“Oh, you are from the Northeast?”… “Where exactly is Tibet?”… “Oh, the place behind the Himalayas...” Questions ranging from the naïve to the bizarre have greeted Tibetan students in Chennai, says 25-year-old research scholar Tsering Sandhup, an alumni of Madras Christian College. “This was the first reaction I received from my own classmates. Once, they realised we are not from India, they began asking about Tibet.”
The Political Science graduate made Chennai his home around five years ago. However, he keeps alive his identity, by reaching out to other Tibetan friends living in the city.
Tsering is also the president of the Madras chapter of the Tibetan Students’ Association, set up in the early 90s. It has around 32 members now, mainly from Madras Christian College, Loyola College, Madras University and SRM University.
Weekend meetings are a must — that’s when they plan celebrations for festivals. Their most significant festival is Losar, the Tibetan New Year, which falls generally in February or March, depending on the lunisolar Tibetan calendar. On the eve of the New Year, the family members come together to cook. “So, when we are in Chennai, we call the entire student community. On that morning, we pray to the Buddha, make wishes, and play some games,” says 25-year-old Kunga Tsering, who works in a trading firm.
Although they live away from their homes, there is a strong sense of longing for home binding these youngsters together. Kunga’s Facebook wall is full of Dalai Lama posts and banners of peaceful agitation.
“In Chennai, very few take interest in our history. We also do not expect them to support us. But, some of them have surprised us with their interest and empathy,” says Kunga, adding that Chennaiites are curious about “our culture”.
Most of the Tibetan students do their schooling in other places for better career prospects. Tsering, who spent all his childhood in a boarding school in Mussoorie, was told by his seniors in career orientation camps about Chennai being an affordable city and a favourable place for education.
However, initially, he found the Chennai summers hard to cope with. “I have lived all my life in a hill station. So, what else can you expect,” he laughs. Even though the local ignorance about Tibet irritated him in the beginning, he soon grew fond of the campus, the city and its people — having even travelled with his Tamil friends to Tiruttani to attend a wedding. “I had my most memorable South Indian meal here. It was 100 times tastier than what I was served in the restaurants. I fell for their sambar .” He also roots for the Chennai biryani. A local dhaba outside the college is their go-to place for cheap and tasty chicken biryani .
Tsering, who wants to become a Human Resource professional, was brought up immune to the political tensions brewing around him. It was only recently when his 80-year-old grandfather told him how volatile his homeland is, that he understood the gravity of the issue.
The thing about Chennai they love the most is the sense of independence. “That’s why none of us wants to stay in hostels. We want to live in a house. Since we have been living our entire life in boarding schools, we do not want to experience hostel life again,” he says.
Chennai has become that special place where they can be free and hope for a brighter future.
This year, for Madras Week, we meet a cross-section of people and communities that have found a home in Chennai.
