Cultural events at McLeod Ganj temple to mark Dalai Lama's 87th birthday on July 6

The 87th birthday of spiritual leader Dalai Lama will be celebrated with great fanfare on Wednesday at McLeod Ganj Buddhist temple near Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, where Chief Minister Jairam Thakur would take part as the chief guest.

Followers and Tibetans in exile, living in the country and abroad, commemorate July 6 every year as the "incarnation day" of the 14th Dalai Lama. However, due to Covid-19 pandemic, the day could not be celebrated during 2020 and 2021.

Now, with the decreasing Covid cases and with no travel restrictions, the Tibetan government-in-exile has decided to celebrate the day with great pomp.

The Dalai Lama Temple, also known as Tsuglagkhang, located in McLeod Ganj, is preparing to celebrate the Dalai Lama's birthday in a grand manner. Cultural programmes, not just the Tibetan but also the Ladakhi, Nepali and Gaddi folk culture of Dharamsala, will be organised here to mark the day.

Sharing the information, Tenzin Lekshay, official spokesman of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said that the 87th birthday of the Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama will be celebrated "with great pomp, in which Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur will take part as the chief guest".

It is worth mentioning that the 14th Dalai Lama, who was born in Tibet on the July 6, 1935, had to leave Tibet due to the situation there and take refuge in India with his followers.

The government of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru given Dalai Lama shelter in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. Since then till now the he has been living in Dharamsala.

The Dalai Lama is considered the "messenger of peace" all over the world.