rewasum

Posted on August 26, 2022 by rewasum

A beautifully surreal month.

Written by Rinchen.

I would like to begin by thanking His Holiness The Dalai Lama for blessing and bringing so much joy to all the people of Ladakh. Chhaksal.

Each day of His Holiness’s presence in Ladakh has been filled with beauty and wonder for each and every Ladakhi in so many different ways. His Holiness’s interfaith visits, secular teachings, religious teachings, visits to Zanskar and Lingshed, and the various functions that were hosted in his honour, brought blessings upon and joy to a countless number of beings who had the sode and sonam (luck and merit) to be in His Holiness’s presence. We Ladakhis are truly honoured to have had His Holiness visit Ladakh as his first destination since the pandemic broke out.

We will miss all the beautiful moments that His Holiness’s visit brought and now look forward to His Holiness’s visit next year.

Posted on July 17, 2022July 17, 2022 by rewasum

Tales of Zanskar

How is Zanskar seen from different perspectives- students who left their land for better education, families who migrated from Zanskar a long time ago, and a film that captures a remote Himalayan village?

—-Written by Sonam Chhomo Photographs sent by Anushka Kashyap Film pic taken from Lonely Planet

Posted on July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 by rewasum

Bus of Life.

-Written by Rinchen.

Hustle- the name that the 21st century gives to life.

Yet, somehow in some corners of Ladakh, people are willing to give and not just get.

Posted on June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 by rewasum

#BOG – bring on the bog.

-written by Rinchen.

Glistening heads and backs walking through lush green fields set against brown and blue mountains.

Perhaps the aforementioned line is rather romanticized, yet it cannot be denied that Alchi women donning their entire traditional attire adds a sort of enigma to Alchi’s blessed land.

Alchi is a hamlet in the Sham region of Ladakh. Blessed by the Alchi Choskor, ( which is the oldest surviving monastery in Ladakh) the hamlet is mesmerising to say the least.

Posted on May 16, 2022 by rewasum

written by Rinchen.

Followers of Tibetan Buddhism believe that both merit and demerit can be multiplied multifold times during an eclipse. Hence, prayers and good deeds are encouraged. Today’s lunar eclipse was one such occasion. The eclipse period ended at about 12 p.m.

As a beginner(even that would be an overstatement) in trying to follow the Tibetan-Buddhist way, there’s not much I can understand. However, what I’ve gauged is that the normal human mind clouded by illusions cannot always grasp concepts directly but must in fact keep an open mind.

Posted on April 24, 2022April 24, 2022 by rewasum

Wandering Watze.

A red fox on a full moon’s night.

Written by Rinchen.

My dog’s more aggressive-than-usual- bark got me to peek out of the window. A pointed snout, bushy tail and thin body.. behold the Himalayan Red Fox (known as watze in Ladakh) glimmering under the full moon’s radiance. From its body language, I inferred that it was a frequent visitor. As at any other occasion, I wondered what it meant..symbolically that is.

Posted on April 17, 2022July 3, 2022 by rewasum

Young and weathering years.

-Rinchen.

Considering Ladakh’s small population, one hears of suicide all too often; specially amidst the youth. Yet, it’s never talked about. These days, there is no solid support structure for the youth. The ‘elders’ who should be guiding the youth are either themselves misguided or are too busy.

In my opinion, one’s solid as well as individually understood source of support, in this day and age, understanding one’s mind. One way to that is through spirituality.

I’m not certain about other places, but surely Ladakh’s Buddhist youth is slowly getting disconnected from its religion: Tibetan-Buddhism. Factors are aplenty: apathy; ‘too cool for spirituality’; ‘too “rational” for spirituality; not been properly introduced to the tenets of the religion; too busy; lack of guidance. The youth today fails to understand that notions of success and coolness cannot take one far; without a firm understanding of the mind we are essentially just drifting through life. On the other side of the coin, the elderly are either unable to effectively share their knowledge, are ‘too cool’ themselves or are ignorant.

Posted on January 13, 2022January 13, 2022 by rewasum

Stone breaking ceremony and Buchens of Spiti

– Chemi Lhamo in conversation with Tenzin Sonam

Posted on January 6, 2022January 9, 2022 by rewasum

Salchowk and Thultan (as named in sTod, Lahaul valley):

– Sonam Chhomo

In the areas of Lahaul, Spiti and Ladakh, Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, and possibly Arunachal Pradesh, we have these traditional styled tables and mattresses in living rooms that are indigenously connected to our communities.

Posted on December 28, 2021December 28, 2021 by rewasum

Angchok 1

a reverie?

-Rinchen

To my Abile (granny) the 2 day long Chemrey Angchok Chham (religious masked monastic performance event) was more about tending to guests in her bustling house. She recounts how our ancestral house would be full of guests, mostly relatives from outside Chemrey (our village). Chhang (Ladakhi beer) and traditonal barley and meat assortments would flow in plenty and Abile would be busy organizing rooms and food with the aid of helpers.

Posted on November 16, 2021November 16, 2021 by rewasum

A tale of two tilens, two scripts.

-Rinchen.

“So Abile (granny), do you know how to read both Bodhik and Urdu?”, I asked in awe.

Abile’s answer was in the affirmative. She was telling me about her Urdu teacher when I asked her whether he was a Muslim. She said yes and that Sir Rehman le also taught Bodhik brilliantly.

Posted on November 12, 2021November 16, 2021 by rewasum

Shungma

By Sonam Chhomo

Shungma, Jispa, Lahaul valley

The experience of visiting places you always wanted to see for yourself is ethereal. The journey to this shungma felt almost as if I had been divinely allowed to enter its doorstep after many years of waiting for the perfect opportunity to unfold. As a child, I resisted visiting places at high altitudes because Lahaul was/is not a weather friendly place especially during the winter months. Even this time (it happened after a day), my ears remained blocked and my body felt uncomfortable for about two days.

But this year I felt as if I accomplished something.

Posted on August 8, 2021August 8, 2021 by rewasum

Holding one’s own in rural Ladakh.

-Rinchen.

I read a beautiful article this morning in The Hindu’s Sunday Magazine. During the pandemic, I like many others, have found great solace not only in nature but also in learning about nature. The article’s author had written emphatically about planting the right kind of trees in the right region. The author also pointed out the harm of planting trees in areas that are not natural havens for trees: open natural ecosystems (ONEs); Ladakh being an ONE.

In recent years, Ladakh has witnessed various environmental measures, but do we understand whether they are ecologically sound? I for one, honestly don’t pretend to understand, but I do know that not everything that we think is good for nature is good for nature; that not so incidentally applies to our own well being as well.

Posted on March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 by rewasum

Chodpa Festival, Khangzar