Festival of Tibet 2000 in Bombay,
Reporter: Atsuro Seto (Japanese)
Sorry for my broken English below.
This page is not yet finished since 2000, Yeah 10years ago!
For six days from March 12, 2000 to 17th, a grand event: "Festival of Tibet
2000" to introduce Tibetan culture to the whole India and to the all over
the world was held in Bombay.
Of course, before that, in several places in India, the similar events had been
done by Tibetan exile themselves, gained constant results. Especially in this
case, this festival was produced in harmonic cooperation with a Tibetan organization: "Tibetan Youth Congress", and an Indian support group for Tibet: "Friends
of Tibet". It was , so to say, an unprecedented epoch-making event in India
as a tolerant host country for Tibetan exile that Indian themselves became a messenger
for the first time, and to ask all people who lived in India about: "What
is Tibet? Who is Tibetan exile?" (Otherwise, there are many many tribes and
races in India since pre-imperial times, not especially Tibetan, not especially
now).
You could see, of their well-planned preceding advertisement on the worldwide
internet for more than a half year before. Various posters and pamphlets designed
with the highest standard quality of Indian mass communication. Acquiring sponsorship
from the two Indian leading companies: Reliance Industries Ltd & Piramal Enterprises
Ltd.. those were certainly good achievements of Indian supporters' side.
While Tibetan side thanked to them and concentrated on a fruitfulness of contents
by leaving such external efforts to Friends of Tibet. By the long and persistent
appeal of Tibetan Youth Congress, there come Tibetan professionals of various
fields, artists from their schools of music, dancing, crafts, and painting, etc..
also the expert monks of esoteric ceremony of several monastic sects, and many
promising student volunteers, they come together from everywhere over the India
continent where Tibetan refugee camp and village situated such as Dharamsala,
Dehradun, Hunsor, etc..
Actual programs were going as the Ganges, screened cinema was changing the title
everyday, colourful traditional dance performances and many other Tibetan events
had been scheduled everyday from 10 to 10, hotter am to pm. Even if you would
have to come every day and night, you couldn't be bored with them. With such certain
top-grade contents, it could be called legitimate Tibetan international exhibition
itself.
The main man in charge of this kept sunny days' festival was Mr. Sethu Das who
has been a young editor of the Times of India group, Bombay branch, Economic Times
section. Times of India itself is well known second largest circulated paper in
the English world on this time. Mr. Sethu, gentle giant, his creative passion
selflessly concentrated on Tibet, fully utilized modern networking connectivity
and his own advertising technique attained wonderful effects.
Since they invited HH Dalai Lama and it had been announced that he would come
to the first day's opening ceremony, seemed to have appealed to many Indians in
Bombay, particularly the intellectual layer who had been not deep interest to
Tibet but Dalai Lama with reimported reputation upon him from West.
Be blessed with sun, far hotter than 30 Centigrade constantly every day, it was
not humid at all, I can say, easy to spend in the Bombay peninsula, almost an
island! Even after the evenings, footsteps of the visitors continuously kept their
rhythm.
And one more plus, it was scheduled that U.S. President Clinton would visit Bombay
later on the same month 26th. So the two big names as a topic of current interest,
on the Local TV news and the rumour of the town, they jumped into my eyes and
ears so often.
As for me, I arrived Bombay around 2 o'clock in the early morning of March 10th,
2 days before the festival. An airport taxi took me away to an hotel on the unknown
outskirts. After having a nap there, I was out to barber and a cup of tea, then
found myself around Khar station. Soon I checked out the hotel, rode on the train
down to the south, yes finally I came India, and Bombay once again. Early afternoon,
I reached at the hotel where the festival administration office was set on.
The hotel, Regency Inn was situated at the backstreet of "the Regal Cinema"
that stood on the entrance corner for Colaba town, one of the most popular tourist
spot in India, in Bombay.
If you coming to Colaba, directly from the airport by train, from the southern
end of the rails at the terminal station: Church Gate, you must walk down directing
a bit southeast for approximately 30 minutes or better catch a taxi, there's a
dense crowded hotel street named Colaba, seemingly continue to the sea shore,
but suddenly ended just behind the huge monument, the Indian Gate rises towards
the ocean.
There I introduced myself to Indian main person Mr. Sethu Das, total manager Miss
Alifia, Tibetan main stuff Mr. Lobsan and others.
After the how do you do, I was relieved and felt little fatigue from my journey.
