Health camp in Urgam Valley

As part of its healthcare initiatives in remote high altitude villages, Pragya conducted health camps today in collaboration with doctors from Civil Hospital at Layari and Aroshi villages of Urgam valley, benefitting over 140 individuals. The initiative is striving to address the critical need for reproductive healthcare for women in the Himalayan region and improving healthcare access in remote villages.

The Fascinating Cave Temples of Ladakh

The architecture of Ladakh and Zanskar has a strong Buddhist influence, most seen and associated with monasteries and gompas dotted throughout the region. Apart from these sacred places there are several cave temples that exist here. The majority of the Buddhist caves in Ladakh and Zanskar are associated with Buddhist monks who are said to have meditated in them at some time. These stunning cave temples also reveal a lot about the mystic Buddhist culture and have centuries of history behind them. 

Here are some of the cave temples that one can find in these regions:

The twin crags of Spituk
Locally known as Brag-khung Kha-ba-chen (snowy hole in the Crags), white – walled buildings on the left bank of the Indus shelter the two caves, near Spituk. The walls of one cave are completely covered with soot and the solitary recognizable part of a mural is a corner of a mandala (a spiritual symbol representing the universe) on the back wall. In the second cave it is easier to recognize the murals. Three mandalas with decorative motifs and several miniature divinities are clearly visible.

Hemis Shugpa in Basgo
Hemis Shugpa, named after the juniper trees that grow there, is situated in a narrow valley lying along the ancient track towards the north leading from Basgo to sTing-mo-sgang through a narrow gorge. The caves along the mountain ridges offer a splendid view of the Indus valley. There are two stucco images of Naropa and Padmasambhava. There are two chortens (stupas) below the cave and a juniper tree, which is believed to be inhabited by a serpent deity.

The Pentad of Saspol
A group of caves are situated above the village - Saspol near the ruins of an old fort. Among the group of caves, the first is dominated by a mural of Sãkyamuni, repainted in unskilled hand in later years. The cave also contains other murals of Sãkyamuni, Avalokitesvara, Akshobhya and Vajradhara, miniatures of a thousand Buddhas and two large murals of Padamasambhava and Maitreya. The second temple has murals of Sãkyamuni and ElevenHeaded Avalokitesvara, of Tsong-kha-pa and five Buddhas. The third cave is the largest in size. The murals are in good condition and represent a variety of divinities. The main murals are of Bodhisattvas, Vajrapani, Amitãbha, Avalokitesvara, Atisa, Chos-kyi-skyabs, and many others. The fourth and fifth temples have murals of preaching Buddha and mandalas but are gradually disappearing as the loose moraines are sliding down hill. The caves are completely open and the murals can hardly be recognized.

Other wonders
Phokar Dzong is situated in a wide valley surrounded by mountain peaks near village Shargola.
Wakha cave temple is situated in a crag above the village with a steep flight of steps leading to the cave. Inside the cave there are block prints of Tibetan canon and images of Avalokiteswara, Sakyamuni and Tsong-kha-pa.

There is a small cave containing images of Tillopa, Naropa and Mi-la ras-pa. According to legend, monk Naropa meditated in this cave and he dried the whole valley, which was a great lake, before founding the monastery.

Go-tsang-pa cave in Hemis is a small cave at the top of a gorge that lies behind the monastery. There are five images inside the cave along with a beautiful mural depicting a hunting scene from the life of Mi-la ras-pa. The walls near the entrance have murals of Mahakala and Remati, a female deity.


Near Nimmo, there is a boulder with a cavity resembling the shape of a human body. According to local legend, this was formed when Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava clung to the rock as he was pursued by a demon during his journey through Ladakh. However, it has become a religious site for the Sikhs.

The Spectacular Rock Carvings
Rock carvings around Ladakh provide an interesting area of study of the local cultural history. The rock carvings are of three types: simple drawings of men and animals, pictures of chortens and written inscriptions. They are found in river terraces near Saspol, Alchi, Khaltse, Nurla, between Leh to Nimmo, also across the Khardung-La pass where Nubra and Shyok rivers meet.

The figures engraved include the usual humans and animals (ibexes, goats, deer) and are presumed to be from pre-Buddhist era. The temple of Alchi has inscriptions in “dbu-can” script. The engravings near Tirith village, are astounding as they are not merely drawings and the themes go beyond commonplace. These are on a rock on the left bank of the Nubra. The carved deities are still clearly discernable, with most of their details intact. One of them has a sword and the second, a rosary.

