MUMBAI: When Tenzin Tsundue was imprisoned in Lhasa for three months before Chinese authorities deported him to India, he had an unlikely visitor. Every day, a mouse would scurry into his cell, and Tsundue would share a few grains of rice with the tiny creature, which soon became his only regular companion behind bars.If fate ever reunited them, Tsundue jokes, he would tell the little rodent: “Look, I am still at it — fighting to free Tibet from Chinese occupation.”The story is one of many drawn from the writer, poet and Tibetan activist’s 16 imprisonments that feature in Standing on the Indus, a play directed by Quasar Thakore Padamsee (Q). The production, to be staged in BKC on July 16, blends humour with stories of resilience, hope and resistance.A couple of years ago, Tsundue approached Q with the idea of turning his jail experiences into a play infused with humour.“As a writer, I found that side of the story deeply human and inspiring,” says Tsundue.“When Q heard I had been incarcerated 16 times, many of them after protesting visits by Chinese premiers to India, he suggested making a play. That intimidated me because I am an activist, not an actor. So, besides me as the protagonist, three more characters were created to tell these stories of hope, humour and humanity,” says the 52-year-old, speaking at a cafe in Versova.Among the many daring protests staged by the wiry, bespectacled activist in his trademark red bandana, the most audacious — and certainly the best known — came in Jan 2002.Evading multiple layers of security, Tsundue climbed scaffolding to the 14th floor of the sea-facing Oberoi Hotel (Trident). As then Chinese premier Zhu Rongji met leading industrialists inside, Tsundue unfurled a giant “Free Tibet” banner.“I had never imagined that photograph would be splashed across newspapers around the world the next day,” recalls Tsundue, who earned master’s degrees in English literature and philosophy from Mumbai University.He describes the five years he spent in Mumbai between 1997 and 2002 as “the best years of my life”. “The city taught me a lifelong lesson in living a simple, minimalist life,” he says.Mumbai also shaped his literary journey. Poet Adil Jussawalla became his mentor, while meeting his childhood idol Nissim Ezekiel as a university student remains among his cherished memories.He also found himself in literary circles that included Arun Kolatkar, Gieve Patel, Jerry Pinto, Ranjit Hoskote and Arundhathi Subramaniam.Travelling with just two pairs of clothes and shoes, a few books, and his identity and registration certificates in a backpack, Tsundue remains an unshakeable optimist and an insatiable reader of books and long essays on society and civilisation.“Tibetans have waited a long time. Our struggle will continue until we get our land back,” says Tsundue, whom the Dalai Lama, impressed by his spirit, once called “a little hero.”