So I couldn't get what's going on there? Seemingly they were waiting something
in the office which might be temporarily converted from oriental designed luxurious
hotel room, what should I do next? it's their command base or get in touch satellite,
nothing would be happen within this telephone booth with them. I started chasing
after anybody who could let me out to the actual sites, from one site to another.
That's all I did in my arrival day.
Actually there left only for two days until the raising of their curtain. The
outside of the air-conditioned oriental hotel room, their rush work was on a crucial
moment. Since one of the main hall was still under construction with mortar and
dust, the cleaning and decoration of the hall had to be postponed to the last
moment.
To regain such delays left here and there, everybody got going a bit high. Even
until the morning of the first day, just before the opening, It happened to be
heard the Indian staff and the Tibetan staff were arguing about something. (However
now I can look back, soon on the second day, everybody clapped each other's shoulder
with thankfulness).
In that day, the evening of 10th, Ms. Alifia as a coordinator, who cared of the
accommodations and arrangement of the meals for the guests, told me that I would
not have to worry about three meals for the entire festival days. Also she kindly
arranged for me such sudden guest to stay within the hotel Regency Inn in that
evening.
From the left, Miss fot: Alifia, and Lobsang-la(TYC), me(Atsuro), Bertie-ji(Times):
From Regal Cinema and the hotel Regency Inn for few minutes walk seaward, there's
the huge stone monument: Gateway of India, facing the breakwater harbour to Elephanta,
facing very strange direction, oriented nothing important on its gateway vector
line. At the dusk of 10th (Vigil), An open space before the symbolic Gate, Tibetan
exiles come together, prayed for the mother country and world peace.
Tibetan mostly laymen and laywomen, mostly mothers, and students, put a candle
light on each one palm and started praying their mantra as calm as motionlessly
their demonstration was done.
People those who came to enjoy the evening breeze there were tempted unusual candles
glow, surrounded this Tibetan group with lovely Indian instant curiosity, stayed
look hard, when understanding on Tibetan wishes coming out, they're gone.
I chattered with the Mr. Lobsang of Youth Congress and other staffs in the front
lounge of Regency Inn till late at night of 10th. Mr. Lobsang had been in Japan
about 5 years ago, so he could speak Japanese considerably well.
I had invited in the same 5 years ago, a Tibetan friend of mine, Mr. Tsering Dhundup,
Thangka artist from Dharamsala to Japan, he stayed in my house for half year or
less through the end of the summer. Lobsang told me that he was the very schoolmate
with Tsering in their Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) school at Dharamsala long
time ago. Anyway they had not enough chance to encounter in Japan.
At the same night, I fulfilled to re-encounter with Mr. Indian Bertie D'souza
whom I had met in Japan in September, last year. He has been a superior official
at the Indian Economic Times editing station to Mr. Sethu Das who was in charge
of the festival. If I did not get acquainted with Mr. Bertie and Mr. Sethu Das
almost accidentally, I would not even think to come to India once again.
Perhaps my chances ripen in India. I should tell you the reason why I come to
the festival, Bombay, India. In the last summer when I had just finished my own
exhibition of my paintings and computer generated mandala works, I just scattered
wreckage fragments of the exhibition result on my web page, then I got a mail
from my pen-pal Mrs. Schweitzer lived in France :
"An interesting festival is being planned in Bombay. Why don't you come and
join with me? I am really considering to come or not. Maybe we can meet at last
beyond email exchange at the festival?" (I longed to meet her and say thanks
for her maternal loveliness, she had given my daughter, her hearty advices on
my dau's atopic baby skin. BTW she's a close relative of famous Dr. Schweitzer).
That was the beginning of this story. With her suggestion, I sent some couple
of email inquiries to Mr. Sethu Das about the festival, through them I offered
that I would like to contribute my work: large-scaled CG Mandala Kalachakra that
I had created for the recent exhibition of mine.
And by chance as his superior official, Mr. Bertie had come to Japan soon later,
then I handed it over. Mr. Bertie D'souza whose most outstanding talent I regarded
from the first meeting in Japan, was his successive firing of humour based on
his decisive instinct, he's the non-stop Bombay express itself. Anywhere, in Japan
and India, every place around him always filled with laughter. Mr. Bertie invited
me to stay at their home on the next evening 11th and I thought that I might take
him up on that offer.
YB Chavan centre
On the next 11th morning, I was nothing but a bystander during all that morning,
peeping on some dozen of Tibetan volunteers were making their effort to finish
the main hall decoration. On the same afternoon, Mr. Bertie took me to the inside
tour of his workplace, "Times of India" in the Time Of India Building
in Bombay in high end main street.
