Little Tibet
The Bylakuppe settlement is the second largest Tibetan refugee camp in India after Dharamsala — the seat of the 14th Dalai Lama, and the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Tibet got incorporated into The People’s Republic of China in the late 1950s, forcing The Dalai Lama and other important figures in the Tibetan Buddhist order, and about 80,000 Tibetans to flee the country. The Bylakuppe settlement which was established in 1961, is one among the 58 Tibetan settlements spread across India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Bylakuppe is located about 80 kilometres away from the city of Mysore in southern India, making it a day trip for travellers visiting Mysore. Home to over 70,000 Tibetans, the place offers travellers a peek into their life and culture — Lamas, Tibetan cuisine, Thanka paintings, and temples and monasteries. Tibetans are generally friendly and respectful, however language can be a barrier. The best way to explore the place is by a personal vehicle with a local guide, although one can use auto-rickshaws which ply between the various locations at reasonable rates. The Namdroling Monastery, popularly known as The Golden Temple, The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, The Sera Monastery, and The Nyingma Nunnery stand out among the places to be seen.
I had been visiting Bylakuppe for almost twenty years, but the idea of chronicling the place occurred to me only recently. This is a selection of pictures from my exploration of the place in the last three months. This is an ongoing series and I will be adding more pictures in the coming months.
