By Nivedita Nair

Volunteer job at lha: Contact writer and English conversation assistant
Born and brought up in the bustling city of Bombay, I moved to Pune to pursue a degree in political science and film studies at a liberal arts college.

As one can see, my upbringing has been comfortable and privileged, and my college education inculcated an academic responsibility in me towards the world outside of my own.

I was introduced to Lha by my college seniors who have also volunteered there. Our shared academic pursuits include vast analysis and readings of migrations, refugees, displacement, history, and culture. I wondered, what is the reality of the lives of the Tibetan community in India (who are our legal guests) in Dharamshala? How have they integrated within Himachal, and what do they need from the national community?

Upon emailing Lha and expressing my desire to work, I was responded to with warmth and excitement! I took up the opportunity to write for Contact magazine and participate in the conversational English classes. I found myself in Dharamshala, far from another life, walking up the stairs at Lha to see people smiling at me. When you are born and brought up in a city, and your education revolves around investigating the lives of people who are actually very far away from you, you see that you only know that to which you have been immediately exposed and that the community of people you are interested in academically, are all human beings who are interested in getting to know you for who you are, not what you do, or where you come from.
Interacting with the students during the classes has been an eye-opener in terms of understanding the lives of people in reality and not just in what textbooks and reports say. I have laughed, made friends, and I’m grateful for having met people who have given me much to take back home. The various writing assignments and topics I was entrusted with by Contact magazine have given me so much room to improve my writing and research skills, and the constant encouragement has motivated me to be a better student of political science as well.
As such, I believe there is a lot that Indians (as opposed to just travelers from outside) need to know about the people we share our lives with, especially those with a completely different language, culture, and context that we need to integrate into what we call our home. Our country prides itself on its diversity, but we must respect and think about the integration of the Tibetan community further, as there is a lot that they have brought to us that we must be grateful for. And there is a lot more than we can do domestically and internationally for their struggle.
I’d like to quote a student from my class, a lady who recently completed her tenure at the Tibetan Women’s Association, “We must all be concerned with Tibet. If the ‘roof of the world falls, the floor will also crumble’.

Read {hits}652{/hits} times