lama’s arrival here by the Tibetans to rejoice over the recent acknowledgements he received during the already-concluded visits to Canada and USA.

Earlier during the visits, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was conferred Honorary Canadian Citizenship and in US, a Bill has been passed by the U.S. Congress to award His Holiness with the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian award.

To Tibetans, who look up to the Dalai Lama as a symbol of hope and their well-being, the latest acknowledgements bestowed upon Him in the respective countries came as a victory for their struggle for freedom and one of the most remarkable achievements of the year to date.

The Chinese leaders have, in recent months, initiated a ‘fight-to-death’ struggle and a new wave of defamation campaign against the Tibetan leader.

However, the recent honour shown to the Dalai Lama in Canada and USA has come as a timely relief to Tibetan people here and has convinced them that the defamatory statements made by Chinese authorities against their leader are not approved elsewhere.

As a mark of celebration; Tibetans, accompanied by local Indian friends and visiting tourists, spent almost half of the day lining up along the road, right from the early morning, waiting to cheer up the arrival of the Tibetan leader, although the entourage team turned up only around late afternoon here.

Welcome gates, decked up in traditional Tibetan fabric hangings and Tibetan National flags, have been set up in all the major entry-points leading up to His Holiness’ residential palace in McLeod town.

On His arrival, amidst religious Buddhist chanting and smoke of burning-incense hanging in the air; traditional Tibetan dances, symbolizing auspiciousness, were performed at the reception gates.