Hundreds of mostly exiled Tibetans celebrate the Dalai Lama's 89th birthday

Hundreds of mostly exiled Tibetans gathered in India’s hillside town of Dharamshala to celebrate the birthday of the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, who turned 89 on Saturday.

The Dalai Lama has made the hillside town his headquarters since fleeing Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Representatives of a Tibetan government-in-exile also reside there.

The main celebrations took place in Tsuglagkhang temple inside the complex where the spiritual leader lives. Tibetan and Buddhist flags adorned poles and railings.

A volunteer distributed Indian sweets to exiled Tibetan Buddhist nuns as teachers helped children with their make-up as they prepared to perform traditional dances.

While a colorful three-tiered cake was cut inside the temple, schoolchildren sang: “Happy Birthday His Holiness.”

Artists from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, dressed in traditional attire, played the drums and some marched with bagpipes inside the...