Sumit Dayal’s ‘Tibet’s Next Incarnation’, a story where he was assigned to shoot a series of portraits for Time magazine in Dharamsala, has been published as the cover story in this weeks international issue.
“Mcleodgunj, Aug 18 – 28, 2011
Excavating our way through the wet, steep and winding lanes of Mcleodgunj amidst a mist that ceased to dissolve, was an
extraordinary experience.
A considerable number Tibetans in exile, especially the ones who escaped from Tibet in the last decade or so speak fluent
Mandarin. There were certain points when the writer, translator and the person being interviewed would converse in
Mandarin and I would find myself completely alienated to the situation. It was hard to believe that this was happening in a
town where my grandmother’s house is just a ten minute drive down the hill. At times I would feel that I’m not in India anymore.
We met all kinds of people: artists, poets, flag-maker, rock stars, the prime minister, the Karmapa and the Indian Intel guys
surrounding him, an ex-PLA officer who escaped from Tibet, children & teenagers who risked their lives and crossed the Himalayas
in search of a better future and in some cases a Tibetan future. Their stories gripped us by our throats.
I’ve visited my grandmother on several occasions in the past decade since she moved there from Kashmir but this time my
perception of that hill changed completely. It’s almost as if Mcleodgunj had been wearing an invisible cloak this whole time.
You don’t realize but every time you set foot on those slopes your entering a different realm.
The article by Hannah can be found here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2095608,00.html
Time’s lightbox has also published some of the pictures online:
http://lightbox.time.com/
Appreciate your time in reading and browsing through the above links.
I send you and all my colleagues in RM my best wishes for Lugano and hope that the meeting will be a grand success.
Thank you for all you support.
Sumit Dayal”
