Norbulingka Institute

Location:The Norbulingka Institute is situated near Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh

The Tibetan Institute
The famous Norbulingka institute is the leading centre in providing Tibetan cultural and art education. The Institute aims at providing guidance to the Tibetan refugees in India about the culture, traditions, art and craft of Tibet. Built near Dharamshala, this is the replacement building of the original Norbulingka Institute in Tibet. It derives its name from the His Holiness the Dalai Lama's beautiful summer residence, the Norbulingka (Jewel Garden), set in parkland two kilometers from Lhasa. Fearing for the future of Tibet's cultural heritage, the Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso, established institute of arts and science there in 1754. Today, the Norbulingka Institute in Dharamsala has taken the initiative to preserve the roots of Tibetan culture in exile. Only the students from Tibet are allowed to take admissions here. The complex houses three academies, namely:

* The Centre for Arts
* The Academy of Tibetan Culture
* The Literary and Cultural Research Centre

The Centre for Arts
The centre for arts is only one institute in India, which offer courses on Tibetan arts and crafts as well involved in production of Tibetan artifacts. The academy employs more than 300 people, who looks after educating, production and marketing of the handicrafts products. The sale of these handicrafts is one of the major source of income for Norbulingka Institute, apart from the donations and charity. The major areas of education imparted here include design and process of statue making, thangka painting, applique and tailoring, woodcarving, carpentry and metal craft. The masters teaching these arts are true artists intent primarily on preserving their heritage and passing it on to new generation of artists. The Norbulingka Institute makes sure that the product coming out from here comply to the high quality of art. By this means, the academy intends to increase appreciation and awareness of the excellence of Tibetan art among both Tibetan and foreign patrons and collectors.

The Research Centre
The Literary & Cultural Research Centre of Norbulingka is working for increasing awareness among people, about the Tibetan culture and heritage. The reaearch academy aims at increasing Tibetan readership. The need of institute was felt when it was observed that most of the Tibetan children in India are not capable of reading and writing Tibetese language. The reason behind such neglicience was unavailability of Tibetese printed material. The research centre focussed in gathering the Tibetan ancient text and religious books, writing them freshly and making them available to the people of Tibet, living in exile. The academy started with ten young writers, and currently has 16 writers, working on Tibetan literature.

The Academy for Tibetan Culture
To promote the Tibetan culture, and increase its awareness globally, the academy for Tibetan culture was opened in 1997. The institute provides bachelor and masters degree. The main subjects covered during study period are Tibetan subjects, Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan poetry, history, literature and medicine. These are taught in the native language of Tibet. However the students also study English through which they are taught world history, English language & literature and environmental studies. The institute has a hostel of its own. Extra curricular activities include entertainment, institute's annual picnic, production of a play and publishing a magazine in Tibetan language.

Products
The institute specializes in production of Tibetan gift items, children & outdoors fashion accessories, musical instruments, etchings, lighting pieces, time pieces, paintings, woodworks, metalworks, silk paintings, soft furnishings, furniture, traditional Buddhist artifacts and custom made items. The revenue generated from sale of these products is used for development of the institute.

Reaching Norbulingka Institute
Norbulingka Institute is situated near the residence of Dalai Lama, in Mcleodganj. It can be reached by taxis or bus service from Dharamshala city centre.