Everyday Holiness

The Dalai Lama waves from his vehicle when he's being driven through Dharamshala. He has a "delightful, infectious laugh, a little like a child," says one native resident who met him years ago. In fact His Holiness's "genuine love for humanity" is apparent in everything he does, says another, and it seems to have a trickle-down effect—Dharamshala might indeed be the only crowded place in India where a motorist is likely to yell a hearty "sorry!" if he accidentally cuts off a pedestrian. Such sentiments are common for those who make their homes in Dharamshala and who have witnessed firsthand how the Buddhist leader's celebrity has grown over the years. Even with all the change that this little mountain town has experienced, the Dalai Lama remains a positive, sincere force. However, the unbelievable amount of people wanting a piece of what he symbolizes that can often sour the scene, most surprisingly for the countless Kashmiri merchants who moved here to take advantage of Dharamshala's emergence as a tourist trap. "When the Dalai Lama is in town, it's totally crazy around here," says a young Kashmiri merchant. "Sometimes we forget to take people's money, our store is so filled with tourists."

The Dalai Lama's popularity has also meant greater concerns for his safety, so gone are the days when locals had easy access—now he does not routinely give public audiences in the town he calls home; such meetings used to be commonplace. As a result, the closest you might come to the Dalai Lama is during your visit to the temple, or when you see his image on a T-shirt, mug, or key chain, making Dharamshala spiritually enlightening and blatantly commercial in the same breath.