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TANAGAR: The staccato beats of propellers pierced the quiet, misty mountains of Itanagar as a Pawan Hans chopper switched on its rotor blades
and took off from the Raj Bhavan helipad early on Sunday morning. The copter took along with it all the heavenly bliss and jubilation that people of Arunachal Pradesh had managed to gather this week.
Chief minister Dorjee Khandu, his Cabinet colleagues as well as many MLAs escorted the Dalai Lama to the Raj Bhavan helipad as he completed the last leg of his visit to the frontier state amid China's stiff opposition. He left at 8.30 in the morning.
The Dalai Lama's departure silenced wagging tongues, not to mention the gibes that New Delhi and Beijing exchanged before and throughout the spiritual leader's visit. But for Arunachal, it was different. Much removed from the political mudslinging, the simple folk of the country's easternmost state bid a tearful farewell to their "God" assembling in hordes near the helipad to catch a last glimpse and seek the spiritual leader's final blessings before the copter disappeared beyond the horizon.
As the followers gloomily trooped back to their homes, a gnawing fear that the Tibetan spiritual leader may not come back again slowed their strides and moistened their eyes. The Dalai Lama's advancing age and busy schedule he will fly down to Rome from Delhi to inaugurate the two-day Fifth World Parliamentary Convention beginning from November 18 further rooted this grim possibility in their sorrowed hearts.
Lama Tashi, a composer of religious hymns, wasn't sure whether the Dalai Lama, would set his foot at Tawang again. "He's an international figure and has a hectic schedule. One never knows if he will visit again as his trips have to be cleared by all levels," Tashi said.
Torjee Khandu, a local who has seen the spiritual leader in his last two visits, said, "He's growing old and given the political repercussions of his every visit here, this might be his last trip." Octogenarian Rempa Tsering feared the worst. "The Chinese may not allow the coronation of the next Dalai Lama. Every time he visits this part of the country, there's a hue and cry from China. So, there might be every effort by them to disrupt the order."
However, Tulku Rinpoche, head of the Tawang monastery who supervised the four-day stay of the Dalai Lama in the monastery town, was optimistic. "I still have a feeling that he might choose to come here once again as he has an emotional attachment with this area since 1959," Rinpoche said, adding, "His Holiness is hale and hearty and has no health problems. So we feel that he will come here once again."
The 76-year-old preacher mesmerized thousands in the state with his divine oratory skills as people from all walks of life thronged to every venue where the Dalai Lama delivered sermons. His visit was peaceful without any untoward incidents as the state government had made elaborate security arrangements at all the places where the revered monk went.
In Itanagar, the Dalai Lama visited the Thupten Gatsalling Gompa and the Theraveda Buddha Vihar at Vivek Vihar belonging to the Hinayana Sect of Buddhism. He also interacted with intellectuals at Banquet Hall here on Saturday evening.
TANAGAR: The staccato beats of propellers pierced the quiet, misty mountains of Itanagar as a Pawan Hans chopper switched on its rotor blades
and took off from the Raj Bhavan helipad early on Sunday morning. The copter took along with it all the heavenly bliss and jubilation that people of Arunachal Pradesh had managed to gather this week.
Chief minister Dorjee Khandu, his Cabinet colleagues as well as many MLAs escorted the Dalai Lama to the Raj Bhavan helipad as he completed the last leg of his visit to the frontier state amid China's stiff opposition. He left at 8.30 in the morning.
The Dalai Lama's departure silenced wagging tongues, not to mention the gibes that New Delhi and Beijing exchanged before and throughout the spiritual leader's visit. But for Arunachal, it was different. Much removed from the political mudslinging, the simple folk of the country's easternmost state bid a tearful farewell to their "God" assembling in hordes near the helipad to catch a last glimpse and seek the spiritual leader's final blessings before the copter disappeared beyond the horizon.
As the followers gloomily trooped back to their homes, a gnawing fear that the Tibetan spiritual leader may not come back again slowed their strides and moistened their eyes. The Dalai Lama's advancing age and busy schedule he will fly down to Rome from Delhi to inaugurate the two-day Fifth World Parliamentary Convention beginning from November 18 further rooted this grim possibility in their sorrowed hearts.
Lama Tashi, a composer of religious hymns, wasn't sure whether the Dalai Lama, would set his foot at Tawang again. "He's an international figure and has a hectic schedule. One never knows if he will visit again as his trips have to be cleared by all levels," Tashi said.
Torjee Khandu, a local who has seen the spiritual leader in his last two visits, said, "He's growing old and given the political repercussions of his every visit here, this might be his last trip." Octogenarian Rempa Tsering feared the worst. "The Chinese may not allow the coronation of the next Dalai Lama. Every time he visits this part of the country, there's a hue and cry from China. So, there might be every effort by them to disrupt the order."
However, Tulku Rinpoche, head of the Tawang monastery who supervised the four-day stay of the Dalai Lama in the monastery town, was optimistic. "I still have a feeling that he might choose to come here once again as he has an emotional attachment with this area since 1959," Rinpoche said, adding, "His Holiness is hale and hearty and has no health problems. So we feel that he will come here once again."
The 76-year-old preacher mesmerized thousands in the state with his divine oratory skills as people from all walks of life thronged to every venue where the Dalai Lama delivered sermons. His visit was peaceful without any untoward incidents as the state government had made elaborate security arrangements at all the places where the revered monk went.
In Itanagar, the Dalai Lama visited the Thupten Gatsalling Gompa and the Theraveda Buddha Vihar at Vivek Vihar belonging to the Hinayana Sect of Buddhism. He also interacted with intellectuals at Banquet Hall here on Saturday evening.
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