Buddhist nun becomes singing sensation

Ani Choying Drolma: "Ganesha Mantra." There is a simpler mantra, with only six syllables: OM MA NI PAD ME HUM.

KATHMANDU (IANS) - A Buddhist nun from Nepal who became a singing sensation in her own country and the west as well as an icon for hundreds of young Buddhist women will finally make her debut in India, the country from where her parents came.

Ani Choying Dolma, a 40-year-old of Tibetan ancestry, who took "asylum" in a monastery in the Kathmandu valley at the age of 10 to escape the rages of an abusive father, is now one of the best-known singers in the country with followers in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, and the US.

The daughter of a sculptor who first migrated to India from Tibet and then moved to Kathmandu with his wife, Choying was "discovered" by American musician Steve Tibbits, who heard her crooning prayer songs in the Nagi Monastery and was struck by the purity and joy in her young voice.

He recorded her songs in the capital of Nepal then mixed them with his own music to create an album which created a sensation in the US. More>>

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