During a recent trip to Dharamshala, I was privileged to visit the Norbulingka Institute. The institute was set up to preserve Tibetan culture and heritage. From both masters and students I saw finely crafted applique work, skillful woodcarving, and ethereal Thangka paintings.
Not only has Norbulingka built programs and systems that are an incubus for creativity and nurture excellence, they continue to pass Tibetan traditions from generation to generation. In this way, the institute is forging a cultural presence for the Tibetan community, living in exile. This has a sense of urgency when so much of Tibet's cultural heritage has been destroyed, or is under threat. Norbulingka has also revived traditions such as kyumbur, which consists of applying paste to form a relief on a wooden surface.
For the three hundred people that are employed here, the institute's programmes provide vital income generation, as well as skills and training. With the Managing Director, Dolmakyap, I saw how the institute is building not only a centre for excellence in the arts, but also a community with a holistic approach. For instance, there is a creche where children of employees are cared for during working hours, it is located in close proximity to the studios at the institute so that parents can visit on their lunchbreak.
The physical surrounds of the instititue is in itself, exquisite and the place has an atmosphere of peace, grace and beauty. Flowing water, leafy trees and a lush garden add to this ambience. The architect based the design for the buildings on the iconographic outline of Avalokiteshvara, the one thousand armed bohisattva of compassion, the patron deity of Tibet, embodied by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.
For more information about Norbulingka log onto www.norbulingka.org
by sharmila wood
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