Learning history and making memories: Bawa’s summer in India and Nepal
October 7, 2022
An average summer for a student might include hanging out with friends, getting outside, or visiting family. While senior Tenzin Bawa did this and more, he did so in Dharamshala, India where he spent the majority of his summer, and in Kathmandu, Nepal where he spent the latter third of it.
[T]here’s a lot of Tibetans who live there. It’s like a Tibetan settlement. So when Tibetan refugees came to India, they went to certain towns, so that was always one of those places they went to.
— Tenzin Bawa
While Dharamshala is not geographically close to Tibet, it is home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile. Bawa said, “There’s a lot of Tibetans who live there. It’s like a Tibetan settlement. So when Tibetan refugees came to India, they went to certain towns, so that was always one of those places they went to.”
Dharamshala is also home to the Tibetan Museum. Because Bawa has family in Kathmandu and not Dharamshala, he spent a lot of his time there volunteering at the museum. Opened very recently, the museum is relatively compact. The museum is brand new, Bawa said it opened in the winter of this year. While the museum documents Tibetan history from the early beginnings–back to when there were kings in 200 BCE–it is very modern looking, featuring new architecture.
The museum has a permanent exhibition: “I am Tibetan and this is my story,” which tells the story of a range of Tibetan individuals. The museum says, “through objects, archives, photographs and personal testimonies we highlight Tibet’s historical, political and international importance by showcasing our culture, recent history in exile, and the teachings and legacy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
Though Bawa spent a lot of his time in Dharamshala working, he was still able to meet new people–like his co-workers around the museum.
“I also got to meet the Dalai Lama,” Bawa said.
After spending the majority of his summer in Dharamshala, Bawa traveled to Kathmandu. While in Kathmandu, the highlight for Bawa was reconnecting with his family and his Tibetan culture.
“I finally got to see my family after a long time,” Bawa said, “because we don’t really have much family here in the US.”
Bawa especially enjoyed spending time with his cousins because it had been so long since they had last seen each other. While Bawa keeps in touch with a lot of his family through phone calls and messages, one of his cousins is on Discord, so they keep in touch through that.
Overall, for Bawa it was a really nice summer.
“I got to spend time and see my own Tibetan identity outside of school because it’s not something that really comes up in school.”