Contact is taking a holiday!

When I first joined Lha a decade ago, among other things, one of my main roles was the editor of Contact magazine. Contact served as a free resource of information that English speaking/reading visitors and locals alike found helpful. At that time, the monthly print newsletter featured persistent news from Tibet, international news relevant to Tibet, local news of Dharamshala including upcoming events, Lha news and other information one could find valuable, all in one place. One of my personal favourites was the People stories, featuring someone in the community, getting to know them and their stories of struggle and perseverance that I always found motivating.

Catching up with the fast-paced internet age, soon the oldest print newsletter in Dharamshala went online. But there is something about printed ones: holding of the physical copies, flipping the pages with familiar faces, which at every end of the month gets printed and then gathers all Lha staff and volunteers in the office kitchen, busy folding, pasting and stamping, ready to post as the small kitchen would fill with chatter and laughter. There’s just about enough information, for everyone’s interest, but never too overwhelming. To me it was a perfect blend of accessible information, balanced just right.

As Contact turns 25, as someone who has been closely associated with it during my years working at Lha (which has been one of the most rewarding experience for the social impact it makes), it brings in me a mixed feeling of pride, sadness and happiness for the 25 long years of free service Contact has achieved. This would not have been what it is without the constant, patience and sheer commitment of Jenny, our chief editor (volunteer) who worked with the same dedication and probably for a longer time on Contact than anyone else. And the wonderful volunteer writers who covered news and wrote for Contact during their time as Lha volunteers. Thank you Jenny and every single person who has contributed to Contact over the past 25 years. As Contact retires gracefully, I propose a toast for the journey it has made, reaching thousands of people across cultures and borders in those 25 years.