“But I have at least learned to contemplate the events of life with tranquillity and not let myself be flung to and fro by circumstances in a sea of doubt.”
― Heinrich Harrer
When I was little, My father enjoyed quite often the movie "seven Years in Tibet". He would watch it eveytime is was on national TV. I believe it reminded him some of his adventures in Europe and west Asia -especially Turkey. In those moments, I would find myself watching the movie with him and paying attention to this remarkable place and story.
As an adult, I was walking on my town's streets to find a man next to a blanket on the floor with many books. Most of them looked old and damaged. Among them, I saw a little one with a damaged cover whose borders seemed to have been grabbed by readers many many times. A copy of Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer. I asked the man "how much for that book?" to which he replied a price somewhat less than a candy's cost. Immediately I fought what a treasure I have found.
“We have a saying in Tibet: If a problem can be solved there is no use worrying about it. If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good.”
― Heinrich Harrer
When I went through those pages, I couldn't avoid to notice the bright spirit of freedom Heinrich had. To be free was so important to him that he would do anything for that human right. Literally nothing stopped him in his way to finding that freedom. I wonder if men and women of today have such desire to be free; especially inside countries like mine whose crisis have gone deep down the abyss.
“One of the best characteristics of the Tibetan people is their complete tolerance of other creeds. Their monastic theocracy has never sought the conversion of infidels.”
― Heinrich Harrer
There he started working as a fifth-ranked official in the Tibetan capital, and as an informal tutor to the 14th and current to this day Dalai Lama, their Leader. He taught him English, Geography, and some science. He also built a little cinema for him. due to this, he was able to witness many ceremonies and rituals not many foreigners were allowed to. These photos are part of what Mr Harrer captured and recorded during those years.
"Wherever I live, I shall feel homesick for Tibet. I often think I can still hear the cries of wild geese and cranes and the beating of their wings as they fly over Lhasa in the clear, cold moonlight. My heartfelt wish is that my story may create some understanding for a people whose will to live in peace and freedom has won so little sympathy from an indifferent world"
― Heinrich Harrer
The last part of the story comes with the Chinese invasion of Tibet. This moment has remarkable differences between the book and the movie from 1997. Since it was a movie, many things were added, including the pre-invasion visit by Chinese communists. After that point, all goes out of sequence.
Another main influence of the movie is Heinrich longing for his son and finding in the Dalai Lama that son figure. In the book, that longing for home and family was not present. Actually. What Heinrich did longed for was Tibet, every time since he finally left before the invasion in 1951 and returned to Austria.
“Decades of destruction, suppression, genocide, sterilization, and political indoctrination could not break the Tibetans’ will for freedom, or their deep-rooted religious beliefs”
― Heinrich Harrer
SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET
by Heinrich Harrer.
Translated from German by Richard Graves.
This edition published by Pan Books Ltd. London.
2nd printing, 1965.
Photographs taken by Mr Harrer.