joanne rowlings photography

I DREAM TIBET

The text below is an extract taken from a book published from my Tibetan trip in 2007, 6 of my images formed part of the collection alongside world renowned photographer, Steve McCurry.

Published author Michael Carroll joined us on the extraordinary trip, and wrote the following introduction to the book, please pay particular attention to the penultimate paragraph which, for me, epitomises the Tibetan people.

In the autumn of 2007, I accompanied the photographers featured in this book on an adventure through the Amdo plain and deep into the Kham district of Tibet. And here we discovered an endless string of human jewels: laughing monks debating in monastery courtyards; rugged children ever curious and playful; fierce weathered dogs scavenging for meals; cheerful villagers gathering the harvest; the elderly in prayer; the proud, fierce nomads. This small book of photographs portrays just a few facets of our journey – a few glimpses into the vastness and warmth of Tibet and its people. But, we were not permitted to just marvel and observe. Instead, time and again we found ourselves embraced by a people whose authenticity was so fresh and timeless that we were humbled, at times stunned, by the humanity of it all.

Yet, all was not idyllic in the land of snow: we also experienced Tibet under siege from its Chinese neighbour. Whether it was Lhasa, or Xining, Ganze or Yushu, a false optimism was crudely laying waste to Tibet’s ancient cities and culture. So much was “staged” as bright and modernized – new roads, available amenities, SUV’s and motorcycles. Yet, despite the display, we witnessed how China’s addiction to empty materialism was ravaging a people – an addiction so blindly self-absorbed in churning out tasteless monuments, crumbling highways, filthy rivers – cities and towns ornamented with insipid facades and a garish inattention to detail. And for us as travellers our hearts slowly broke and our resentment slowly boiled and we tasted the sour humiliation that ordinary Tibetans suffered daily. Rather than cherishing Tibet’s ancient roots, we saw that China had rejected Tibet as it had rejected so much of its own past – a rejection so culturally inept that we could only marvel at how dramatically China had lost its greatness and how much of Tibetan culture was being thrown away.

Despite such a siege, however, we were time and again reminded of the gentle wisdom and dignity of the Tibetan people. On one such occasion, we chatted with several monks in a shaded courtyard on a hot sunny afternoon. As our visit ended and as we prepared to depart, one young man asked several of us to give him our full attention. “Please tell the people of the world that we study and pray for peace and happiness for all beings. This is what is in the heart of each of us in Tibet. Please pass this along, would you? Please let the world know that this is our wish.”

On behalf of all the Tibetan people, may this small book of photographs fulfil this wish and remind all peoples of the world that extending kindness to each other is basic to being human and is at the heart of what makes the Tibetans a great and noble people.