Choekyi was born in Dromo in 1930. She met Namseling Paljor Jigme and they married in 1944. She traveled to India twice before 1959. She returned to Tibet after her travels to India in 1959. Namseling traveled to Lhoka for a dialogue with the Chushi Gangdruk resistance force and from then on he never met Choekyi.

Soon after, the Chinese troops invaded the whole of Tibet. The Namseling family’s manor and possessions were confiscated by the Chinese authorities. She faced endless torture under policies like “reeducation of class enemies”. Her son, the Fifth Khado Rinpoche was also arrested. In 1970, Chokyi was arrested under the charges of being an active counter-revolutionary and imprisoned for 10 years.

Choekyi’s daughter Tendol spent her first 22 years in Tibet under brutal Chinese oppression. She faced torturous policies during the Cultural Revolution. After the death of Mao Zedong, Chinese policy saw a positive change with Deng Xiaoping in power. She moved to exile in India after a few years. She then settled in Switzerland in 1982 and started a boutique shop.

The incredible and courageous journey of Tendol and her mother Choekyi is reflected in the book “A Childhood in Tibet”.

Translated from Tibetan.