Ladakh Diary: Being Down-to-Earth

During the time of the great continental drift in the Early Cretaceous period (130-125 million years ago), the land mass that is now the Indian peninsula thrust into Asia creating the Himalayas. The region where it hit the Asian land mass is none other than Ladakh, which resulted in its unique geography and ecology. Ladakh lies within four key mountain ranges - Zanskar, Ladakh, Greater Himalayan and the Karakoram ranges - and traveling across the region, one can observe the amazing and different rock and mountain formations. Strangely shaped and brightly coloured mountain ranges, the presence of perfectly round shaped pebbles and sea-shells in the surroundings of a village called Lato speaks volume of this violent geological past. Ladakh’s wildlife is also a mix of species found in the vast Tibetan plateau in the east and the high mountains of Karakoram in the north-west.

Living in such high altitude and harsh conditions, the people of ancient Ladakh practiced animism and spirit worship, some tenets of which have got blended with Buddhism that is practiced today by most people here. Perhaps it is due to the harsh living conditions or perhaps their religious beliefs, but Ladakhis are one of the most helpful and hospitable people in the entire country. If you ever get lost and stray into a village here, you will not only find a warm hearth but an overdose of food and tea to eat and drink despite the fact that livelihood is mostly subsistence-based (agriculture and livestock) and other amenities don’t come by so easily.

Quite a few systems have evolved in Ladakh which are community-based and driven. During the time of harvesting, families form groups and help harvest each other’s crops. Though people are slowly moving away to the use of modern machineries and/ or hiring outside labour especially those from Bihar and Nepal (daily wage rates in Ladakh are one of the highest in India), this system is still found in pockets or interiors. Another effective system of controlling and managing the use of water for irrigation for the entire village is the system of churpun or water-lords.  A water-lord is selected by the village for the whole year and this role or position is rotated till all families in a village are covered. The responsibility of this person is to see that all the fields and houses get water systematically for their use. The glacial or spring water, which is the source of water here is made to flow through canals or streams and controlled and kept clean by the water-lord. Phaspun (brotherhood) is yet another system of communities working together where traditional groups are formed in a village to help each other during funerals or weddings. Work is divided between all the members of the group so that the concerned family is not overloaded with chores. During my stay in Ladakh, I saw how this worked when each family in a hamlet or area around Leh had to send one person as help for a wedding.     

A Ladakhi woman in a village serving lunch to her neighbours who had come to help her with the harvest 

And these are just some of the community-based traditional systems that I got to know of, perhaps many more exists. Even though urbanization is slowly but surely reaching all corners of Ladakh, these systems have endured in most regions. The strength of these systems can be seen from the fact that people still follow them in Leh, which is almost like a city now. Whether in future they will stay or not is yet to be seen. But something tells me they will. Life under the spirits of the high mountains and the eternal blue skies is very different and so are the hearts of the people here. Despite the changes, they will remain strongly inter-woven.

And I as an adrift bystander from the plains, feel blessed by the same spirits of these high mountains that I was able to be a part of this distinct life.

Ladakh Diary: Greening of Ladakh

The flight dipped below the clouds and suddenly the vast vista of snow peaked mountains came into view. There was a collective gasp from the travelers at the incredible sight below. The plane followed the Indus, the blue river lined by poplar trees on both banks and just as Leh came into view, it was my turn to gasp. I had returned to Ladakh after a hiatus of 11 years and the change I saw was astounding. I could not recognize the small charming town I had last seen in 2003, which now had become a sprawling city with modern amenities, supermarkets and cars. But looking down at the city first from the flight and next from Shanti Stupa, the green canopy confirmed my doubts. I remembered a largely barren Leh with spots of greenery as a result of farms, not a city filled with Poplar trees.

                                                

‘Clean Ladakh, Green Ladakh’ - said a sign near the old bus station. My favourite colour is green but I am not sure I like it here in the desert ecology of these high mountains. Something seems very wrong. The Army, NGOs, spiritual leaders, people’s groups and even local communities are planting trees in valleys, river banks, villages etc. The ‘disease’ seems to have spread to Spiti too, where a once arid and completely barren Kaza is now thick with trees. Tall and slender Poplar tree is the popular choice even though other indigenous tree varieties of willow, juniper and birch trees are the natural species in pockets of Ladakh.

