The city will be playing host to the five-day ‘Tibetan Festival for Non-violence’ and it will give Amdavadis an inside glimpse into Tibetan culture and heritage.

Mrinilaiani Sarabahi, of the Darapana Academy, said: “It will bring us closer to Tibetan art and culture. Tibetan painting and dance have their own unique traditions and we can see it here.”

The festival includes two public lectures by the Dalai Lama on Janauary 18 and 19 at IIM-A and Gujaart Vidyapeeth respectively.

The festival will also host an exhibition of the Thankga paintings, a form of art developed in Tibet. Thangka is a painted or embroidered Buddhist banner that was hunxg in monasteries and Tibetan homes.

A talk on Tibetan Medicine will be given by Dr. Pema Dorjee at the Kanoria Centre for Arts on January 16. Dr. Dorjee’s work has shown that the ancient Tibetan system of medicine and Ayurveda have many similar traits. His lecture will explore this further.

The film section of the festival, to be screened in Natrani at the Drapana Academy on all festival days at 8.30 pm includes ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, nd ‘Kundun’, a film that speaks about the early years of the Dalai Lama in TIbet and the then his subsequent exile to India in the wake of the Chinese invasion.

‘Compassion in Exile’, a documentary which will be screened during the festival will highlight the non-violent struggle for freedom undertaken by the Tibetan people under the spiritual guidance of the Dalai Lama. Another highlight of the festival is a rare chance to have the best of Tibetan Cuisine in the city. Tibetan food can be had at Cafe Natrani in the Darpana Academy on all festival days.