Guwahati, March 21: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will visit IIT Guwahati on April 2 to release an Assamese translation of his memoirs.
The Nobel laureate's autobiography, My Land and My People, deals with his early life and recounts his great escape from Tibet to India in 1959.
The Assamese translation of the book, titled Mor Desh Aru Mor Manuh, is being published by Lawyer's Book Stall (LBS), one of Assam's oldest publishing houses which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
The chairman of LBS Publications, Jatin Hazarika, today said Mor Desh Aru Mor Manuh would be the first Assamese version of any book written by the Tibetan spiritual leader.
The autobiography, which was published in 1962, was translated into Assamese by Indrani Laskar.
In the memoirs, the Dalai Lama recounts stories of his childhood at Taktser in Tibet, his recognition as the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of two, the invasion and occupation of Tibet by China and his exile to India.
The book not only conveys his story but also presents a picture of the struggle of the Tibetan people.
Hazarika said apart from releasing the book, the Dalai Lama would also deliver a talk and take part in an interactive session with the audience.
The proprietor of LBS Publications, Bhaskar Dutta Baruah, said the foreword to the Assamese version of the book is written by the Dalai Lama himself and the 250-page book will be priced at Rs 160.
"The book will contain pictures of the Dalai Lama's journey from Lhasa to India through Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh," Baruah said.
He said during its platinum jubilee year, LBS Publications is planning to publish and reprint several "unique and groundbreaking" books that are of great value to Assamese literature and the people of the state.
According to Baruah, these books will be made available in the market at nominal prices on a no-profit-no-loss basis.
The Dalai Lama will arrive in Guwahati on April 1 on a 12-day visit to the Northeast. He is likely to participate in the Namami Brahmaputra Festival here on April 1.
From April 5 to 12, the exiled Tibetan leader will be in Arunachal Pradesh and visit Tawang, Dirang, Bomdila and Itanagar.
China, however, has warned of "severe damage" to relations with India and increased regional instability if the Dalai Lama proceeds with his proposed visit to Tawang, which China claims as its own under the name of South Tibet. China routinely opposes visits by important persons to Arunachal Pradesh.
Despite Chinese opposition, India is all set to host the Dalai Lama in Arunachal Pradesh. The last time he visited the frontier state was in November, 2009, which was a weeklong tour.
The 81-year-old inaugurated the international seminar on Buddhism on March 17 in Rajgir in Bihar's Nalanda district, about 100km from Patna.
