As the rosary she holds moves in circles, she is looking at her children trying to form circles with their skates.

A Bonsho- Buddhist bell- makes its’ presence felt to her from time to time as she sees the priest come out of the monastery while elderly Tibetan women knit and chat away with abandon, sometimes glancing at intrigued onlookers, flaneurs with phone cameras who stop to eat Laphing- a noodles-like street food served with a spicy mixture of soy sauce, red chilli and garlic.

Boshay is a second generation Tibetan living in Delhi’s Majnu-ka-tilla, a colony established on land allotted by the Indian government to Tibetan refugees following the 1959 uprising in China.

“I was born in India. I don’t know what I am- Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, refugee. I don’t know. You should ask my mother,” Boshay says pointing towards the group of women sitting nearby.

“She saw the worst things in her life but she has the kindest eyes.”

As her mother hears Boshay, she stands up, dusts off her Chuba- a traditional Tibetan attire- and smiling self-consciously says, “No, no. No questions, please!”

Boshay has her mother’s smile.

The Centre Can Hold

Most of the residents of Majnu-ka tilla left Tibet close to the time the Dalai Lama- Tibetan spiritual leader- was forced to flee China and seek exile in India in 1959.

“The Dalai Lama is the center of our identity as is religion. This is why the monastery is located at the center. Everything revolves around this,” Tenzin Rikchok, a 21-year-old wearing a red shirt with ‘Free Tibet’ written on it says.

“He doesn’t understand. China’s flag is red and his shirt is also. It is like he is wearing that flag,” his partner Choejor says jokingly.

“We never saw the uprising or Tibet. For us, the Dalai Lama is everything,” she asserts, unwittingly voicing the sentiment shared by many young people living in the settlement.

No Winners In War

For Tsering Lobsang, seeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was painful.

“My grandmother, who fled China with her ten children leaving her husband behind, passed away in early February this year. So, she did not see what Russia did. But if she had, it would be too painful for her,” he says.

Majnu-ka-tilla, an endless labyrinth of cramped lanes, has several hotels, guest-houses and restaurants which are the bedrock of the settlement’s economy. One such small eatery is owned by Lobsang.

“My father says we won against China because the Tibetans were showered by love from the world but I don’t think he believes that we won. After all, what is winning when you lose everything,” Lobsang says, sipping his Tibetan butter tea.

Don’t Forget Us

On a makeshift table, Dache Dorjee is setting up his shop for the day. He sells trinkets and bracelets, some of which are part of the rituals of Tibetan Buddhism.

“All these things remind me of my culture and beliefs which are very important. If we will change our identity, then everyone will forget what happened to us,” Dorjee says pensively as he arranges the items in a neat order.

Almost 100 meters away from Dorjee’s ornaments stand, is the largest souvenir shop in Majnu-ka-tilla. Amid keyrings, bags, shirts, posters, handicrafts, wall hangings, paintings, jewelry, posters of the Dalai Lama, sits the owner of the shop, Tenzin Choden, reading the newspaper as a Buddhist chant cassette plays.

“Tourist people like to purchase souvenirs to remember that they came here. I like my business because it reminds people we are here,” Choden says.

His late father’s portrait hangs above his seat in the shop.

“We Tibetans would like to be remembered,” he adds. Then, he shows the keepsakes that are on sale.

Disclosure: All names in this story, apart from the Dalai Lama, have been changed to respect the privacy and safety of the people who shared their experiences.