Photo Essay: A Little Bit Of Tibet

Majnu Ka Tila in the capital has been home to Tibetan refugees for decades. But the younger generation is gradually moving out

Vikram Sharma

Updated on: 29 July 2023 7:30 am

Just Everyday Life: Children learn Tibetan dance and music at Tibetan Children Village School

Majnu Ka Tila is Delhi’s 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 refugees—many fell sick and some even died.

“The 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,” says Karma Dorjee, the president of the colony’s Resident’s Welfare Association.

Tenzin Dorjay works in his cloud kitchen. From being a favourite meeting point for students looking to buy pocket-friendly meals and Chang beer in the initial days, Majnu Ka Tila has now transformed into a bustling stretch of swanky cafes and restaurants Photo: Vikram Sharma

A father carries his daughter home after school. A ‘Free Tibet’ slogan is spray-painted on the wall behind Photo: Vikram Sharma

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 food—momos, thukpa and Chang liquor—on the sly. It became a favorite meeting place for students.

A Second Home: Portraits of the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa Lama at the reception of a hotel. The settlement has become a transit point for the many pilgrims and tourists headed to Dharamshala Photo: Vikram Sharma

Hidden away from the bustle of cafes and shops, a few of the original single-story houses built in 1982 are still standing tall. Some are abandoned or in the process of being demolished so that new, swanky structures could come up Photo: Vikram Sharma

Very few of the original refugees are left now. The younger ones have gone to other states or abroad. “Sometimes I miss my parents and my country, but I feel like India is my second home. We can’t 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,” says Mengma Tsering, the headmaster of the lone Tibetan school.

Text and photographs by Vikram Sharma