Thousands of joyous Tibetans, Indians and foreigners thronged the Tsuglagkhang courtyard to celebrate the 77th birth anniversary of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.Speaking on the occasion, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “I would like to thank all here who have attended my birthday and have wished me well on this day. Everyone considers birthdays as very important events, but as Tibetans, we usually don’t regard birthdays as highly as others, traditionally”.He added, “If we start regarding birthdays as important, then every day when we get up in the morning should also be considered like a birthday. In a given day, each day is important and one should try and help other people, but if unable to, then at least one should not hurt others.”“Every day I promise myself to treat others in this way. If I can get up each day and help and not hurt others, this is good. My life is spent like this and today I am 77 years old,” he said.Reflecting on childhood spent in Lhasa, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “as a child I was naughty and very lazy – too lazy to study and like to play.”“When I reflect on these things, I consider there is nothing special about me for I am just one of the 6 or 7 billion people in this world,” he added.“I devolved my political authority to the democratically-elected Tibetan leadership last year and now I’m totally retired from this role. I would like to thank those who continue to work hard with the Tibetan dministration. I hope they continue to do so as before,” said His Holiness.Meanwhile, Mr Kishen Kapoor, cabinet minister of the Himachal government and the chief guest of the occasion, expressed his heartfelt birthday greetings to His Holiness on behalf of Chief Minister P K Dhumal and Indian public.He said today is a historic day in the history of time because His Holiness was born on this day in a remote village in eastern Tibet amid a lot of prophesies and good omens.His Holiness is known the world over today and is the recipient of every prestigious awards and degrees in the world, he said, adding that his efforts has brought Dharamshala on the world map and the preferred location of every tourists.He also said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the shining star of Himachal Pradesh and that Himachal Pradesh is honoured to host him for over 5 decades.He also pledged that Himachal Pradesh would always remain with the people of Tibet and stated that wherever Tibet is, Himachal Pradesh will always be there.The ceremony concluded with cultural performances by various Tibetan institutions as well as performances by the local Indian community.In the evening, a dinner reception and a cultural performance by the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) was hosted by the Kashag for chief guest of the evening, pisional commissioner Mr Sanjay Gupta and other Indian dignitaries as well as for the staff of the Central Tibetan Administration.