Dharamshala — "I have no regrets and no more wishes. My soul purpose of coming to India has also been fulfilled time and again. I had the opportunity to have personal audience with His Holiness The Dalai Lama which is a dream come true," said 77 year old Sonam Damdul, a resident of Jampaling Elder Home in Dharamshala.
Sonam Damdul is the youngest among his three siblings. He was 40 when he fled from his hometown Tsawa Rong in Chamdo district of Kham in Tibet. He was a farmer back in Tibet. Back in July 1981, he with two more colleagues decided to leave home and come to India. His only purpose was to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
He said "it wasn't a tough decision as I was single so, I did not have a family to take care of. We took the route of Mount Kailash to cross Tibet and to reach Nepal border. We also had to hide during the day time and walk all night. Crossing those steep slope mountains was the hardest part. When we reached the Nepal Border, we had nothing left to eat so we had to beg the Nepali families for food. From Nepal, we went to Dehradun. We stayed in Dehradun for only a few days and from there we were sent to Dharamshala for 18 days. It was the Tibetan Welfare Society back then who took care of the new comers from Tibet like us. We were then sent to Shimla.
"The first work I did there was weave carpets. I with my friends together weaved 8 carpets and then I quit because of my poor eye sight. I then joined another work and my salary was 10 rupees per month. After this I joined several more jobs here and there.
"In total I stayed at Shimla for about 33 years. It was in 2011 when I was sent here to this Tibetan Old Age home (Jampaling Elder's Home). Its been almost 6 years and 2 months now.
"Life is good here. I don't have to cook or anything. We are provided with everything here all thanks to His Holiness and our government."
Sonam is currently 77 years old. He has no such desire to go back to Tibet. Because he said, he has no family to go back to.
When asked if he has any wishes he would like to see come true, he said " No, I am very happy and satisfied with my life. I have no regrets and no more wishes. My soul purpose of coming to India has also been fulfilled time and again. I had the opportunity to have personal audience with His Holiness The Dalai Lama which is a dream come true.
