Tshering Dorje
Tshering Dorje | |
---|---|
Born | April 1936 Guskiar village, Lahaul tehsil, Kullu Sub-division, Kangra district, Punjab Province, British India |
Died | 13 November 2020 (aged 86) |
Nationality | Indian |
Education | Tholing monastery, Western Tibet Sa-ngag-choling monastery, Central Tibet |
Occupation | Cultural historian |
Known for | Expertise on the cultural history of the Buddhist regions of the Western Himalayas Role in the construction of the Atal Tunnel |
Tshering Dorje (April 1936 - November 13, 2020; also spelled Tsering Dorje and Chhering Dorje) was a cultural historian from Himachal Pradesh, India. He was regarded as an authority on the cultural traditions and histories of the Lahaul and Spiti district and some neighboring regions. He also played an important role in bringing about the construction of the 9.02 km-long, high-altitude Atal Tunnel.
Life and career
Dorje was born in village Guskiar of Gahar valley, Lahaul, Kullu tehsil,
Dorje died of covid-19 on November 13, 2020, at Nerchowk Medical College, Mandi.[5]
Influence
Research and scholarship
Despite his limited formal education, Dorje came to be known for his extensive knowledge of western and Trans-Himalayan regions including Ladakh, Lahaul, Spiti, and Kinnaur.[6] In Lahaul and Spiti district and neighboring regions, he was widely referred to as an 'encyclopedia of the Himalayas'.[6][2][7][8][5] He was regarded as an expert on Tibetan language; Tibetan Buddhist scriptures; the Buddhist, Bon, and Hindu cultural traditions of the Lahaul and Spiti district; the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist history of Tibet, and the historical and cultural interrelations between the western Himalayas, Tibet, and Central Asia. Dorje also did some research on the Zhang Zhung language.[6][2][3][9] He undertook numerous journeys on foot in the Himalayas.[10][11]
Dorje was closely associated with the International Roerich Memorial Trust in
Dorje wrote a number of articles in Hindi and Tibetan.[2][6] Over the years, he guided numerous researchers doing research in the Kullu and the Lahaul and Spiti districts.[2][6] This list includes, among others, the Tibetologists John Vincent Bellezza and Tashi Tsering,[13][14][15] and the anthropologist Himika Bhattacharya.[16] He spoke at many scholarly and literary seminars and at other cultural events in Kullu.[17][18][19][20] He was also occasionally sought by the media for comments over current developments in the Kullu valley.[21][22]
In 2012, Dorje served as the Vice-President of the Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Samiti in Himachal Pradesh.[23]
In 2018, Dorje was appointed to the General Council of the Himachal Pradesh Academy as the representative for the Lahaul and Spiti district.[24]
Role in Atal Tunnel construction
Over 1999-2000, alongside fellow Lahauli Tashi Dawa (aka 'Gopal Arjun'), Tshering Dorje played a key role in floating the idea of constructing a tunnel below the Rohtang Pass to then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This would enable round-the-year road access to the Lahaul valley, which otherwise got cut-off from road access for up to six months every year due to the closure of the Rohtang Pass by snows. Dawa and Dorje were part of a delegation of four from Himachal that met PM Vajpayee several times over two years to push their proposal to get a tunnel made under the pass. This eventually culminated in the construction of the Atal Tunnel, which opened in October 2020. [25][22][26][27]
Others
- In the early 1960s, Dorje served as a Bhoti teacher and a close aid to
- Since the mid-1960s, Dorje had been a close friend of the Buddhist nun Tenzin Palmo. He had been the person who brought supplies once every six months to her cave high up in Lahaul, while she was on her strict three-years long meditation retreat, as recounted in the book Cave in the Snow.[11][7]
- Dorje was also known to be close to the 14th Dalai Lama.[2]
- The British Museum in London has a photograph of Tshering Dorje's home in Lahaul, taken by Christina Noble in 1974.[29]
- Dorje features in a 2011 article of the Tricycle magazine, related to an anecdote involving the American philosopher Dan Wikler's travels in the Himalayas.[30]
Bibliography
- Dorje, Tshering. (2005). 'Punan ki boli mein ek geet'. Kunzom Magazine, Volume 1 (pp. 35-36).[31]
- Dorje, Tshering. (2017). 'Roerich in Lahoul (Lahul)'.[32]
References
- ^ "Tsering Dorje". Roerich In Lahul. 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g "To the Blessed Memory of Tsering Dorje…". irmtkullu.com. November 13, 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ a b c Gill, Manohar Singh (November 22, 2020). "Manohar Singh Gill remembers Tshering Dorje, his Lahaul-Spiti brother". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ Odenheimer, Micha (October 28, 2004). "Unknown Faces of Tibet". Haaretz. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ^ a b Thakur, Arvind (November 13, 2020). "एनसाइक्लोपीडिया ऑफ हिमालय के नाम से विख्यात छेरिंग दोरजे का निधन". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ a b c d e Thakur, Kesang (December 3, 2020). "Tshering Dorje – FILMING लाहुल". Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ a b Palmo, Tenzin (Summer 2021). "Tshering Dorje - In Memoriam" (PDF). Gatsal. 38: 11.