It was a good old centuried, over weight stone built, Gothic imperial structure.
However, I was surprised as soon as I entered one step inside, literally cool.
filled up with the latest computer facility. Really contrastive with the noise
of Bombay street outside, the inside of the building kept magnificent calm sounded
like a moon base.
Just before the new era, Indian men and women were completely managing English
and computers as their tool. On the contrary, stereotyped images of India suspended
in time of colonial imagined from far east Japan they were absolute false. Indian
themselves were about to tame such restive western horses dynamically.
Also what I was impressed was their relaxed mood of doing fine work. Sometimes
I even heard someone's singing voice through their office partition horses' blinds,
the Bollywood shout was not to be disturbing but enlivening the colleagues that
was India.
We Japanese should bow down and learn from them, such a cheerful way of work that
we have not yet realised. So far they seemed very easy going, but from the evening
till around 9 pm with increasing tension to compete last minute, there commonly
embodied a confidence on each other to lead to a rock steady result. It was enough
to tempt me to work with them.
Data sent from Calcutta, Delhi, many other branches, and from all over the world,
while plural computers connected in a network shared those data, How they co-processed
and crowdedly layouted them onto a page within few minutes, was really breath-taking.
It was just a few hours but full of thrilled indeed.
http://www.timesofindia.com/
Later when me and Mr. Bertie arrived at his home by his chartered SUMO, it was
past 0:00 a.m. you know how I was glad, I got awaken with thankfulness to Mrs.
Bertie had been waiting for us. While having midnite home cooking of his young
wife, talking about strangeness of Japanese and Indian cultures both sunk in whisky,
I was playing Norwegian Wood with his long time 5-stringed guitar, After a while
I fell in a sleep.
The next morning, with invitation and guidance of Mr. Bertie, we went to the beach
to drink flesh coconut beer. Slightly fermented alcoholic, soft and nice taste.
By having given slight cuts on the surface of the trunk on the top of the coconut
tree beforehand, consequently coming this morning, its sap should drop down from
the ditches and be caught by a bucket hanging just below the bleed.
Early afternoon, Me and fully-dressed Mr. and Mrs. Bertie went to Dalai Lama lecture
hall, Birla Matushri Hall.
In the evening of the first day of the festival, 12th, March, 2000. Dalai Lama's
lecture held in the Birla Matushri Hall nearby the Church Gate station.
Dalai lama himself as an exile, India could be another mother country for him,
alternative home ground. So he was in a very relaxed mood, not looked like in
foreign lip service mode, I forgot precise phrase but he certainly said as, "For
us Tibetan, India is our Guru(teacher) country." by that, he showed his respect
to the Indian audiences firmly. Then rambling speech began, as he was enjoying
casual chattering with acquaintances, Relaxed laughter of him and audiences were
echoed in the hall.
Birla Matushri Hall
In my point of view, this festival had been --since their preliminary planning--
owing so much to the latest technology and power of the network of Times of India
group. More or less, it seemed to be functioning sophisticated political propaganda
to realize Indian citizen against Chinese menace.
The opening and closing speech that the representative of Tibetan Youth Congress
did were, set Indian middle and upper classes as his appeal target -- I am afraid
of saying, but for me on that time -- felt like too much radical, it seemed to
be too hot and eager. (I had been staying at Dharamsala for certain periods, for
being given and received Tibetan Thangka painting methods and spirits from the
first generation of Tibetan exiles. They taught me to fight on the canvas. You
say so called artists are too much picture-like idealistic?) Anyway the one thing
deeply pierced me was how seriously they were so irritated to be stuck in a degenerating
future. "Youth" is momentarily forever radical, while how can we orient
to senile.
For me, from the point of view of an artist, Again I had to imagine from scratch
what I could, where should be the future of their hope. We all reckless, but only
one time we can try the own reckless, if really reckless...
Let me show you the location of the three spots for the festival for one week
1. Dalai Lama lecture hall:
Birla Matushri Hall (next to the Bombay Hospital around Church Gate Station)
2. the main spot for the festival, cinema screening and other various performances:
YB Chavan centre (before the Mantralaya)
3. the hall for five photographers' exhibition, and the slide show:
Prince of Wales Museum (near the Jahingir Art Gallery)
Those three.
To feel how the festival really run, you'd better visit their official sites on
the net. Do not forget an entry to their guest book.
feiendsoftibetINDIA
http://www.friendsoftibet.org
Computer generated Kalachakra Mandala given glory to the YB Chavan Centre front
entrance (1m 70cm square).
