>>There are some advantages to looking old and wise. We learnt this on Wednesday when we had gone to attend the Dalai Lama’s talk at Pritish Nandy’s star-studded launch of World Compassion Day.

Arriving early, we had hung around the lobby of the hotel in the hope of catching a glimpse of the world statesman. And lo and behold, we were ushered into a small private room where the Dalai Lama was taken for an exclusiveu00a0audience with a select group before the main event.