McleodGanj.Dharamsala.Kangra valley

"Close to Heaven"

His Holiness Dalai Lama's Birthday on 6th July.

Foreign Tourists rush to dharamsala to see HH Dalai Lama's Birthday Celebrations.

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The Famous Norowjee's shop "Mcleodganj Oldest Shop" in its last legs

One of the oldest landmarks of this town, the Nowrojee General Merchants shop set up in 1860, is taking a beating from time. Owned by a Parsi family, it is almost on its last legs commercially and otherwise. The shop used to be at the centre of all activity during the British colonial times and even in post-independence India. But it is fast losing out to ghastly constructions all over the Mcleodganj square, besides competition from the many rival shops.

The last man standing at the Nowrojee mansion is 82-year-old Jimmy Nowrojee. A former banker from Dehradun town, Jimmy is putting up a fight to retain the past glory of the shop. "I know that I am quite old. My nephews (who are settled in the US) want to close down the shop. But I will not let that happen - at least not during my lifetime," Jimmy, who lives alone.One way of keeping up with times is that all daily newspapers and magazines coming to this town are routed through this shop. It is from there that vendors and readers pick them up.

Jimmy took over the reins of the Nowrojee business and property - the property is valued at over Rs 60 million and commercially-minded businessmen have been eyeing it to set up hotels and commercial space - after his brother Nauzer Nowrojee, a institution in himself and a personal friend of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, died in 2000. In fact, Nauzer was a famous name in his own right, thanks partly to his social work - second only to the Dalai Lama. "We as a family had the best time of our life here. Besides our house below the shop, we had orchards around this place. Now this place - and we are going through the worst phase," Jimmy points out in a sad tone as he sits reading a newspaper at the shop counter. Much of the commercial activity around the location is a result of people cashing in on the tourism boom in this hill town. Thousands of foreigners and Indian tourists visit it annually as it is the abode of the Dalai Lama. The shop was re-built after a devastating earthquake in Kangra Valley in 1905. Five generations of the Parsi family have lived and done business here after the original Nowrojee and Son general store was set up in 1860.

Much of its business has been taken away by shops in the Mcleodganj market that sell everything from mineral water and pastries and traditional Tibetan crafts to 'Made in China' goods. Not many buyers, other than those coming to pick up newspapers and magazines, come to shop here any longer. But Jimmy is trying to keep the Nowrojee flag flying high. The inside of the shop is nothing less than an antique museum. The counters, jar containers and some unsold products tell the tale of a bygone era when the shop used to do roaring business. Among the priceless things still in the possession of the family are newspapers announcing the conquering of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzin Norgay on May 29, 1953. Even the advertising posters of decades-old products are still prominently displayed in the all-wood shop.

The family once used to deal in wines, selling famous brands, but it no longer does so. The 'wine' sign on the shop board "Wine and General Merchants" has been covered clumsily by paint. "At one time, we also used to sell arms and ammunition under licence," Jimmy says.

Jimmy may be holding fort at the shop for now but behind his bespectacled eyes, the worry about the future of the landmark shows quite clearly.

Dalai Lama’s envoys in Beijing again for talks

Two envoys of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama have left Dharamshala and will arrive in Beijing on Monday evening to hold the seventh round of talks for finding a solution to the Tibet issue. “Special envoys Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen will arrive in China today for the seventh round of discussions with representatives of the Chinese leadership,’’ said a statement issued by the office of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has instructed the envoys to make every effort to bring about tangible progress. It is hoped that this round of talks will contribute in resolving the issue through dialogue.The envoys will be accompanied by senior assistants Sonam N. Dagpo and Bhuchung K. Tsering, both members of Tibetan Task Force on Sino-Tibetan Negotiations, and Jigmey Passang from the Secretariat of the Tibetan Task Force, said the statement. The discussions will take place from July 1 and 2 in Beijing. The first round of talks was held in January 2002 and at that time the envoys of the Dalai Lama had met Chinese officials responsible for the Tibet policy outside China.

Tibetan Government-in-Exile to strive for progress during talks with China

The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has instructed the envoys to “make every effort to bring about tangible progress to alleviate the difficult situation for Tibetans” during talks with the Chinese representatives, says the Tibetan government-in-exile, based in Dharamsala.

Tibet's government-in-exile said the two-day talks would open in Beijing on Tuesday, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the cabinet spokesman's office declined to confirm or deny the dates.

Speaking to an international news agency in Dharamsala, the seat of the government-in-exile, Thubten Samphel, spokesperson of the Tibetan Government-in-exile said that the envoys have been instructed to make every possible effort to resolve the issue of Tibet.

“The instructions have been given to the envoys to leave no stone unturned to resolve the issue of Tibet through discussion and dialogue with the Chinese leadership since our struggle is non-violent and this is the only viable alternative,” said Samphel.

He further added that the Tibetans hope that the Chinese government would abide by the promise made by the Chinese President during his recent visit to Japan.It would be their second closed-door meeting since rioting erupted in Tibet in March and heaped international pressure on China to deal with the Nobel laureate, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.The current round of talks, the sixth since 2002 and delayed by three weeks in the wake of China's deadliest earthquake in three decades, was preceded by a glut of goodwill, arguably somewhat more from the Dalai Lama's side than China's.During a trip to Britain in May, he said he was willing to attend the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics if talks between his envoys and China yielded results. He did not elaborate.But a Chinese source with ties to the leadership told the news agency an Olympic invite for the Dalai Lama or a summit with President Hu Jintao was out of the question unless Hu can mollify conservatives in his ruling Communist Party.The Dalai Lama says he wants autonomy for the Himalayan region. But China is unconvinced and brands him a separatist.He extended an olive branch to China praising the Chinese for their handling of the aftermath of the tremor that left a trail of death and destruction in the southwestern province of Sichuan.The quake killed about 70,000 people and put China at the receiving end of international sympathy after a period of vilification over a post-riot crackdown in Tibet.The Dalai Lama held a prayer meeting for Chinese quake victims in Dharamsala on June 4 and his envoys visited the Chinese Embassy in London to express their condolences.The government-in-exile has urged Tibetans to stop protesting outside Chinese embassies and consulates worldwide.In a concession, Chinese authorities have freed many Tibetans detained in the wake of the rioting, a source with knowledge of the releases said, requesting anonymity.

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