The Dalai Lama Next Door

The small Indian town of McLeodganj (Dharamsala) in the Himalayas was once just a forgotten footnote in the history of the British Raj - but in 1959 all that changed when His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived after being forced to flee from Tibet. Since then, McLeodganj has become the headquarters of the exiled Tibetan government, a world centre of Buddhism and a safe haven for thousands of Tibetan refugees. Inspired by Michael Palin's BBC series 'Himalaya, ' Hugh Morrison spent four months as a volunteer among the Tibetan exiles of McLeodganj, working for Lha Charitable Trust as editor of their magazine, 'Contact'. With detail and wry humour, he describes daily life in 'Little Lhasa' as well as Himalayan travels to places such as Mandi, the city of temples, Shimla, the summer capital of British India, and the desolate no man's land of some of the world's highest and most remote settlements on the Indo-Chinese border. This book will appeal to those interested in volunteer work in McLeodganj or anyone who wants to find out more about this unique, beautiful and mysterious part of the world. Includes 30 black and white illustrations. 50% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to Lha Charitable Trust