- ^ Sharma, Rajesh (November 30, 2020). "Cherring Dorje: चेतना की नदी छेरिंग दोर्जे, कुल्लू या लाहुल ही नहीं, संपूर्ण हिमालय से सम्मान पाने वाले शख्स थे दोर्जे". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ "In Memoriam". Roerich In Lahul. November 13, 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ^ "Tsering Dorje death anniversary एनसाइक्लोपीडिया ऑफ हिमालय की पुण्यतिथि पर ढालपुर में कार्यक्रम आयोजित". ETV Bharat News (in Hindi). November 20, 2021. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4088-2812-0.
- ^ "Roerich In Lahul". Roerich In Lahul. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ Belleza, John Vincent (2008). "Supplementary Journal 1990". tibetarcheology.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ^ Tsering, Tashi (2013). "On the Unknown History of a Himalayan Buddhist Enclave: Spiti Valley before the 10th Century". Current Issues and Progress in Tibetan Studies. 51.
- ^ Tsering, Tashi (June 2012). "A historical overview of education and social change in Spiti Valley in India". Ladakh Studies. 28: 10.
- ISBN 978-0-8135-8955-8.
- ^ Sharma, Ambika (September 7, 2012). "CM says HP to be carbon-neutral". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ "Kavi sammelan on Birshu mela". Tribuneindia News Service. March 30, 2015. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ "115th Anniversary of George Roerich Marked in the Himalayan Roerich Estate". spb-icr.ru. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ^ "Russia-India: the Art, Philosophy and Culture". irmtkullu.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ^ "Treasure of gold coins". www.tribuneindia.com. November 21, 2012. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ a b Bodh, Anand (August 17, 2018). "'Rohtang tunnel Atal Bihari Vajpayee's biggest gift to state' | Shimla News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ "CM Stresses for the need to preserve Environment". The News Himachal. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ "Himachal kala sanskriti bhasha akademi shimla - prastavna" (PDF). 2019.
- ^ Atal Tunnel, Rohtang (PDF). New Delhi: Border Roads Organisation. 2021. p. 19.
- ^ Bharti, Tulsi (November 13, 2020). "अटल टनल निर्माण में अहम भूमिका निभाने वाले प्रसिद्ध साहित्यकार छेरिंग दोरजे की कोरोना से मौत". News18 हिंदी (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ Pokhriyal, Sanjay (October 1, 2020). "Atal Tunnel Rohtang: रोहतांग सुरंग की नींव में छेरिंग दोरजे के लिखे यह शब्द". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ISBN 978-0-670-08413-5.
- ^ "negative (polymer film) (black and white) | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Tricycle; Tricycle (2011-09-13). "Tibetan monks found chanting text by Oxford philosopher". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Kunzom, Vol. 1 (2005). Tobdan. Society for Conservation and Promotion of Culture in Lahaul & Spiti. 2005.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Roerich in Lahoul (Lahul)". Roerich In Lahul. 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2023-01-11.