Dalai Lama Autograph

The 14th Dalai Lama is the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in India and is a spiritual leader revered amongst Tibetans. When the search began for a new Dalai Lama, the current Dalai Lama, then just a child, was presented with various relics, including toys, some of which had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama and some of which had not. It was reported that he had correctly identified all the items owned by the previous Dalai Lama, exclaiming, "That's mine! That's mine!"

Following this, the child was formally recognized as the reincarnated Dalai Lama and renamed. (His sister Jetsun Pema years later depicted their mother in the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet.)