A mission of fact finding. A duty to crack the 20-year long time capsule Tibet was trapped in post the 1959 Chinese invasion.
The burden and responsibility as the first ever delegation member to Tibet was heavy. However it was important to convey and inform the separated Tibetans in Tibet and exile of their actual condition to each other. Lobsang Samden Taklha was no longer the man he had been before his trip to Tibet. A once jovial personality has become pensive and downcast post the trip and never recovered from it. The truth unravelled on the actual living conditions of the brothers and sisters in Tibet under the Chinese regime was heart-rendering. Behind the façade and pretence of Chinese officials claiming the Tibetans are happy and liberated from their oppressors it was evident from the faces of Tibetans that their smiles were manoeuvred by Chinese and deep within their heart lies suffering and desperateness to speak out.
Lobsang Samden Taklha s diary rides the rough tracks of rollercoaster alluding the shouts of joy from being able to meet the fellow Tibetans in Tibet and tears of dismay at their sufferings and persecution under the Chinese government.
About Author
Born In Lhasa is the autobiography of Namgyal Lhamo Taklha (rnam rgyal lha mo stag lha). Born in 1942 the author tells the story of her life through 2001. The book begins with the author recreating her life in Lhasa as the daughter of an aristocratic family before the Chinese occupation. She describes her education in India (pre-occupation) as well as in Lhasa under Chinese rule. The author then goes on to recount her experiences as a refugee (in India Switzerland the United States and then back to India) serving in various capacities in the exile Tibetan government. The book is written to give young Tibetans “a glimpse of their homeland and tell them the story of my struggles to build a new life in exile while preserving the best of our culture and heritage.”
ISBN-10 : 9390752442
ISBN-13 : 978-9390752447