Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh): Nestled among the snow-capped mountains and perched at a height of 10,000 feet, picturesque Tawang is all set to welcome the Dalai Lama on his sixth visit to Arunachal Pradesh starting from Sunday.
Colourful posters with pictures of the Tibetan spiritual leader and flags welcome visitors to the place, where the Dalai Lama had landed in 1959 after his escape from Tibet.
A security blanket has been thrown around the area, strategically located between - China and Myanmar, with the Tawang district administration making all efforts to ensure a peaceful visit of the leader whose visit has been resented by China which has laid claim to the sensitive border state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Lama Tashi, director of the Himalayan Studies and Research Centre, who was nominated for the Grammy award for his songs based on Tibetan master chants, says the visit would give a strong signal to China that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country.
"People regard him as god and, therefore, no objection should be raised from any quarter for his visit to the state," Tashi says.
The spiritual leader is scheduled to hold discourses in the 300-year-old Tawang monastery and at nearby Dirang from November 9 to 12 and another at Bomdila before leaving for Itanagar.
He had visited the place in 1983, 1997 and 2003. He paid two visits in 2003 and during one of the two visits he had skipped Tawang to visit the Western side of the state dominated by the Mahayana sect of the Buddhism.
Monk-turned political personality T G Rinpoche said the people here view the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of "Avaloktaswara", the god of compassion.
Rimpa Khandu a local youth who has never seen the spiritual leader is upbeat about the visit. "The youths particularly are ecstatic although they are not sure whether they will be able to meet the Dalai Lama because of the strict security.
"This time security is tight and it will be difficult for the ordinary people to shake hands with the leader," he says.
Special cuisine, gifts await the Dalai Lama in Tawang
Cooks have been trained for a month
to serve the Dalai Lama's favourite fare, while gifts are
being stocked for him for a year in this picturesque Arunachal
town, set to welcome the Tibetan spiritual leader tomorrow.
"The Dalai Lama's favourite dishes cannot be disclosed,
but cooks have been training for a month to prepare them,"
head of the Tawang Monastery Tulku Rimpoche told PTI.
The monastery authorities also have in store a large
number of gifts including scriptures, miniature replicas of
stupas, sculptures and flowers.
"The gifts were being readied for the last one year and
will be presented to the Dalai Lama when he comes here,"
Rimpoche said. "Nearly 600 monks will welcome his Holiness
when he comes here straight from the helipad tomorrow
morning," he said.
The spiritual leader will be staying in a special suite,
which has been spruced up, in the 300-year-old monastery.
After his arrival, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to
inaugurate a museum, containing historic scriptures of the
Buddhist religion, and then proceed to the main prayer hall,
'Dukhang', for a prayer session.
Later in the day, the spiritual leader will inaugurate a
library of the monastery school at the Centre for Buddhist
Culture Studies and then visit the district hospital where the
consecration ceremony of a Buddha statue will be held.
The Deputy Commissioner of Tawang district, Gamli Padu,
said security will be the tight considering the circumstances
under which the Dalai Lama was visiting.
Without referring to controversies surrounding the visit,
the deputy commissioner said the presence of a large number of
devotees, tourists, foreigners and the media have forced the
district administration to make elaborate security
arrangements.
"The Dalai Lama had also earlier visited Tawang, but
this time his presence has attracted attention worldwide and
hence the tightening of the security," he said.
The Tawang district administration has declared a holiday
till November 12 during the duration of the Dalai Lama's visit
when he will hold religious discourse and bless the people.
Today being Saturday is the cleaning day for residents
when people including children take to the streets to clear
them of dirt and rubbish.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, November 07, 2009, 18:32