Of displacement and resilience

In Little Lhasa, a collection of engaging essays and interviews, novelist and journalist Tsering Namgyal Khortsa takes us deep into the cultural and political world of the Tibetan-in-exile—“the Hindustani of Tibtijati”, as author and political activist Jamyang Norbu put it — a world beyond dumplings and woollen jackets.

- Palash Krishna Mehrotra

Through the lens of Dharamsala, Khortsa introduces the reader to the past and present of the lived Tibetan experience in India, and to seekers from around the world who people the town, looking for solace and wisdom in the teachings of the Buddha.

In contrast to the anti-immigrant sentiment that colours much of the Western world today, Dharamsala is a poster boy for “happy coexistence”. Tibetans converse in fluent Hindi and the local FM station broadcasts the Dalai Lama's talks in English, Italian, French and Russian translations. Speaking of multilingualism, Khortsa quotes from a Tenzin Tsundue poem: “The Tibetan in Mumbai / abuses in Bambaiya Hindi, / with a slight Tibetan accent, / and during vocabulary emergencies / he naturally runs into Tibetan.”