New Delhi — Sikyong Penpa Tsering visited the photo-exhibition of "My 50 Years With Dalai Lama" in New Delhi, on Wednesday and the Sikyong showed keen interest in the photo exhibits and expressed his admiration for photogragher Vijay Kranti's over a half century association and active support to the Tibetan people, their national cause and their great leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering of Central Tibetan Administration made a special visit to Vijay Kranti’s photo-exhibition “My 50 Years With Dalai Lama” on July 9, 2025, to have a look at some of the most outstanding portraits and exclusive camera-studies which the photographer has put on show in the Indian capital to mark the 90th birthday of HH Dalai Lama.
"Despite his tiring road journey from Dharamshala to New Delhi and before his many other commitments prior to his scheduled evening foreign flight, Penpa la’s visit to my exhibition was an overwhelming experience," says Vijay Kranti. The Sikyong showed keen interest in the photo exhibits and expressed his admiration for Vijay’s over a half century association and active support to the Tibetan people, their national cause and their great leader H.H. the Dalai Lama.
Some other Tibetan dignitaries who have visited this exhibition include Rev. Geshe Dorji Damdul, Director of Tibet House in New Delhi, Mr Tenzin Geyche Tehong, former Private Secretary of HH ;Dalai Lama; Mr Wilson Chang, Counselor at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Centre; Mr. Jigme Jugney, the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi and; Rev. Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, former Deputy leader of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile. A good number of Capital’s Tibetans who were conspicuous by their clolourful Tibetan costumes were also among the participants.The photo-exhibition was inaugurated on July 4, 2025 by Balbir Punj who is a famous journalist, columnist, author and a former member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament.
Vijay Kranti who is also a well know Tibetologist, has taken these photos over five decades during his numerous one-to-one interview sittings and travels with the Dalai Lama in India and some other countries as his personal photographer. Interestingly, a parallel exhibition of another set of Vijay’s photos of the Nobel Peace prize winning monk statesman is also on show at Freiburg in Germany these days.
Vijay Kranti stands out as an Indian journalist and photographer for his life long association with the Tibetan issue and its biggest symbol the Dalai Lama. His 53 yearlong photo documentation of Tibetan life, culture and activities is monumental as it is internationally considered as the largest and aesthetically rich one-man photographic study on this subject. His work also includes photo studies of life inside Chinese occupied Tibet where he has been able to make many daring travels. In the past his photo-exhibitions have been on show in many prestigious art galleries of India, Germany, Austria, Australia, Switzerland and Spain.
The selection of photos for this exhibition makes it a special event as it aesthetically depicts some important and historic moments related to Dalai Lama. One photo which stands out for its historic importance is the one which shows Mrs Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, standing as an ordinary member among the crowd while Dalai Lama is addressing a large gathering at the inaugural function of Tibet House of New Delhi on 23rd January 1979. “I was stunned as I saw Mrs. Gandhi quietly making her way through the crowd and stopped just next to me to have a good view of the Dalai Lama. Those were the days when she was out of power. But her decision to quietly join such an event was a special moment. The distance between her and my camera was too short for the focus. So I had to make efforts to push myself back to get the necessary focal space……”, says Vijay Kranti.Vijay has preserved his film negatives and transparanciesquite methodically and religiously since 1972 when he met Dalai Lama first time for a news magazine interview.
Another photo (Sep 1980) shows Dalai Lama enthusiastically playing on the traditional drums of a Beda family of Ladakh while KushakBakula Rinpoche, the top ranking Buddhist Guru of Ladakh and a large crowd of onlookers are watching him with awe. In Ladakh where the musician community of the Bedas has been suffering discrimination at the hands of the Buddhist clergy, Dalai Lama made it a point to visit a Beda family where he not only had food with the family and played on their drum, but also gave a stinging lecture to the Buddhist clergy about giving a respectable treatment to the Bedas.
Yet another photo shows Dalai Lama receiving Guard of Honour from a contingent of soldiers of the Indo Tibetan Border Police near Leh. Vijay Kranti’s photos of Dalai Lama riding a yak in the Zanskar valley of Ladakh; deeply engaged in reading a news magazine at his Dharamshala home; and some of his silhouettes and light and shade camera studies of the Tibetan leader have won himacclaim at international level.For art lovers some of the silhouettes and light and shade camera studies of HH the Dalai Lama are a special treat to their eyes and soul.
Source: Vijay Kranti, a senior journalist, Tibetologist, photographer and a long term close associate of the Tibetan spiritual leader and Tibetans in exile.
