Sanctuary for rare, precious relics

Tibetan Museum

If you thought that Majnu ka Tila and Monastery market were the only centres of
Tibetan culture in Delhi, you would be surprised to know that the city also houses
India’s only Tibet museum.

Hidden behind large leafy trees without any prominent boards or posters is the Tibet House Museum on Lodhi Road. It accommodates no less than 200 precious Thangka paintings, over 140 statues of Buddhist Gods and Goddesses, ritual objects, jewellery, costumes, household articles and all that you can associate with life in Tibet.
This four-storeyed building, also housing a conference centre and a well-stocked library, was inaugurated in 1965 by none less than the Dalai Lama.

In fact, the rare Thangka paintings were brought by the Dalai Lama himself when he escaped China in 1959. The other artefacts have been donated by refugees as and when they trickled into Delhi.

A young Tibetan refugee, also in-charge of the museum, Tenzin Choden informs Metrolife, “It is difficult to even imagine the hardships faced by our people when bringing these objects along. On the mountainous route from Tibet to India, it is painful to carry even the weight of one’s own body but some people forgo food just to be able to rescue these articles of our faith and culture.

“That is why His Holiness the Dalai Lama decided that we must have a sanctuary for these objects – a museum where Tibetans as well as non-Tibetans can learn about our ancient community. It also reminds us young Tibetans that we must go on fighting to get back our motherland.”

The scroll-like Thangka paintings are the mainstay of the museum. They are hung all across the gallery, retelling the lives and sacrifices of Bodhisattvas (Buddhas-to-be). A Bodhisattava sadhu offers himself to a hungry tigress lest she eats her own cubs. A Bodhisattva rabbit jumps into fire to gift his roasted meat to a visiting God. These exquisite paintings were derived from impressions of carved wood. The panels were then destroyed so that the paintings cannot be replicated.

Then there are small copper, gilded bronze, silver and stone statues. Buddha Shakyamuni - one of the most revered deities in Buddhism – is seated in a meditative mudra with long earlobes extended by heavy jewellery and hair in blue. Goddess Tara – who protects against eight calamities - rests on a lotus with her right hand bestowing blessings.

Articles of Buddhist Tantric rituals are as interesting – cymbals and trumpets, dorje and bells, a decorative dagger to ward off evil, peacock feather water sprinkler, ornate incense burners and conch shells. Items of daily use offer an insight into the rugged mountainous Tibetan life. Helmets, horse saddles, leather boots, silver beer cups, weapons, even once-used coins and currency notes of Tibet adorn this museum.

In the centre of the gallery you will see a large wooden stupa pleasantly reading ‘Thank you India.’ Tenzin explains “It is a small token of our appreciation towards India and its people. After Tibet, India is our second home.”