Chennai, Jan 20 : Tibetan exiles in Chennai accord a warm welcome today to their revered spiritual leader the Dalai Lama who is visiting the city to deliver discourse on peace and spirituality.

There was a riot of colours outside the airport as young men and women carrying Tibetan flags and dressed in traditional attire waited eagerly to welcome their spiritual leader.

Speaking to the media outside the airport, the Dalai Lama said, he had come to Chennai on a cultural and spiritual mission.

"The basic purpose of this visit is culture, spirituality, not politics," he added.

It is nearly 50 years since Tibet''s spiritual ruler fled his homeland on horseback as Chinese shells rained down on his capital and since that famous journey, the 14th Dalai Lama has lived as the head of a government-in-exile in Dharamsala.

Over the years, the Dalai Lama, whom Chinese authorities dismiss as a "splittist", or separatist bent on separating Tibet from China, has climbed down saying that he only wants greater autonomy, not independence for Tibet. (ANI)