Unfortunately, in some cases, physical damage from weathering and lack of maintenance has fragmented the texts and sometimes the writers' mode of expression is too oblique to understand the details. The rocks are deeply inscribed to distinguish the drawings or letterings by relief, or scratched away to reveal the letters against the contrasting surface colour of the rocks.

(View original bolg)

Kesar Saga - An Epic from the Himalayas

The Kesar Saga poem is an eleventh-century Tibetan epic about Kesar, the King of Ling. The story became the national epic of Ladakh, and it is so much a part of the region’s cultural landscape that some claim that Kesar was actually born in Kargil. A god incarnated, Kesar announces at his birth his identity as the Lion King. He will inevitably confront the evil Trotun who has long ravished the kingdom. To avoid a prophecy of his defeat at the hand of a magical king, Trotun convinces the nobles of the land to exile Kesar, and the hero consequently suffers many hardships. Through his own quick-wittedness, the help of the gods and magical means, Kesar eventually achieves his goal, overcomes evil and brings unity and prosperity to the kingdom of Ling.

The Saga exists in oral form throughout central Asia, from Mongolia to Ladakh. Different forms exist in different regions, and Ladakh is no exception. Kargil District in particular is said to be home to some of the most highly developed versions of the work.

The Kesar Saga is traditionally heard in oral performance, a feature in common with epic traditions around the world. In the winter months, most parts of Ladakh are closed off from the outside world. Even internally within the districts, movement between villages can be difficult or impossible, and conditions mean that little in the way of outdoor work can be done during the winter. Consequently, entertainment forms a larger part of life in winter than in summer, and one major form of this is oral recitation. Ladakh has tribes like the Mon and the Beda who, though debarred traditionally from many other professions, were in great demand as musicians. The position of the musician then, while not necessarily privileged, was highly specialised, indicating the importance of music in these communities. There are stories of famous epic singers performing the Kesar Saga over a number of weeks, and this kind of recitation (always from memory) must have required very specialised skills. Telling the Saga still involves lengthy sessions, sometimes with dances and re-enactments that are associated with particular scenes, and which surely bring to an even more personal level a story already strongly connected to community life.

In addition to professional performances, music forms an important part of everyone’s life in rural Kargil, and this can make another connection to the epic. Garu songs, sung in Kargil whilst ploughing fields, include verses that are attributed to the Kesar Saga. It seems likely not only that everyone growing up in rural Kargil will have heard the Kesar Saga, but that they will know some of it themselves.

As with many ancient stories throughout the world, the Saga has a central character who is royal, and encounters difficulties in gaining his rightful position and who in the end wins, with the forces of good on his side. The epic identified with Tibet does not reduce its cultural relevance to the people of Ladakh, as international boundaries in the region have always been – and remain fairly – fluid and disputable, whereas the Tibetan cultural influence on Ladakh is firm.

Kesar’s birth is miraculous (it is mediated by the gods, and he is himself part divine), and he achieves great feats as a child. In this he is a typical hero, but the context in which he is set is unmistakeably Himalayan. Beyond the content of the poem itself, the mode of transmission – oral recitation in a village context – binds Kesar and the stories about him to the homeland of those who hear them as children.

King Kesar is a fantastical figure, and many of his exploits are brought about by magic. Sometimes, though, his means are more recognisable to us today. On his way to kill the King of Hor, he uses his cunning skills to overcome a group of enemies:

Then Kesar arrived at a place where nine bridges were tied together, and where 100 soldiers of Hor had to keep watch. Kesar took the shape of a young lama, and caused much rain to fall. He made friends with the soldiers and built a house for them, the roof of which rested on a single post. One night when much rain fell, he tied a silken cord to the post, went outside, and tore the post done. All the soldiers were slain by the falling roof.

As well as showing divine power, Kesar is also an embodiment of divine rightness. Even his wife ‘aBrugma is not spared punishment after she refuses to bear children for Kesar, following the death of the King of Hor. But when justice has been done, she is restored to her rightful place:

Now she was punished in the following way: from the land of the dwarves to Ling she was tied to the tail of the horse and dragged along; then she had to be everybody’s servant for three years; for three years lucerne [alfalfa] was sown on her head and ploughed with Dzos; for three tears she had to serve in the castle with leather round her knees; for three years she had to tend stone-partridges; and for three years she had to milk the senting-bird. In this way fifteen years elapsed. Then one year was required to repair the castle at Ling. Now ’aBrugma was made a lady again. The wedding lasted three days and three nights, and they lived in perfect happiness.

