Chennai: Eighty seven-year-old Kelsang Dolma, a refugee from Tibet, came to the city recently to visit the schools that were part of her son’s education.
She wanted to thank all of them – school authorities and teachers – in person and came all the way from Delhi where she currently resides.
Kelsang’s son, Tenzin Kunga, studied in Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School in Ashok Nagar between 1985 and 1992. He currently works in the Office of Tibet, London.
Tenzin Kunga studied in Children’s Garden School in Mylapore before shifting to Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School. He studied there from class 6-12.
Due to language barrier, her daughter Lhamo Kelsang spoke to Pillar Talk on behalf of Kelsang Dolma. She said, “My mother raised us single-handedly and she made sure we got proper education. She believed that education will help us and was most important for our future endeavours.”
Jawahar Vidyalaya principal, Chithra Srinivasan, said, “It’s a proud moment for the management and it was an honour for us to receive Kelsang. Though we cautioned her that it was very hot in Chennai, it didn’t stop her from visiting the school. She met the Director, General Administration, Alice Jeevan, who was Tenzin’s English teacher during his days in the school.”
During her visit to the school, Kelsang Dolma was accompanied by her daughter Lhamo and granddaughter Tenzin Padlon.
Kelsang Dolma came to India in 1959 as a refugee along with her family. Initially, she settled down in Doeguling Tibetan settlement in Mundgod, near Hubli, in Karnataka. This was one of the oldest settlements in India for Tibetan exiles.
The Indian government gave her family a house and agricultural land for survival. All her children were born in India. Soon after her husband Lobsan Tenzin died, she raised her four children as a single mother with the income of their paddy field.
From Karnataka, three of her children came to Chennai for education. Their study was sponsored by German Aid to Tibetans programme.
Of her other children, Lhakpa Keyzom is a nurse in Florida, USA, Tenzin Dhargyal is a teacher in a Tibetan school in Himachal Pradesh and Lhamo Kelsang works as office secretary in the Tibetan Youth Hostel in New Delhi.