Photo: Kirsty McHenry / Contact
Ten Phun is a man who believes in pursuing happiness and wants to inspire others to do so too. A talented man with achievements in theatre and movies, he has now turned his attention to poetry with his collection Sweet Butter Tea. His motto is “Live the life you want to live” – and he follows his own advice. He lives the life of a wanderer, making friends as he goes.
His wandering started early. He was born in Lhasa in 1988 but by the age of two he had lost both parents. He was sent to a monastery at the age of six by his aunt, but the monastic life was not for him. Instead, at the age of ten he decided to leave the monastery and went back to live with his aunt. They both later came to India hidden in the back of a jeep.
His aunt enrolled him at a Tibetan Children’s Village school where he stayed for the next 11 years. He must have done well there because he enrolled at a college in Bangalore where he studied Biotech. He soon found he could not relate to this area of study, so he went to Delhi University to study English Literature. He did not complete the degree, and applied to go abroad, but sadly this did not work out.
Although he does not have any formal training in acting, he was inspired by connections in the theatre world and decided to live his dream of a creative life. He auditioned for several movies and won supporting roles in two playing the part of bad guys, which he enjoyed immensely. He has also worked on writing subtitles for movies and has appeared in various short films.
His latest project is as a supporting actor in Ritu Sarin and Tenzin Sonam’s latest movie-in-progress, Sweet Requiem that will be released towards the end of this year. This is close to his heart, because it portrays a group of Tibetans escaping to India.
The message of his first published collection of poetry, Sweet Butter Tea, is to have self-confidence and be willing to do that which one believes in. “Be passionate” he says. “Take risks!” He knows what he is talking about and uncompromisingly lives what he believes, challenges and all.
Ten Phun says reading is one of his delights. He says that His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s books have taught him the importance of discipline in life. He is currently reading The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, describing the author as “A phenomenal craftswoman”. His heroes are kind people who work hard to make this world a better place. He says that Jesus Christ and Buddha and the like were “wise and holy, like brothers”. He strongly believes in the power of compassion.
When asked about his views on Tibet, Ten Phun looks serious. “The situation is difficult, but the Tibetan people will never lose their hope. Truth and justice will prevail.”
And what does the future hold for him? On this matter he does not seem sure, except that he will continue to live life passionately. He has a desire to continue his career in acting, and says he will continue to write.
He is sure of one thing though. “We are all students of life”, he says. Perhaps the title poem of his collection Sweet Butter Tea says it best,“You pay a visit to my dreamland / And I will serve you sweet Butter Tea”.
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