Fotos

This picture was taken this past August in Lhasa, during the Yoghurt Festival. After a whole morning of scaling half the face of a small mountain, trying to do a kora around the huge Thangka that was hung for the occasion, I found this old Tibetan man sitting quietly in a corner of Drepung Monestary. I sat next to him while we watched hundreds of pilgrims & tourists pushing & shoving in that little courtyard of the Drepung, trying to get into the monestary. At one point, we both started laughing at a Chinese woman throwing a temper tantrum over something silly.

I thought he had a photogenic face, so I took my chances with this portrait.

From what I remember, the Yoghurt festival is an big annual holiday in Lhasa. Tens of thousands of Tibetans gather for a day to show their religious dedication (by visiting temples, doing koras, etc) as well as to have a good time with their family and friends. Besides the huge thangka (Tibetan painting) hung from a mountain near the Drepung, other special events take place. At this time, the parks are also filled with Tibetan families picnicing - a much enjoyed past-time.