Tibetan  (2014)

It took me several years to find a translator capable of performing a Tibetan version of The Little Prince. A first test was carried out by Lama Thupten Rakra, the stepfather of the representative of the Dalai Lama, who lives with his family in Switzerland within a large community of Tibetan exiles. Unfortunately this already old man died shortly after beginning his work.

Thanks to Professor Françoise Robin of the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris I finally I met Tashi Kyi & Noyontsang Lamokyab. Kyi Tashi is a young Tibetan living in exile who attended university and speaks perfect French. Mr Lamokyab is a famous writer and philosopher in Tibet; he also lives in exile.

Then, once Tashi and Noyontsang were done with the translation, the layout appeared to be a real headache for the graphic designer at Editions Favre. Where to hyphenate? Where to interrupt the sentences? Where to place the legends? It was only by bringing together all the stakeholders that the book could take shape. But let alone the arrival in Switzerland of two Tibetan "paperless exiles" (in the literal sense of the word) was in itself already an adventure rich in experience.


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