Preserving the Unique Culture of Tibet

Tibet House Museum is popular among visitors who are fascinated by the culture, history and tradition of Tibet and want to know more about this place. The museum is comparatively small in size but is a treasure house of information about Tibet.

Location

Tibet House Museum is located in 1, Institutional Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi and lies adjacent to the Indian Habitat Center. It is a five storey building and was established by14th Dalai Lama in 1965. The purpose of establishing the museum was to preserve and promote the unique heritage and culture of Tibet. The museum also acts as a centre for studies about Tibet and Buddhism.

What To Look For

There are many things in the Tibet House Museum which can keep you interested and engrossed for hours on end. There are over 200 priceless Thangka painting depicting Buddha and which dates way back to the 15th Century. These paintings were brought here from various Tibetan monasteries. Besides these here are other invaluable pieces of art and artifacts such as gilded bronze, copper statues, antique jewelry, various types of musical instruments, sculptures crafted out of wood,  statues of Lord Buddha, carpets, household accessories of the past and collection of currency notes.

Various items associated with Tibetan rituals are also on display at the museum. Most of the items displayed at the museum were brought in by Tibetan refugees. They were donated to the Dalai Lama for use in the museum.

The Library

The Library and Resource Centre is an important part of the Tibet House Museum and is home to a large collection of over 3000 Tibetan manuscripts, most of which are extremely rare and comes from the ancient period. The library also has a number of books which throws light on culture of Tibet. There are also many books on Buddhism available here including over 1500 books in English. All these rich literatures are used for reference purposes by scholars, academicians, students and those who love history.

The library of the museum underwent 2003. The new centre was upgraded to accommodate online catalogue and photocopy facilities. It also has space for CDs, DVDs, audio-visual and aural facilities. The critical literature’s called the Dharma Texts have been electronically archived and a new state-of-the-art technology of printing commentaries of scholars from Tibet has also been introduced in the museum library.

The museum is famous for the Tibetan art works it organizes from time to time. Lectures are also held in the museum premises where Buddhist scholars share their views about Dharma Texts. The museum is also popular for the Seminars on Monastic Dialogue, exhibitions, folk dances and music fests.

Information for Visitors

The Tibet House Museum is open for visitors from 0930 Hrs to 1730 Hrs on all days except Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays. The museum is also closed on Tibetan national holidays hence it is advisable to check with the museum office before you plan a visit.

How to Reach

You can reach Lodhi Road from any part of the city using Delhi Road Transport buses which offers excellent connectivity. The nearest railway head is Hazrat Nizamuddin while the nearest Metro station is JLN Stadium. Indira Gandhi International Airport is around 20 km from the museum.