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A reflection of the reflections about the Chhorten at Leh Palace

-Rinchen Angmo

Chhorten at Leh Palace


There’s something very interesting about the Chhorten wing (side) of the Leh Palace. The balcony which provides a path for skora (cicumambulation) around the chhorten presents a world in itself. On one side stands the majestic Leh Palace, golden in the light of the setting sun. While Old Leh Town tumbles beneath in all its crooked beauty. And beyond that lies Leh city, an urban landscape. We often venture to remote parts of Ladakh to find beauty, but in our very own Leh are remnants untouched by urbanity. 

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Atal-Rohtang tunnel: Is it a boon or a bane?

By Sonam Chhomo

I am no geologist, not even a researcher on such scientific subjects, I can only present my views as a commentator as I watch the events slowly unfold. 

In front of me rests a television news channel which shows the inauguration of Atal-Rohtang tunnel, the tunnel which can apparently bring prosperity to the Lahaulis. With limited options, my parents watch this news in Punjabi language due to the limited number of news channels operating for Himachal Pradesh on such a big day for us. The mobile phones prove beneficial as my relatives and my mom keep informing each other and delegate the local news and the news that their television sets provide.

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Embracing life

-Nawang Chhoetso


Buddhism teaches us about living and dying in peace. And the main principle used is the theory of impermanence. How can knowing and believing that nothing is permanent help us live and die peacefully?
We as humans fear death, yet we don’t live peacefully. Why do we fear death? This question can be answered by another question .i.e. who are you and what is your identity?

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Tracing Ladakh’s History through its Dynasty.

With reference to ‘The History of Maryul Ladakh’ by Tashi Rabgias (Meme le). 

-Rinchen Angmo

Leh Palace.

The history of Ladakh is a beautiful past of a people similar in some ways and diverse in others, of a land that celebrated all sentient beings, a land of Dharma but also a land that accepted every form of spirituality, a land where good will was and hopefully still is valued above gold. 

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History of Spiti

-Nawang Chhoetso

This is a brief history of Spiti, always under a different ruler but its people never suffered. Or may be from what I have seen and observed, the people of Spiti have an amazing ability to endure unpleasant situations.

Nawang Chhoetso
Ancient capital, Palace of King Nono. source unknown

“The smaller the unit less known is its history” said historian Luciano Petech .

As a kid I always wondered about the history of my place. Spiti is a barren yet beautiful land that was always isolated from the outer world. Only recently -.i.e. in 1993- did the government allow tourists permits to Spiti Valley. The place then received tourists from around the world and from India. Some travelled and went back appreciating the beauty of the valley, some were astonished by its culture. While few wondered about its history.

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Stories and whatnot tales from the Himalayas: the tradition of Teer-Kaman

There are stories which we choose to share and stories which irrevocably fade away with time. 

— Sonam Chhomo and Nawang Chhoetso

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When we ask them about their stories, you would notice a sense of hesitation in the beginning, but internally we all know that they are too eager to feel the same emotions again as they traverse through memory lane. And when they speak, you’ll notice that it becomes hard to stop them, you fear interrupting them lest they change their mind and become silent after a pause. You don’t want that to happen, do you? You too want to understand them and wish to find yourself a place in their memory so that you witness them first hand, look at their obscurities and in a childish spree compare yourself to them. Of course our imagination too helps us to walk this same path as they start travelling back to these days in the hope of reliving their most loved memories.

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Perhaps listening to their stories may retain the authenticity of these experiences which no travel book may hold, perhaps their stories will be the last reminiscent of their generation’s experiences and it is only fair as this becomes our duty to document these as part of history, our history. .

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Untouched by Corona

The beauty of village life in Ladakh

-Rinchen Angmo

Life has come upside down throughout the world and the urban areas of Ladakh. However, in most villages in Ladakh, life goes on as usual. Most villages here haven’t been either directly or indirectly been affected by covid-19. Not only is there an absence of corona cases, but also their livelihood has barely been affected. As people in villages live a primarily agricultural way of life, they eat the food they grow and make money from the surplus. In stark contrast, people living in urban areas like Leh have been struck hard economically due to the heavy reliance on tourism. What a wonderful way of nature to teach us that unsustainable ways of living can truly result in the inability to sustain even one’s own life. Over the past few years, people in Leh have been building luxury hotels and tourism ventures as if there was no other alternative. Moreover, the mindless nature of the growth of hollow concrete structures stand in stark contrast to the values that we as a people have been living by from time immemorial. In this rat race of money making through often questionable means, we’ve lost sight of all that was part of our way of life. A way of life that is still sustained in villages and is now sustaining them when the rest of the world suffers. Not only is village life environmentally friendly, but it is also socially uplifting. Besides the petty disagreements here and there, the whole village community comes together as one whole to help each other.

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Women of Spiti

One thing that I find common in the women of my region Spiti, is that they have a choice and say in all aspects of life.

-Nawang Chhoetso

Spiti women

The older generation of women -from my grandmother’s age group- are primarily housewives. Their succeeding generation went on to expand their horizons by exploring various career opportunities. Hence, women of my mother’s age group engage in a diverse range of jobs and activities, as teachers, nurses and various other occupations. My generation has ahead us of us a greater number of options. But, what has remained constant for women from all three generations has been the right to make our own decisions. 

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Losar

‘Lo’ means year and ‘sar’ means new.

A new year, a new beginning, a chance to be a new person…Don’t we all wish for a chance to be happy? Losar, like all other New Year festivals , signifies not only a happy event but also one when we can start afresh. It’s not as much about new resolutions as it is about accepting change…impermanence. For many of us it’s also about building a home away from home. After all home is not just about the landscape and the buildings, it’s about the sentiment shared by a community. 

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