Marilyn Silverstone The Dalai Lama. India. 1959.
"Marilyn received an assignment from LIFE (I believe it was her first) to cover the Dalai Lama's escape from Lhasa, Tibet. He was en route to asylum in India, seeki
(...) ng religious freedom, and she went to Tezpur, in Assam, to await further news. Upon his arrival, the Dalai Lama mounted a train platform to address the gathered crowd before boarding a train that would take him westward into the Indian interior.
Magnum photographer Brian Brake, who was also there at the time, told Marilyn that he'd give her $500 if she would sneak into the train and get shots of the Dalai Lama. She took up the challenge and boarded the train.
As the train left the station, a railway security officer, who had seen Marilyn get on, chased her through the moving train and caught her as she tried to hide. After 6 hours of intense questioning, finally convinced Marilyn posed no threat, the CID brought her back to Siliguri station and left her on the platform. Marilyn got the photos-and the $500. One of these photos appeared in the May 1959 issue of LIFE."
- Vivian Kurz, Director of Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship/Shechen, The Estate of Marilyn Silverstone © Marilyn Silverstone | Magnum Photos
