My Role Model, My Aku

Article written Tenzin Phentok, HOSD 2015, Christ University 

My aku (means uncle in Tibetan), his name is Tsering Dorjee. People can see him as a common man earning bread for his family by farming and seasonal sweater business but for me he is everything to me. He is my teacher, my friend, my honest guide and my idol. He is the one, whom I look up and feel inspired, encouraged and boost up.

When Tibetans fled during the invasion of Chinese in Tibet, many Tibetans left their home and migrated to India, my grandmother, grandfather and my father (Ngodup Dorjee) were also one among them. Carrying my uncle in her womb, walking across the mountains, when they reached at the border of Nepal and Tibet, at a place called ‘sharkhum boo’ she started to have labour pain and my Aku was born. Everyone accompanying them in this journey told her that this baby will be very special. But she didn’t know what does it exactly mean and she doesn’t bother.

As she can’t leave at such condition, my grandfather decided to stay with her there and sent my father and my uncle with the troop. When they reached at dharmasala, UP as they have no parents and no relatives to look after them at that time, they both were send to TCV school. After some weeks my grandparents reached dharmasala but they couldn’t meet my father and uncle as a parents because TCV only look after those children who are orphan or who doesn’t have anyone to look after them so, if TCV know that they are not orphan they will be chuck out of the school and that time my grandparents were not financially well enough to raise and educate them. So, they told them that they have to stay there in TCV to study and said they will leave to Manali to work as daily wage labour for earning and promised them to meet during vacations.

Leaving school at the age of 17, my father jointed military.

After some year, government of India gave some place in south Karnataka to start our (Tibetans refugee) own settlements. My grandparents with my uncle shifted to our settlement called Kollegal.

My uncle was send to our settlement school and my grandparents started farming on the land given by the government on lease. He was not good in studies but he was interested in learning Tibetan language.

After a while, when my father came back from military, my grandparents decided to arrange a marriage with the girl of their choice and that was my mother (Tenzin Choedon) and after months back my father went back to military.

At that time our home was not in a good condition and now after having a new member it was more difficult to be live with the earning from farming so, my uncle decided to quit his schooling and started earning money but my grandparents were not agree with his decision but still he left home and went out for work as a sales man under other people having their own sweater business because he doesn’t have even one paisa to start his own sweater business. After four months of work when he came back with his first salary, my grandparents was happy to see him as responsible at such a small age, he was 17 at that time. When knowing that sweater business has more profit then farming, then my mother also started working with my uncle. Slowly after 7 years, when he was 24 they both started their own business. They do farming and seasonal business every year.

From childhood itself, my uncle was very active in social services and concern about the contemporary Tibetan issues. And in 1995, as active member of RTYC he participated in “a peace march” from delhi to Tibet which was held by the Tibetan Youth Congress. After three years, when I was 3 and my brother was 6, my aku and two members of RTYC went to hunger strike for 28 days supporting the critical Tibetan issue which was happening inside the Tibet.

With such enthusiasm he lived his youth, and still after that, even though he doesn’t have lakhs in his accounts or a huge car to drive but he is living a respectful life where his surrounding knows him for his good will, where he has a caring mother, a lovely wife and five adorable children and soon going to be a grandfather.