Tibetan New Year celebration begins with special prayers in Dharamshala

The religion and culture department of the Tibetan government in exile organises special prayers on this occasion at the main Tibetan temple, Tsuglagkhang, here in the North Indian hill town Dharamshala on Friday morning.

Members of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, ministers in exile, staff members of the exile government including many others gather at the temple here this morning. Monks of the Namgyal monastery lead the traditional prayers and worship their official deity, Palden Lhamo.

Tibetans celebrate Losar as a festival for three days but due to the tragic earthquake in Tibet this year, they are not celebrating it with great pomp and show. Only necessary rituals are performed here.

Dolma Tsering, deputy speaker of Tibetan parliament-in-exile told ANI, "there isn't much of celebration because of the earthquake and lot of Tibetans being killed due to earthquake so mostly it's a religious affair 'Pooja- Path' and that's all. There are no dances and other performances because we are celebrating not only solidarity with the Tibetans who were killed in the earthquake but also lot of atrocities are going on around the world so I think it's time to pray for peace and harmony around the world."

Chimi Rigden, private secretary of the Dalai Lama, told ANI, "It is Losar today, and we celebrate it in a traditional way and at the same time, for the last two days, we are having lots of rain, and I think it's a good omen that everything will go fine this year. We had a tragic earthquake, and we feel very sad, so all the traditional rituals and prayers are going on, and at the same time, on this occasion, we also remember who have suffered, who have died in the recent earthquake in the Dingri area in Tibet."

Tenzin Lhamo, an exile Tibetan, told ANI, "We are celebrating our New Year with our rituals and other ceremonies. We have a prayer session here. Most of the people celebrate it for the first fifteen days and some for thirty days even. We offer fruits and Khapse, our traditional Tibetan sweets, and we offer this to our gods and deities. I wish the new year to be more peaceful so that we all can live our happy life." (ANI)