Yaanam 2025
Recently, I attended Yaanam, a one-of-a-kind travel literature festival organised by Kerala Tourism in Varkala. The event brought together writers, journalists, photographers, musicians, chefs, content creators, and fellow travel enthusiasts from across the globe.
It was conceptualised and curated by Sabin Iqbal, a novelist, journalist, and literary curator native to Varkala. Along with the renowned 48+ speakers, including Booker Prize winner Sri Lankan Writer Shehan Karunatilaka, to Malayalee’s very own K.R. Meera and Benyamin, the event was also open to 150 delegates.
Though the event’s online registration closed early, I was able to attend through spot registration. I’m glad I showed up at Ranga Kala Kendram, the venue of the event, on the inauguration day, October 17th, 2025, and grabbed that opportunity. I met many like-minded people, made new friends, discovered inspiring writers and travellers, listened in awe to their stories and activism, learned valuable lessons, and above all, had a wonderful time.
This blog is to show my love and appreciation for one of the most compelling writer voices I heard during the event – Tenzin Tsundue.
Tenzin Tsundue
Consumerism and Overtourism
The first time I noticed Tsundue was on the Inauguration Day of Yaanam, after the first interactive session, “Conversation – In Search of Stories and Characters.” He is hard to miss as he sports a striking red bandana on his head, but I didn’t know its relevance then.
The panel consisted of writers Shehan Karunatilaka, Pallavi Aiyar, and K.R. Meera, with Sabin Iqbal as the moderator. During the session, the authors discussed their travel experiences, how travel is an indispensable part of their creative writing process, and passportism, the privilege and displacement associated with travel.
This was followed by a Q&A session, where Tsundue, who was part of the audience, raised concerns about how consumerism and the Social media influencer culture often lead to overcrowding and overtourism in Himachal areas, including Dharamshala, where he is based. He also pointed out how it often causes environmental and social issues, where tourists become a nuisance for the locals. He stressed the importance of promoting a slow and more sustainable form of tourism.
At that point, I thought he was a fellow travel enthusiast, someone who was deeply concerned about the environmental and sustainability aspects of travel. But soon, to my surprise, while skimming through the programme schedule, I ended up reading his bio on the speakers’ list.
Tenzin Tsundue is a Tibetan poet, writer and activist, born and raised in India, and is regarded as one of the most prominent voices for Tibetan independence. He is instantly recognisable by the red bandana he wears, a symbol of his lifelong commitment to work for Tibet’s freedom. His speaking tours have taken him all over India and to twenty-five other countries, while his protest actions landed him in jail sixteen times, including once in Lhasa, Tibet.
Tsundue supports himself entirely through the sales of his self-published books: Crossing the Border, a book of poems (1999); Kora, a collection of stories and poems (2002); Semshook, essays on the Tibetan freedom struggle (2007); Tsengol, stories and poems of resistance (2012); and Nang / Nowhere to Call Home (2023). In 2001, he received the Outlook-Picador Award for Non-Fiction. He lives in Dharamshala, in Himachal Pradesh, India. (Source: Yaanam 2025 & Tenzin Tsundue.)
After learning about his writing and protests for his country’s independence, my friends and I were excited to attend his session – Borders Within: A Journey to Tibet. (Tenzin Tsundue takes us on his harrowing journey from Dharmshala to Tibet, the land of his ancestors.) It was scheduled to happen the next day, on October 18th, 2025, but due to unforeseen issues, it got postponed to the 19th, the last day of Yaanam.
Envy for Cuba
The next day, under the pala tree, one of the key spots of the event, I was listening to N P Ullekh‘s session “My Cuban Days”, moderated by Faizal Khan. Ullekh recounted his Cuban sojourn, pointed out the similarities between Cuba and his native district, Kannur in Kerala, elaborated on Malayalis’ nostalgia for Cuba, and discussed his latest book, ‘Mad About Cuba: A Malayali Revisits the Revolution.’
At the end of the session, Tsundue, who was again part of the audience, added his perspective. He said he felt envy for Cuba. He wished someone would speak about Tibet the way Ullekh was talking about Cuba. Ullekh responded that he would be happy to visit, provided someone granted him the visa. However, Tsundue expressed that it was too late, given the current political climate and brewing tension between India and China.
As a spectator, I felt the whole scene was a bit ironic. The Kerala government organised Yaanam 2025 and chose Tenzin Tsundue as a guest and speaker. I’m glad they did because he is such an important voice of dissent in our times. But it also made me wonder how Tsundue felt speaking in Kerala, where a communist Government is in power, with its people romanticising the likes of Che Guevara and Cuba’s 60-year defiance of the capitalist superpowers. Meanwhile, China, another communist power, conquered Tibet and forced its people, including the fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, into exile in India.
I sighed, realising life is full of ironies. Ideally, every political ideology should stand for equality, freedom, and justice, just as every religion must teach love, peace, and brotherhood. Yet, most followers rarely live up to these ideals. In other words, the way we interpret and practise religions and political ideologies makes all the difference.
Venchamaram
In the preface of Tsundue’s latest book, Nang Nowhere To Call Home, Tashi, Jana, Mata Gyamtsi and Alfie, from Prague, Czech Republic, wrote:
“His activism is not driven by anger or resentment, but by a deep love for his homeland and a profound sense of justice.”
True to their word, Tsundue broke our thoughts by pointing out an endearing trade link between Kerala and Tibet in the past. He explained that Venchamaram, the white, flowing tufts used to fan Thidambu atop elephants in ceremonial processions and temple festivals in Kerala, such as Poorams, was originally made from the fur of Tibetan yaks. This fur was reared only after the natural death of yaks.
He brought a smile to the audience’s faces with this trivia, but the pain and yearning in his voice for his homeland also tugged at our hearts. I looked forward to hearing more about his activism and journeys in the next day’s session.
At every check-post and office
I am an “Indian-Tibetan”
My Registration Certificate
I renew every year with a salaam.
A foreigner born in India.
I am more of an Indian.
Except for my chinky Tibetan face.
“Nepali?” “Thai?” “Japanese?”
“Chinese?” “Naga?” “Manipuri?”
But never the question – “Tibetan?”
I am Tibetan.
But I am not from Tibet.
Never been there.
Yet I dream
Of dying there. – Poem ‘My Tibetanness,’ Book Kora
To be continued…
Up Next: Yaanam’25 – Tenzin Tsundue’s Poetry and His Latest Book, Nang Nowhere To Call Home
Author’s Notes
~ All embedded Instagram posts are the property of Yaanam and Kerala Tourism.
~ All other content on this blog is the intellectual property of the author. © 2025 Lirio Marchito. All rights reserved.
~ You can read all the blogs in the Yaanam 2025 series here: Yaanam2025.
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