Escaped monk leads Dalai Lama's 60th anniversary function

by Abhik Kumar Chanda

DHARAMSALA, India, Feb 19 (AFP) - The Karmapa Lama, one of the main

spiritual figures of Tibetan Buddhism who escaped to India last month,

Saturday led a ceremony marking the 60th year of the Dalai Lama's

enthronement.

The teenaged monk, who made his first public appearance on the Dalai

Lama's 60th anniversary celebrations here Friday, was the chief guest

at a day-long cultural programme drawing hundreds of admirers.

An anti-Chinese poem written by the Karmapa during his flight to India

was set to music and was the first item in the colourful programme.

The Karmapa Lama, spiritual head of one of the four schools of Tibetan

Buddhism, arrived on January 5 in Dharamsala in northern India -- where

the exiled Tibetan government has been based since the Dalai Lama's

escape from Tibet in 1959 after a failed anti-Chinese uprising.

Living in seclusion since his arrival in India, he came to the venue

for Saturday's celebrations amid tight security, comprising Tibetan

guards and Indian policmen.

Police patrolled the winding road to the remote Tibetan Institute of

Performing Arts. The Dalai Lama, however, did not attend the event.

The ceremony began with the young monk being greeted by more than a 100

people dressed in traditional Tibetan clothes who flanked the long

entrance to the Institute.

They played traditional Tibetan horns and beat drums as the Karmapa

Lama made his way to a sprawling courtyard, where the cultural

programme was performed.

The Karmapa's poem, "a sweet memory of an auspicious occasion", had

been set to music by a teacher at the Tibetan Institute of Performing

Arts after the Karmapa Lama's arrival in India.

Institute director Jamyang Dorjee told AFP the monk had specifically

wanted "a sad tune because the words are sad.

"It is a very beautiful poem with a deep philosophical meaning," he

said.

In the poem, the Karmapa expresses sorrow that Tibet, which he calls

"the land of snow and sweet melody" has been "destroyed by the Red

Chinese."

He goes on to praise the 64-year-old Dalai Lama for spreading Tibet's

traditional message of peace and universal harmony in exile, comparing

him to a flower "who gives people nectar to quench their (spiritual)

thirst."

The six stanza song ends with the Karmapa expressing his deep faith and

respect in the Dalai Lama.

The Karmapa's escape has severely embarrassed Beijing and put New

Delhi, which gave asylum to the Dalai Lama and about a 100,000 Tibetan

refugees but wants better ties with China, in an uncomfortable

position.

The Karmapa is the first reincarnated monk who was recognised by both

China and the Dalai Lama.

Many in the Tibetan community here feel he could be a successor to the

Dalai Lama but the exiled Tibetan government maintains a studied silence

on the subject.

Other traditional songs and dances followed the Karmapa's poem. They

ranged from lilting songs and tunes to martial performances with male

dancers kicking their heels Cossack-style to fast music.

The costumes were exotic and colourful and comprised blouses with

sleeves upto the dancers' knees, fur-brimmed hats, brocade robes and

gowns and fur-trimmed skirts.

Tempa Samker, an official at the Department of Information, told AFP

that the dances were drawn from "all the provinces and districts of

Tibet.

"Yesterday was the start of year-long celebrations here and around the

world. We have asked Tibetan exiles and Tibetan support groups to

celebrate the 60 years of the Dalai Lama in a befitting manner," he

said.