Apr 23 2015

Tsering Topgyal “Tibetans in Exile”

by Billy Kung

In 1959, following the failed Tibetan uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge in India. Soon after that, thousands of Tibetans followed suit in order to escape religious and cultural persecution.

Tsering Topgyal, a Tibetan photographer currently working for the Associated Press based in New Delhi, has produced a body of work documenting the plight of Tibetan exiles now living in India.

Like so many other Tibetans before him, Topgyal was eight years old when his parents paid a smuggler to take him across the Himalayan Mountains on a week-long journey by foot from Tibet to Dharamsala, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India. He has not seen his family since.

In 2007, while studying English Literature at a college near Mumbai, Topgyal took photography classes in the evening and began freelancing for the Associated Press in New Delhi a year later. He began photographing his schoolmates and others who were smuggled out of Tibet at an early age, and he soon realized that the photo document as a powerful tool to show the world the difficulties Tibetan exiles faces. “The great tragedy of my life is not being separated from my family,” he said to the New York Times, “but being separated from the sensibility of missing them after living without them for decades.”

Tibetan monk Dorjee, 38, displays a photograph of his father, left, and himself, center. Dorjee said he held back his tears when he spoke with his parents on the phone after 27 years apart. He exchanged a few words with his father but says his mother fainted when she heard his voice. Copyright the artist.

A car drives along a road that snakes beneath snow-capped peaks near Zoji La in Indian Kashmir. Many Tibetans say that being in the mountains makes them miss their homeland. Copyright the artist.

Tsering Choephel, 26, left his home in Tibet 23 years ago and now lives in Dharamsala. Sometimes, he says, he dreams of seeing his family again. Copyright the artist.

Tibetan exile Pema Lhamo, 8, fits herself into a box to enact her escape scene. Lhamo fled to India hidden in a box when she was three years old and now lives with her grandmother. She is studying in a Tibetan Children’s Village School in Dharamsala. Copyright the artist.

Dorjee Tashi adjusts the beret he calls his “Che Guevera cap” as he poses for a photograph in front of a flag of Tibet in his room in New Delhi. Tashi had just returned from a protest rally when he received news of his father’s death in a voice message stored on his phone. His one wish was to meet his father again and he considers this unfulfilled wish as part of his karma. Copyright the artist.

Coral and turquoise stones that belonged to Tsetan Kalsang’s mother. Kalsang escaped into India in 2004 with the help of her brother, who returned to Tibet after safely transporting her across the border into Nepal. Her mother died a few months later in Tibet and she received the stones as a keepsake. Kalsang said she feels alone when she has to make crucial decisions and misses the support of family. Copyright the artist.

Tibetan nun Namdak Choeying, 44, prays in the room that she shares with two other nuns in Dharamsala. Back home in Tibet she aspired to be a fully ordained nun and escaped to India in 2006. Her five siblings and aged parents live in Tibet and she dreams about being reunited with them. Choeying says she immerses herself in prayers to keep her mind occupied. Copyright the artist.

Kalsang, 19, poses for a photo at a Tibetan college library near Dharamsala. She escaped from Tibet in 2004 and says she misses her parents more as she grows older. Kalsang is studying Buddhism and says it helps her understand the world and to be in control of her emotions. Copyright the artist.

A letter sent to Tibetan exile Tashi Norbu, 34, by his brother in Tibet. It reads “My dear brother Tashi, we hope you have been keeping well even in the times we have been apart. We were so happy when we spoke with you and your brother last time. We all are fine, including your father. You need not worry. Please respect and treat your aunt like your own mother. That is your father’s greatest wish and mine as well.” Norbu escaped to India when he was six years old. Copyright the artist.

A 27-year-old Tibetan who did not want to disclose his identity sits in his room in New Delhi. He escaped into India in 1992 and says the 22 years away from his family have made him strong and emotionless. His mother has grown old and conveys her yearning to meet him but he doubts whether he will get a visa. He says he misses his parents when he watches family-based dramas and movies. Copyright the artist.

Kalsang Tsering, 20, sits in his room in New Delhi. Tsering said he missed his family when he was ill and in the hospital with nobody to care for him. He now rents a room from a woman who treats him like a son and says the feeling of being cared for is wonderful. Copyright the artist.

Tashi Dorjee, 27, sits in a coffee shop in Dharamsala. He fled with his brother as a four-year-old in 1991. Dorjee says he missed his parents most when he was in school, especially when everyone went home for winter vacation and he had no home to go to. He says because of time and distance he now doesn’t have any attachment with family or parents. Copyright the artist.

Sonam Dolma, 75, poses for a photo near a prayer wheel in Dharamsala, where she made her home after escaping from Tibet in 1959. She says she wishes she could visit Tibet someday. Copyright the artist.

Billy Kung is photo editor at ArtAsiaPacific.