In an exclusive interview with Mumbaibest, Tsundue spoke about his love for poetry and for his motherland, Tibet.

How has Mumbai and its poets or artists contributed to your growth as a poet and person?

Mumbai has helped me a lot. Initially I began to write poems that were in a way love poems. Only when I came to Mumbai (after his B A at Chennai) did I seriously take to poetry. My classmates at Mumbai University were very encouraging. They liked my poems and I kept trying to write something different all the time. However, I am not sure if some of these writings constitute poetry.

I began to attend meetings at the Poetry Circle, Churchgate, in 1997. This was truly the beginning of my tryst with poetry. I met poets like Nissim Ezekiel, Adil Jussawala, Arundhati Subramaniam, Jerry Pinto and Menka Shivdasani.

What is it like being a Tibetan in Mumbai?

Mumbai is a huge cosmopolitan city , where everybody is like a foreigner. I do not really feel like I am an alien in Mumbai. In general, I just keep feeling that my country is back home (Tibet) and my entire struggle is aimed towards going back home. For me, poetry speaks many things that I cannot say otherwise.

Would you define yourself as a Tibetan poet or as a poet per se? How has the anger and resentment at not being able to live in your homeland affected you as a poet and a human being?

Firstly, I call myself a freedom fighter. I have been part of the mainstream of the ongoing Tibetan freedom struggle. There is a sense of homelessness, of exile, which is strong and affects my perspective. These feelings are very strong and are often the cause of my inspiration, when writing poetry.

How did the title poem of 'Crossing the Border' come into being?

'Crossing the Border' was written in Chennai for a poetry workshop. It did not actually become a poem. It remains appreciated because it describes a very painful event. It is appreciated for its content, rather than its style.

What has been the reaction, both locally and internationally, to your book 'Crossing the Border'?

Generally, poetry does not sell. As you know, Oxford and Penguin have stopped publishing new poets in India. I found it difficult to publish my own book. However, within four months I was able to sell all 1000 copies of my book. I have also received e-mails from some students in America, who told me that they were putting up my poems on a board in their University for a programme.

Where do you see yourself going in the next few years?

My academic life is coming to an end. My life as a full-fledged activist will start soon. I am more of an activist than a poet. I also wanted to compile a book about my poetry and about my feelings for Tibet.

You undoubtedly do not believe that poetry exists in a vacuum. Do you feel that there is a need today for poets of the present age to get together and form a forum to fight for their ideals?

There is no need for a conscious effort on the parts of poets toward this end. Poetry will live on as long as people practise or read poetry.

Presented below are two of Tsundue's recent poems which are, as yet, unpublished.

Exile House

Our tiled roof dripped
and the four walls threatened to fall apart
but we were to go home soon,
we grew papayas
in front of our house,

chilies in our garden
and changmas for our fences,
then pumpkins rolled down the cowshed thatch,
calves trotted out of the manger,

grass on the roof,
beans sprouted and
climbed down the vines,
money plants crept in through the window,
our house seems to have grown roots,

the fences have grown into a jungle,
now how can I tell my children
where we came from.

-Tenzin Tsundue

The Tibetan in Mumbai

The Tibetan in Mumbai
is not a Foreigner.

He is a cook
At a chinese `take-away'.
They think he is Chinese,
Run away from Beijing.

He sells sweaters, in summer
in the shade of the Parel bridge.
They think he is some retired bahadur.

The Tibetan in Mumbai
Abuses in Bambaiya Hindi,
With a slight Tibetan accent
And during vocabulary emergencies
he naturally runs into Tibetan,
That's when the parsis laugh.

The Tibetan in Mumbai
Likes to flip through the MID-DAY
Loves FM, but doesn't expect
A Tibetan song.

He catches a bus at a signal,
Jumps into a running train,
Walks into a long dark gully
And nestles in his kholi.
He gets angry
When they laugh at him
`ching-chong-ping-pong'.

The Tibetan in Mumbai
Is now tired ...
Wants some sleep and a dream,
On the 11p.m.Virar fast
He goes to the Himalayas,
The 8.05 a.m. fast local
Brings him back to Churchgate
Into the Metro: a New Empire.

-Tenzin Tsundue

By : Patrick Coelho

Photographs of Tsundue by Vinayak Prabhu