Contact is taking a holiday!

Contact is taking a break after 25 years of bringing you news of Tibet and Tibetan issues. We are celebrating our 25 years by bringing you the story of Contact and the people who have made it happen, and our archive is still there for you to access at any time, and below you can read the story of Contact, how it came into being and the wonderful reflections of the people who have made it happen over the years.

When and how Contact will re-emerge and evolve will be determined by those who become involved.

Rocking for Tibet

By Chris Healey and Ugolino Vivaldi  /  December 18, 2013

Rock and roll music echoed in the Kangra Valley on the evening of December 10 to celebrate the combined anniversary of Human Rights Day and the Dalai Lama’s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize.  Renowned Indian band Parikrama headlined the festival, which also included performances of Tibetan traditional music and read more →

Campaigning for Hope

By Tashan Mehta  /  November 29, 2013

I meet Kunsang outside Tibet Hope Café, and we walk up the hill to Café Budan. On the way, we gather a following of dogs. Kunsang gets me a chai, orders an Americano for himself and then disappears. He returns with three packets of biscuits which he breaks up for read more →

100,000 prostrations that change a life

By Sarah Al-Bashtali  /  August 30, 2013

Four years ago, Dolma became a nun. She did 100,000 prostrations in the temple, 100,000 mandala offerings and 100,000 prayers.  Then she went to Tso Pema (Rewalsar) to ask her spiritual leader for permission to change her life. He agreed and gave her the red chupa, which she has worn read more →

A Tibetan Heart

By Miranda Hall  /  August 21, 2013

Wearing low-hanging green jeans, a bright Bob Marley hoodie, sunglasses, a flat cap and an enormous grin, Norbu swaggers into the cafe where we are meeting, stopping at every table on the way to fist-bump his friends. This carefully constructed image, however, is far-removed from the educated, passionate poet who read more →

“We Will Succeed”

By Frencesca Leaf  /  June 24, 2013

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay was born in 1968 in a Tibetan refugee settlement in northern India. While reflecting on his past during a 2011 interview with ABC, he shared “My parents left Tibet in 1959. My father was a monk. His monastery was you know bombarded….it was reduced to rubble read more →

Son of the Mountains

By Jenny James  /  May 22, 2013

Nima Tshering is a mountaineer and trekking guide.  Follow him into the mountains and you know that nothing will go wrong, he will show you the way and keep you safe and sort any problems before they happen. Nima walks with a steady mountaineer’s pace, sure footed and agile on read more →

“I really hope that even if you pass away, music will stay with you”

By Sarah Al-Bashati  /  May 19, 2013

Jamyang is the eldest of three brothers who form a Tibetan rock band called JJI Exile brothers.  All of them where born in McLeodGanj, their parents came to India long time ago. During a winter holiday in the late nineties, the brothers started to make music and sing together with read more →

Unsung Hero

By Tenzin Tselha  /  April 25, 2013

On a lazy afternoon I met Angela, a reporter from Germany. She wanted to do a report on a Tibetan guerrilla (Chu-shi-kan-dru) and she asked me to help. This made me inspired by another freedom fighter from Kham. His name is Thupten and he is a hero who contributed, sacrificed and did read more →

Settling in McLeod

By Sarah Al-Bashtali  /  April 25, 2013

“Here at Moonpeak Espresso, we offered the first real espresso in McLeod Ganj”, Ashwini Bhatia tells with a little smile, “Now you can find it everywhere.” Sixteen years ago, Mr. Bhatia, trekking in the region, arrived in McLeod Ganj and immediately felt it might be his place to settle down. read more →

“Nothing Lasts Forever”

By Topden  /  April 22, 2013

It was a sunny morning in November 1993 when I walked up the long zigzag stairs at Dharamshala bus station, carrying a heavy green bag and accompanied by my 10 year old younger sister and many other new Tibetan arrivals. I was sent to SOS Tibetan Childrens Village Suja school read more →