Kalimpong: He might have been a towering spiritual figure in Tibet, but in north Bengal's Kalimpong, he was a humble businessman who had set up the to.

NEW DELHI — The elder brother of the Dalai Lama and former chairman of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India, Gyalo Thondup, who led several rounds of talks with China and worked with foreign governments for the Tibetan cause, has died. He was 97.

Gyalo Thondup, the Dalai Lama's elder brother, set up a noodle-making factory, Trans Himalaya, in Kalimpong in the late 1960s. His authentic Tibetan thukpa became a staple and was exported widely. Thondup's legacy continues through the local noodle businesses and his efforts for Tibet's freedom are remembered by the community.

The elder brother of the Dalai Lama and former chairman of the exiled Tibetan government in India, Gyalo Thondup, who led several rounds of talks with China and worked with foreign governments for the Tibetan cause,

Gyalo Thondup, the Dalai Lama's elder brother and a significant figure in Tibetan politics, passed away at 97 in Kalimpong. Thondup, who devoted his life to the Tibetan cause, fled Tibet in 1952 and later established a successful noodle business in Kalimpong.