Buchung D. Sonam lives in Dharamsala and in this interview, we naturally move to discussing the differences in weather in that place in the hills, and in Bengaluru. We talk about the surprise at being at a packed festival dedicated to poetry. We, of course, also talk about finding common threads of experiences through writing, especially poetry.
For a generation of Tibetans who have never experienced their homeland and now live and study in India, writing about Tibet is more than just a literary pursuit – it is an attempt at encouraging and preserving their culture. Buchung was born in Tibet but was forced into exile very early in life, and his writings have consistently and viscerally spoken about the pain of that separation. Not just through his writings, but also through efforts like TibetWrites and Blackneck Books, Buchung and his collaborators are attempting to keep the Tibetan voice alive and ensuring that it reaches well beyond the forced boundaries of its country of origin.
In this episode of Chai Lines, Buchung gives us an overall view of how ‘Home’ dominates the narrative that he writes and seeks out.
Listen in for more…
Written by Shruti Sharada.