Me, Atsuro Seto created it at the time of my own Mandala exhibition in Toyama
in August, 99, later I contributed it to the Friends of Tibet. When Indian Economic
Times chief editor, Mr. Bertie D'souza had visited Japan in September, 99, I had
asked him to hand it over to Mr. Sethu Das who was his subordinates and the person
in charge of this festival. After draft line-drawing in Cad DXF format, added
tint, gradation, narrow and wide outlining with vector programs such as Corel
Draw, and Fractal Expression.
The left in the photograph: the founder of "Friends of Tibet" in charge
of this whole "Festival of Tibet 2000", Mr. Sethu Das. He is an elite
in the editorial section of Indian Economic Times, Bombay branch, belongs to the
Times of India group. Total design of the pamphlet, poster, brochure, etc. for
this festival were all his works.
9-10-3 reports
At the open space of the YB Chavan Centre front entrance, "Gu-Chu-Sum"
association held an exhibition of documentary stills on persecution in Tibet.
Every visitor stood still before the pictured fact, the scars engraved into Tibetan
bodies. Nobody could pretend not to see. There something really goes on. "Gu-Chu-Sum"
is "nine, ten, three" of Tibetan numeral, they mean September, October,
1987, and March, 1988, on these months, years large-scaled desperate protest had
occurred in Tibet.
Sand Mandala construction by Namgyal monks in the YB Chavan Centre entrance floor
(from the complete plan of Kalachakra Mandala, only the the third layer, mind
mandala was substantiated.)
It was started on Monday 13th, and destroyed at the climax of the closing ceremony
on the last day of the festival, Friday 17th March.
Several computers were being turned on during those days in the YB Chavan Centre
lobby.
Visitors could access the Tibetan information search service on the web through
them.
http://www.walktotibet.org
This page attracted young Indians in computer age.
I borrowed one of the computers, and did short demonstration of my animated Mandala
CG works with original music composed by Mr. Sanzo Onoda.
I have been interested in similar goodness and risk between electric-driven computer
network and hand-operated human-driven ancient Mandala.
<underconstruction begin>
I have been emphasizing
that the future of computer culture should not be controlled by .......................blah
should not be a fear-oriented brain network but be a hearty network,
be restrained by self-controlled self-disciplined individual relies on each other's
restraint.
depended on an effort of the inside
that the whole world would be going to connect with each individual, ......................blah
confidence not by Agitation, not by fear-oriented, but faith, not by chicken-game,
computer is new Mahjong, board game.
<underconstruction end>
For Tibetan in such bloody fluid diffusion state as in exile, they as a mass have
been wanting to conserve good old Buddhism as their nationalistic centripetal
archetype, and couldn't be concerned with individual's likes and dislikes necessarily,
for them, my multimedia work was something like a private joke, religious loserish
antithesis against unconditional surrendering belief(ness), or heretical misinterpretation.
let one walk alone like a rhinoceros, individual self-determination not a racial
self-determinationHowever, Tibetan journalist Mr. Sonam Targye from Tibetan Radio
station "Voice of Tibet" and the leaders of Indian digital art network
http://www.yoart.com appreciated my digital works considerably high. regarded
as contemporary works.
Actually, for their digital art exhibition, I have sent some tens of MB of digital
works through the wire since my coming back to Japan immediately.
Japanese in business age were apt to regard my work as a lunatic religious fan
art.
For the past several years, I have been annoyed with how to present my works in
certain balance with such Japanese-averaged apparent atheistic in-sensitiveness.
I feel like I have been doing irrelevant service for modern Japanese if they really
don't want to any possible ?
Such a dilemma has been bothering me
But, here India, the religious nature is full and overflow in their daily life,
in other words, there's no religion monotonously exists in India. Never ever any
specific religion can monopolies their chaotic nature of reality. Also Indian
meditative attitude is more practical how to survive knowledge through unavoidable
hell-like humid monsoon slump rather than air-conditioned mystic magic.....................blah
blah
And here it is as accumulation of much more intellectual meditative reason superior
to Japanese atheistic pretence<<<<<<<<<<<<<<SMOKED
Mr. Sonam Targye, from "Voice of Tibet" (http:www.vot.org): yet one
and only Tibetan radio station in exile state, is a multi-talented director who
even alone could cover from interview to announcing. During the festival, I had
several opportunities to talk with him.
