Prayers mark Tibetan New Year festival

, March 2: Thousands of

on Sunday prayed at a hilltop temple near the official palace of the

on the first day of the sacred Losar

festival.

According to the Tibetan lunar calendar, Losar is the first day of the New

Year and is traditionally celebrated by Tibetans in a big way.

The Dalai Lama presided over the Losar celebrations at Minnesota in the US.

The Dalai Lama made India his home in 1959 after fleeing from his homeland. The Tibetan government-in-exile is based in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh.

IANS