The Week India – July 14, 2019

JULY 14, 2019 • THE WEEK 25

BY NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA/Mcleodganj;

PHOTOS SANJAY AHLAWAT

he Dalai Lama, now shrunken and frail, sometimes needs his followers’ sup-

port to move around. Yet, he remains a pillar of support to millions world-

wide, many of whom cross mountains and oceans to meet him and seek his

healing touch.

Th e spiritual leader lives in Th ekchen Choeling in the small town of

Mcleodganj in Dharamshala, welcoming the diseased, the sinned and the

enlightened together with open arms.

Th e scene was no diff erent when we met him on June 28. His followers

had been waiting for him since daybreak carrying the khata (a Tibetan scarf

off ered to a dear one), hoping for a glimpse of him.

At 9am, as I stood outside the temple, soaking in the positivity of the

moment, the fi gure in a maroon robe walked towards his audience. Th en he

stopped and turned to me. “Touch my head,” he said. While I wondered if I

should, his Indian security offi cials shifted in discomfort. “I need a healing

touch,” he said, encouraging me and evoking a bout of compassion not just in

me, but also in the large gathering. I obliged.

The Dalai Lama settled in India in 1959. Now, after 60 years

in exile and approaching his 84th birthday, the spiritual leader

says he wants coexistence between the people of Tibet and

China, even if he does not get to return to his homeland