Tree Plantation drive by a spiritual leader Galwang Drukpa Rinpoche 

Ask around and you will find many reasons for this tree plantation craze. Most people think planting trees is generally good and it will help increase the level of oxygen in the air. Some are doing it for beautification, some are just following the others, while the prudent ones are planting Poplar trees as future investment as they are used for building houses which otherwise is an expensive affair. Traveling in the villages of Sham Valley, I asked most middle aged or elderly people I met if there are more trees than before and each of them replied in the affirmative. One woman in Yangthang mentioned that it used to be arid when she first came to the village as a bride. Tashi Dorjay of Hemis Shukpachan explained to me that earlier, people used to get wood for making houses through a barter system. Now people want money which most village folks don’t have, hence it is easier to grow the trees themselves.                        

Whatever may be the reason, common sense tells me that growing trees in an arid ecology might not bode well later for the region. Presence of trees where it is not supposed to be might bring changes in the climate of the region, ecology and the region’s rich biodiversity. There is already a rise in respiratory problems in regions around Leh which some are attributing to these trees. A friend who went to Zangla in Zanskar said that she had to leave earlier than planned as the place had become infested with insects especially after dusk. Village folks told her that the insects came after trees started being grown in the village.     

There is a reason for the existence of each ecosystem. Communities, culture, wildlife, all have developed over centuries for particular types of ecosystems and one small change can bring in a domino effect which can topple a lot of things in the process. With our supposedly ‘superior’ intelligence, humans have already done a lot of damage. It’s time we stop interfering more and let other species also live in their preferred and natural ecosystems.  

Route to Our Roots:

Tsering is a young girl from Lamayuru whose family has shifted to Leh in search of better prospects. Although she is handling the management of one of the high end hotels in Leh, she wants to do more. She kept telling me that we, in the cities, have it better because there are many choices.

It is perhaps the same reason why I also shifted from the capital town of one of the poorest states to Delhi after school and it is perhaps why so many people from our country and other developing or under-developed countries have shifted to relatively developed countries. For better prospects, for better lifestyles. In fact, all of us are constantly moving towards that since ‘better’ is always relative. So given the fact that we are surely hurtling towards some sort of ‘calamity’, can we really begrudge others from getting what we have got? Surely everybody has a right to a better life. Even though I love to see pristine nature and communities following traditional lifestyles, can I really begrudge these mountain people better roads and amenities? Even though I know that like the bad ecological footprints we have left in our pursuit of better prospects, they eventually will too, can I really begrudge a village family wanting good jobs for their children?     

In all honesty, I cannot. It is not fair until the last under-privileged person gets to know what ‘better’ life is for him or herself. In fact the process of change had started since humans made the first tools and the wheel and it will not stop till this last person gets what he or she feels is a better prospect. We might destroy ourselves as a specie in the process and might come back to re-inhabit the planet but this will keep on happening endlessly. Because that’s how we humans currently are.

That is, till the time we can Redefine ourselves and lose our identity. The ‘I’ that is in search of ‘better’ prospects, ‘better’ lifestyles because this ‘I’ is always relative to ‘others’, always comparing. This ‘I’ always feels the need to stand out – an independent woman, a feminist, a neo-liberal, a Buddhist, a minority, a known poet, a famous writer, a comedian, an activist, a husband, a ceo, a global strategist, a much loved speaker, a mountaineer, a trekker,  a wildlife expert, a better house, many cars and the list can go on.   

What happens when we stop listening to the artificial cacophony created by all these ‘I’s, the cacophony that we are all so lost in? Perhaps then we can hear the sounds of nature, our Earth and know that we are just one of many species. Perhaps we need to learn to quieten down and listen before the Earth falls silent. Perhaps we need to listen to ourselves more and know that there is really no existence of an ‘I’.  And perhaps then we can have an Earth where we are we and not always searching for something or somebody ‘better’.  

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Shikhshantar in Udaipur is an Unlearning Centre. Founder / Head, Manish Jain likes to question everything that we have currently chosen as society to follow. Even Maths. But he propagates three key steps in order to change oneself – Scale down, Slow Down and Learn to Listen.

5waraj is an organization based in Delhi which likes looking back at our roots, our traditions and customs in order to find solutions to current issues or lifestyles. One can find them at www.5waraj.in or FB page with same name.