Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
See traditional craftsmen at the Ancient Art Restoration Centre (AARC) in Lhasa, next to
Dropenling. The AARC managed the restoration of the Potala, and Sera and Drepung
Monasteries; craftsmen here include thangka painters, metal workers, woodcarvers and
dye makers.
Recordings
Most recordings of traditional Tibetan music have been made in Dharamsala or Dalhousie
in India. The country's biggest musical export (or rather exile) is Yungchen Lhamo, who
fled Tibet in 1989 and has since released several excellent world-music recordings. She
also appeared on Natalie Merchant's
Ophelia
album. Other Tibetan singers based abroad
include Dadon Dawa Dolma and Kelsang Chukie Tethong (whose release
Voice from Tara
is worth checking out).
Chö
by Choying Drolma and Steve Tibbetts (Hannibal, 1997) - a deeply beautiful and
highly recommended recording of chants and songs by the Nepali-based Tibetan nun; the
follow-up,
Selwa
(Six Degrees Records), is also wonderful.
Coming Home
by Yungchen Lhamo (Real World, 1998) - Tibetan world music with mod-
ern production; try also
Ama
(2006), which features a duet with Annie Lennox, or the
earlier
Tibet, Tibet
if you prefer something more traditional.
Sacred Tibetan Chant
- even the monks of Sherab Ling Monastery in northern India were
surprised when they won the 2003 Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Recording;
the traditional chants are deep and guttural, and similar to what you'll hear in prayer halls
across Tibet (Naxos, 2003).
Tales of Tibet: Sky Burials, Prayer Wheels & Wind Horses,
edited by Herbert J Batt, gath-
ers contemporary fiction by Tibetan and Chinese writers. The scholarly introduction ex-
plains how the nationality of the authors influences this sometimes elegiac, sometimes
confronting collection.
Literature
The development of a Tibetan written script is credited to a monk by the name of Tonmi
Sambhota and corresponded with the early introduction of Buddhism during the reign of
King Songtsen Gampo. Before this, pre-Buddhist traditions were passed down as oral his-
