"Lhasa? Lhasa!" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth presents the English translation of a blogpost by Woeser written on October 13, 2011 for the Tibetan service of Radio Free Asia and posted on her blog on October 22, 2011.

This post continues a series making up Woeser's summer travels to Lhasa, through Amdo and Kham. Previous posts are "Impoverished Matö County", "Over One Year After the Earthquake, A Rushed Visit to Yushu", "Sershül Monastery In Recent Years" and "Magnificent Dzogchen Monastery".


This post has also been translated into French and is available here: http://woeser.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/lhassa-lhassa/

A picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Sera Monastery onto which a work group painted a mustache to try and stop pilgrims and tourists from recognising the Dalai Lama. However, this old Lhasa woman knows it’s the Dalai Lama in the painting, and despite police supervision close by, she still bows deeply ... (Photos taken by Woeser on March 30, 2010)

"No Matter Where I Am, You Appear Before Me": A Song And a Poem About An Absent Parent

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a Tibetan song and a poem by a Tibetan blogger, each about missing an absent parent.

The first translation is of the song, "Longing", a very popular old song by perhaps the most famous singer in Tibet today, Yadong. Regular High Peaks Pure Earth readers may also remember "Mentally Return" that had Yadong team up with three of his students to sing about Tibetan unity. The song is directed to an absent Mother. Missing a parent is a familiar trope in Tibetan popular songs and writings and is often interpreted as a veiled reference to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama, who turns 76 today, is seen as a parent figure by Tibetans. Common allusions to nature such as the sun, clouds and stars can also be interpreted in this way. For a more recent song that can be interpreted in this way, follow this link to an English subtitled video of a rap by Dekyi Tsering titled "Father".

"Having An Audience With His Holiness the Dalai Lama is Not A Crime" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for broadcast on Radio Free Asia on January 19, 2011 and posted on her blog on January 25, 2011.

This article follows on from Woeser's previous post titled "How I Met His Holiness the Dalai Lama Without A Passport" in which she recalled "meeting" the Dalai Lama via Skype on January 4, 2011.

"How I Met His Holiness the Dalai Lama Without a Passport" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for broadcast on Radio Free Asia on January 5, 2011 and posted on her blog on January 10, 2011.