Indian, Tibetan flags flutter ahead of Dalai Lama visit

By Syed Zarir Hussain, Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), Nov 7 : Dozens of Indian flags fluttered alongside Tibetan prayer flags Saturday as Buddhist monks braved the winter chill to put up welcome arches and Mandala paintings on the road ahead of the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Tibetan spiritual leader arrives Sunday at Tawang, a picturesque town perched at an altitude of over 11,000 feet close to the border with China, on a week-long visit to Arunachal, a state of about one million people.

"Everything from the main prayer hall to the throne from where the Dalai Lama would lead a three-day prayer session for some 30,000 followers is ready," Guru Tuku, the abbot of Tawang monastery, told IANS.

Hundreds of devotees from Nepal and Bhutan have also converged for the Dalai Lama's visit.

Child monks with their maroon and yellow robes were busy putting up welcome arches. Some got on to trees and rooftops to set up Tibetan prayer flags and pictures of the exiled Tibetan leader.

Mandala paintings using coloured sand were being made in roads leading to the monastery, with skilled monks carving intricate designs.

"The mood is one of sheer excitement and anticipation, coupled with a sense of awe," said Lama Lopon, another priest at the monastery.

The smell of burning incense wafts the air as sounds of gongs and cymbals reverberated the surrounding with monks busy rehearsing in the monastery to welcome the Dalai Lama.

"The welcome ceremony would be a purely religious one with some 800 monks taking part, besides people from the area," T.G. Rinpoche, a senior Buddhist spiritual leader and a former minister, told IANS.

The Dalai Lama will Sunday inaugurate a museum and a library at the monastery and then address monks and priests.

"The Dalai Lama's main itinerary begins Monday when he starts the prayer session at a school playground near the monastery. That would be his first public appearance," Tuku said.

It was through Tawang, a revered seat of Buddhism, that in 1959 the Dalai Lama escaped the Chinese to enter India.

The Buddhist leader will then visit the adjoining town of Bomdilla and Dirang Nov 12, before leaving for state capital Itanagar Nov 14. The visit ends Nov 15.

China has raked up a controversy by asking India not to allow the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh. The mountainous state shares a 1,030-km unfenced border with China.