Shimla, April 25 -- Tibetans-in-exile in Shimla observed the 36th birthday of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, with special prayers and offerings. The Jonang monastery jointly organised the event with the Shimla chapters of the Tibetan Women's Association and the Tibetan Youth Congress.

Tibetan monks, men, and women gathered at the Dingu Hill prayer site near the Jonang Monastery to offer prayers both for the long life and immediate release of the Panchen Lama, as well as to pay homage to the victims of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

The prayer ceremony was presided over by Khentul Kyabje Kunga Chopel, a high lama of the Jonang Monastery.

"We prayed for the long life of Panchen Lama and the souls ...