Identity

Yesterday morning, I went to the Tibetan Kitchen with my friend. There I met a Tibetan, whose family had emigrated to India. I thought he was a Buddhist monk because he was dressed like one.  There is a beautiful wide shot photo of a city at the foothills of a mountain range, on one of the walls in the Tibetan Kitchen.  I asked the owner, he said it was Lhasa. This man who stood beneath that photo, he asked us, "Where are you from"? I said I am from India. "I am from Himachal Pradesh, Kullu Manali, Aap kahan se hain", he said.  He knew Hindi, we started talking and invited him over to have lunch with us. The sunlight felt bright and warm. The owners seemed happy to have us and interested. He had studied in South India and now has started a school here in boulder. He talked mostly, we listened. His manner was calm and gentle. His face changed when he talked about his family, the suffering his people have undergone, the loss of their homeland, their identity. We asked him about the Dalai Lama, what Tibetans want now. The owners, mother and son I believe, occassionally came, and listened, or talked to us. He said that the future is unknown to him, and that he didn't know what will happen after Dalai Lama. But he thought that the fire was strong, much strong in the newer generation and that they will continue the fight.