Because we somehow remembered each other, so I asked his career and I got convinced
by his telling that he had been working in the Tibetan library of Dharamsala as
a librarian through 1985 or 86, those were the days I began to come to Dharamsala
for learning Mandala art, I frequently come the library to get some references.
Sooner he left for the U.S.A. where he mastered so-called modern information technology
and database construction. And now coming back to India, working with that skill.
So there we confirmed a common opinion, we said that Mandala and computer ever
be the same. He told me that he had been thinking if he could make a brand new
operating system with implementing the popular Buddhist icons set: Six Realms
of Existence (The Wheel of Samsara) as his graphical user interface. With full
of game nature for kids, much easier searchability for computer-blinded grand
age, He dreamt of it should be done by modern Tibetan themselves. always with
such laymen approach friendly Mahayana Buddhist gimmicks.
<underconstruction begin>
While I nominated
five Buddha mandala system not only as the interface but the system itself under
the hood. I meant that ...................zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Merely........smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooke
At each deepening stage of inference,........................zzzzzzzzzzz
While keeping possibility of the plural searches that a direction of an answer
disagrees with,............................zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Along the depth and span of consideration, ...........................smoooooooooooooooooke
Many directive possibilities (at least Five Buddhy meant on the Five coloured
display areas) must be maintained as they are. And it should be..........smoooooke
Three-dimensional structure, ............................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
That can be an ideal thing or not? I blah blahed like that.
Anyway, as limited as today's shitty progressive computer,
The information that simply swells out along a flow of time enormously
Shut in it in a tree classification of ghost legs of a straight line
Then will go deeply desperately there after all till checks that there is not
an answer.
<underconstruction end>
Conversation without concreteness continued in such a way ceaselessly.
We handshaked and promised to keep on exchanging by email,
Soon after my reaching home, just an email from him about the rest of the story
is arriving.
YB Chavan Centre
In YB Chavan Centre first base floor Main hall, The screening of various film
such as "Kundun", "Seven years in Tibet", and "Adventure
of the Tin Tin" were done day after day. In the email from Mr. Sethu Das
on earlier days, on their early plan, there had been announcement that it could
be a one large film festival about Tibet. And actually it came true. Under the
name of festival of Tibet, for Tibet by Tibetan dispatch, Looked like every collectable
film related Tibet was thoroughly gathered there. Really worth such luxurious
contents might never come true in other places.
At the waiting lobby, the outside of a YB Chavan Centre screening hall,
The exhibition and demonstration of butter sculpture works by the monks from Gyud
med monastery in Hunsor, Karnataka district.
On some Indian girls' requests, who making floral arts as holy gifts was Ven.
Kesang from Gyud med. This girl put his presented flower on her little palm, and
began to run joyfully. As if such a tiny butter flower had changed its nature
magically into a true flower. He had once explained for me in other occasion that
they had been tried to mix some wheat flour to prevent melting of butter in much
hotter temperature in India than its original home. Mr. Kesang who was my acquaintance
for 15 years had once visited Japan to demonstrate their making sand Mandala with
some other Gyud med monks, First time I met him in Dharamsala.
Prince of Wales Museum
there was the photo exhibition by the five professional photographers gathering
from inside and outside of India. 5 minutes by walk from their main site YB Chavan
Centre, 20 minutes by hotter walk from the Church Gate station. If you are coming
from Colaba hippie station, find just opposite of the Regal Cinema movie theatre,
beyond the northern end of the Colaba causeway, walk across the Wellington fountain
roundabout. Needless to say, this circular area is one of the main meeting spot
for every tourist in Indian time travel, always this museum is crowded by the
packaged tourists from such as Japan with same thick guidebooks. The museum's
structure itself of a solid solemn masonry, lets you bear the good old false toothed
master British ruled times. There are a lot of such stony historical buildings
in Bombay.
The centre in this photo is Mr. Lobsang, young bright Tibetan photographer. As
a modern pro cameraman, he seemed in very rare critical position. He can cut relaxed
human subjects out of his own Tibetan society, through his insider viewpoint,
focusing and exposing the life's reality,
<underconst>
nothing special, not
especially talented, eternally boresome, doubly sacrificial Tibetan laymen and
women's really ordinary life in exile.
In the sword-like camera crossing field, with other international photographers
who they were coming with survival instinct sniffing the worldwide topical theme
such about Tibet, poverty, persecution, .....................................hehehehehehehheheh
His eyes never forget a simple question who should be the photographer, idea.
