‘Noodle Maker’ of Kalimpong dies at 97
Darjeeling: With the death of the ‘Noodle Maker,’ Kalimpong lost a part of its living history. 97-year-old Gyalo Thondup, elder brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama died in Kalimpong at 5:45 pm on Saturday. Thondup had crafted the Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet along with His Holiness being granted political asylum in India. He occupies an important position in Tibetan history.
Thondup died in his house “Takster House” in Kalimpong. “His funeral will be held on Tuesday at 6:45 am, at the crematorium at Tirpai in Kalimpong. His sister and brother-in-law arrived on Sunday from Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh along with top brass from the Central Tibetan Administration. The Sikyong (political head of the CTA) is expected to arrive on Monday along with other dignitaries,” stated Chongda Bhutia, President, Regional Tibetan Women’s Association.
The Dalai Lama led a special prayer session for Thondup at a monastery in Bylakuppe town in Karnataka on Sunday praying for Thondup’s “swift rebirth” as per Tibetan traditions. “His efforts towards the Tibetan struggle were immense and we are grateful for his contribution.”
Thondup was born in 1927 in Amdo, Tibet. He was the Dalai Lama’s special envoy and an interlocutor between Tibet, China and India. He facilitated contacts between the Tibetan government-in-exile and both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China. With the Dalai Lama’s permission, he met
Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to initiate open political talks. In the 1990s, he made several official visits to China, acting as the Dalai Lama’s unofficial envoy.
Later, he continued the freedom struggle for Tibet on a diplomatic level. In 1999, he retired and settled in Kalimpong looking after his noodle factory. Interestingly, Thondup was a known face in Kalimpong but it was only after the year 2009 that people came to know that he was the elder brother of the Dalai Lama. His memoir, “The Noodle Maker Of Kalimpong: The Untold Story of My Struggle for Tibet,” a bestseller, offers a rare insider’s perspective on Tibet’s political struggles and his involvement.
He alway advocated that the way forward for Tibet’s independence was through constant dialogue and good relations with the Chinese people. Not only was Gyalo Thondup a diplomat, he was an entrepreneur too.
He had bought the 3 acre property, built the Takster House in Kalimpong in 1962 and in 1967 had started the noodle factory.
