Interviews

Sporting inspiration: Mr. Kelsang Dhondup, executive secretary of the Tibetan National Sports Association

The picture of a young Tibetan monk, balancing a football on his head from the movie 'The Cup' is now an enduring image of the Tibetans' passion for football. This ground-breaking movie revealed to the outside world the Tibetans', especially that of the monks', love for the game.

Ms. Ngawang Sangdrol, a petite soft-spoken woman, spent almost half of her 26 years in harsh Chinese-controlled prisons in Tibet because of her courageous activism for the freedom of her homeland.

Men-tsee-khang celebrated its 42^nd anniversary last month. In those four decades, the Institute has come a long way from being a small clinic with a few doctors to a fully fledged centre of Tibetan heritage.

testing

Tenzing Chonden is new to the political landscape of Tibetans in exile. He is currently a member of the 13th Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies representing Tibetans in North America. He believes it is important to maintain a happy balance between the traditional value and modern approach to the political system.

He seems to be like many other Westerners - fascinated by Tibet's mystical aura, follower of the Dalai Lama like Hollywood star Richard Gere, and an ardent, if naive supporter of the political freedom of Tibet.

Tenzin Tsundue is caught by security while releasing a "Free Tibet" banner, on the 8th floor of the Oberoi Hotel where Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji was addressing a business meeting in Bombay, India, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002.

His fierce desire for a free Tibet make Tenzin Tsundue's work an emotional read. His slim new book 'Kora' (roughly translated to mean 'circumambulation') consisting of eleven poems, an essay and a short story deals with the theme of a man in exile.