Dalai Lama departs Dharamshala for Bylakuppe in Karnataka

Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, on Friday departed from his exile home Dharamshala via Kangra Airport to Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement in south India for extended stay.

He will arrive there on January 5. Officiating Sikyong Kalon (minister) Tharlam Dolma Changra and speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile formally escorted the 89-year-old spiritual leader till the Kangra Airport.

Starting His journey from the Main Tibetan Temple by escort cars, Dalai Lama was warmly seen off by senior officials of the Central Tibetan Administration, monastics and laypeople who lined up the roads from the temple to lower Dharamshala to pay their respects.

Hundreds of devotees, including Tibetan monks, nuns, laypeople and schoolchildren thronged both sides of the road, holding ceremonial scarves and incense to greet the Dalai Lama and seek his blessings.

The leadership of the Central Tibetan Administration, including Kalon (minister) Norzin Dolma of the department of information and international relations, Tibetan Parliamentarians of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, and secretaries of Central Tibetan Administration, gathered at the courtyard of the Dalai Lama residence to see Him off.