Majnu Ka Tila is Delhi바카라s Little Tibet. When China invaded their country in 1959, Tibetans fled their homes and entered India via Nepal, Bhutan as well as Uttarakhand and Arunachal. They chose the borders that were closest to them, but they fled. The initial years were very difficult for the refugees바카라many fell sick and some even died.
바카라The local population stayed away from us because we looked different, our clothes were different. They thought that we would cut them up and eat them,바카라 says Karma Dorjee, the president of the colony바카라s Resident바카라s Welfare Association.
The houses here were shanties till the Asian Games were held in Delhi in 1982. Some of the refugees opened small businesses and restaurants serving Tibetan food바카라momos, thukpa and Chang liquor바카라on the sly. It became a favorite meeting place for students.
Very few of the original refugees are left now. The younger ones have gone to other states or abroad. 바카라Sometimes I miss my parents and my country, but I feel like India is my second home. We can바카라t learn our own language and practice our culture in Tibet anymore, so what we do here is very important. We have to preserve it till someday we can return to Tibet,바카라 says Mengma Tsering, the headmaster of the lone Tibetan school.
Text and photographs by Vikram Sharma
