The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong
The Untold Story of My Struggle for Tibet
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
For over half a century, noodlemaker Gyalo Thondup has been a familiar figure in the Himalayan hill town of Kalimpong. But it was not until 2010 that the townsfolk discovered his true identity: Gyalo Thondup is none other than the older brother of the Dalai Lama and his special envoy, a trusted interlocutor between Tibet and foreign leaders from Chiang Kai-shek to Jawaharlal Nehru, Zhou Enlai to Deng Xiaoping. Indeed, only the Dalai Lama himself has played a more important role in the political history of modern, tragedy-ridden Tibet.
Now, for the first time, Gyalo Thondup is prepared to tell his story. His remarkable account offers an intimate, personal look at the Dalai Lama and his immediate family, as well as an insider's view of the vicious and sometimes deadly struggles within the Potala Palace - the seat of power in Tibet. His is a story of the 'real' Tibet - a country that is secular as well as sacred, where the source of conflict is not just with China but between Tibetans themselves. Candid and insightful, this long-awaited account reveals Gyalo Thondup to have been a key figure in the great game played out by China, India, Russia and the United States over the strategically important Tibetan plateau.
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China scholar Thurston (China Bound) assists Thondup, elder brother of the Dalai Lama, in telling the story of his life and his homeland's battle for autonomy. Thondup recalls his family's humble origins in the Amdo region; they were uprooted and traveled to Lhasa when his four-year-old brother was declared a candidate for Dalai Lama. Groomed to become a political advisor, Thondup is sent from tumultuous Tibet to study in China, establishing close ties with Chinese president Chiang Kai-Shek and hoping to return home to institute modernization reforms. The 1949 Communist takeover in China and subsequent invasion of Tibet puts his plans on hold; Thondup returns to an impoverished Lhasa as Chinese troops bomb monasteries and use "colonial, imperialistic tactics to divide and rule." Escaping to India, Thondup works with the CIA to train resistance fighters. A tense situation escalates with riots at Norbulingka Palace and the Dalai Lama flees to India, where the brothers organize a "government in exile." After decades of broken negotiations, Thondup returns to Tibet to take over a noodle factory, ruminating on Tibet's continued status as a colony in a world where so many have been liberated. Thondup is straightforward about his regrets regarding his own actions and remarkably less bitter than one would expect. Thurston challenges some of his memories and assertions in her afterword, though it's unclear why she did so. Though the narrative grows repetitive by the end, this is a vital narrative of Tibetans' ongoing effort for independence, and Thondup's bravery is commendable. Photos.