He seems to increase objectivity limitlessly from now on. involvedness. babyface............................SMOKE
SMOKE
he yet alone seemed have curious ironical paradoxical future to look forward,
to realize. Tibetan must get changed. MAYBE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME
SORRY I CANT WRITE ABOUT HIM WITHOUT JOKE FEELING..................
<underconst END>
Most left in the Photograph is, Indian photographer, Mr. Shilvasa (Suresh Natarajan)
who took the special portrait of HH Dalai Lama on the cover of the festival brochure,
where Dalai Lama himself in his full of playfulness, was standing and folding
his arms on the porch out of his private room in Dharamsala. Mr. Shilvasa captured
him in his exhibition works, that the daily life of Dalai Lama who felt at home
in his residence in upper Dharamsala. Dalai Lama's off time away from his official
burden. We could read brief but poetic comments written by the photographer himself
added on all of the shots. There Dalai Lama's openhearted personality and meditative
solemness were continuously captured in a sequence of photos.
Mr. Shilvasa invited me twice within a week to his own photo shooting studio facing
Mahim beach that was not so far but some distance away from Bombay centre of commerce
to the north. It was the huge creative space expanded on the whole top floor of
a kind of Soho building from where we could look right down the Mahim's shallow
vibrato of the shoal reaching to the horizon. The sea breeze rose from the windows
opened up. Sunny reflection on the sea was re-bouncing down from the high ceiling
to his floor.
In the night of 17th, the closing ceremony.
VIP celebrators who had been specially invited from several countries as the lecturers
and supervisors made their last speeches from the dais, congratulations and goodbye.
Then by a Tibetan Rimpoche (Sorry I forgot his name), one of their highest priest,
handed ceremonially precious white cloth "Kata" down on each shoulder
of all of the staff who had rendered entire services, and acknowledged them with
Dalai Lama's new book named 'Breaking Silence: In Support of Tibet'.
When some familiar names of friendly staffs whom I had been with were just now
being called one after another to climb up on the dais, I felt glad with some
certain empathy on their back grown up in my mind within these few days, I laughed
with joy, I was just seeing them off by my best applause. Till then as always
I was nothing but a universal baby watching India, I mean there was no business
on me. Then suddenly looked like something of my name in very trilled accent was
called from the upperside. I was puzzled and still remained in the same lower
seat with other thousands of audience. Sooner, Mrs. Bertie she's beautiful in
my next seat stood up and shut her seat as she said, "OK, they call you now!"
There she made my road with smile.
At last I got it. that's my name, it made me immediately happy, the next moment
I found myself following other friends went on the dais. Yes I remembered and
understood why Mr. Bertie had told me that I should attend the closing ceremony,
and pushed me into the square ceremony hall. I was moved by such a nice surprising
honour for me that they had prepared, and I thanked to the people concerned and
finally everybody.
Destroying ceremony of Kalachakra Mandala
The next morning after the festival, it was Sunday, since I had to go home with
that day's flight, I went to say farewell to the hotel Regency Inn where during
these days fully chartered as the foothold of the staff. Both Sethu Das and Alifia
seemed to be very busy by settlement for the coming several days.
Alifia alone had grasped the schedule of all the staff. Besides, dynamically managed
the reception of VIPs, one and another, kept good total administration with other
staffs.
Everybody relied on her, she is not especially tall, considerably powerful and
intellectual person.
"I observed your art of management. I owe my comprehension covered on the
festival to your harmonious coordination so much. Sure, everybody knows that,
wherever you go, you'll make the right thing. So what's your next plan after this?"
When I asked so, She replied brilliantly, "I've gotta go to Dharamsala since
I am invited." I felt like coming with her. hehe.
Sethu Das said, "Since I had been in charge, I couldn't treat you alone.
I wish I had taken you to some beautiful places in Bombay. When will you come
next time?" He smiled on me with slight sorrow at breaking the party.
"Instead, your Boss Mr. Bertie has treated me enough, under the same fellowship.
And I'd love to come back to in this summer or die." Said I.
He remembered something at the last moment, and asked me a question brightly, "Have you looked at the front page of the Sunday Times, today?" he kept
on, "Don't you know we have featured the huge Mandala image that you contributed
to friends of Tibet on the front page of the paper, with the Tulku star kid of
the cinema Kundun, this morning! Have a look you'll be glad we did."
Later I bought the Sunday Times from a swampy roadside vendor, probably I paid
2 rupees 50 paise, I smiled my Mandala work was in full colours on half of the
front page with yet shyly smiling Kundun monk kid.