(Link to original blog on High Himalaya Forum)

Kapula - the vanishing traditional footwear

The traditional footwear of Lahaul & Spiti is the ‘Kapula’. Made from shoots of plants and animal skin or ‘pakpa’, Kapula was used round the year, particularly during the winters, where the temperatures can plummet to -20 degrees Celsius. The Lahaulis usually prefer kapula made of goat skin rather than sheep’s skin because the former is more durable and suited to the weather of the region. People used to wear jurab (traditional socks) made from pattu and bakza (pure wool) to cover their feet and the kapula was worn over that.

The kapula is made from shoots of plants like ‘gundum’ (local wheat), ‘beli’ (wild shrub) and animal skin. Shoots of gundum, known as ‘soma’, are first sprinkled with water and then twisted and beaten continuously with a ‘sodung’, a cylindrical wooden tool. It is beaten till the soma becomes soft but not too brittle so that it cannot be woven. Once it is done, two to three strands of soma are hand rolled to make it thick and sturdy and then the long strands of fibers are hand woven to make the shoes. To make them attractive and colourful, coloured threads are intertwined in the fibers to create designs, especially on the upper part of the shoes covering the toes. Sometimes some strands of soma are dyed with colors from Manali or Kullu. However, today coloured woolen threads are used instead. Animal skin is soaked in water overnight and is used for covering the shoes from outside; it is stitched with ‘bhang’ thread. It can take up to 2 to 3 days to finish one Kapula. One of the variations of this traditional shoe is ‘gepul’ in which no animal skin is used.

In Lahaul & Spiti, any pronounced class division based on vocation does not exist and everybody used to make these shoes in the early days and they were also used without any kind of discrimination. However, during the religious festivals of ‘Halda’ and ‘Lossar’, the locals do not wear kapula, which are fitted with animal skin; it is believed that wearing kapula during such sacred occasions will violate the purity of the function. The people devotedly follow this tradition and if anyone violates this tradition, the violator is fined and not allowed to mingle with the other participants; they are served food separately and will also have to sleep in a separate section, away from the others.

Kapula, was once extremely popular among the people, which is evident from its mention in the Guree Geets, the folk songs of Lahaul & Spiti. These colorful Kapulas in the early days were considered very fashionable and attractive. However, the popularity of this traditional form of shoe is on the decline, and has very limited use.

(Link to original blog on High Himalaya Forum)

Capacity Building Training for Para-Teachers

A two-days training event was conducted by TUBAE African Development Trust as part of Praya initiative towards improving quality of education in the underserved areas in Turkana in Rift Valley province of Kenya. It provided inputs to participants on teaching methods, innovative teaching aids and discussed the challenges and concerns faced by the teachers.

Kholi - the intricate woodcraft of Uttarkashi

Decades back, the temples and the houses of the rich/higher class people in Uttarkashi could be identified through the majestic looking wooden entrances/doors with intricate designs. These magnificent structures are called Kholi, which was not just a demonstration of their architectural display and richness but it gave an idea about the creative intelligence and technical brilliance of the local artisans as well as religious background of the family living in the house. Kholi is believed to be completely indigenous, with some rumoured influence from Tibet, but has not been validated so far by any study. It is a low height entrance deliberately designed in a way that any person entering through it has to bow his/her head. Traditionally, Kholi was made by the local artisans who belonged to the lower classes of the society. Constructing a Kholi was considered a very religious process that took years to complete and it called for celebration and participation of the entire village.

Kholi is a visual marvel with intricate designs of flowers like brahmkamal, birds like Munal and Gukti and animals like elephants and lions. Kholi also announced the belief systems of the house owners, like suryavanshis (Rana, Chauhan and Bhandari) will have sun’s image carved into the Kholi while nagvanshis (descendents of Gangu Ramola) have images of snakes in the same. The Uttarkashi people have quite interesting beliefs attached to Kholi, for example, the horns of animals are attached in the Kholi to drive away the evil spirits; birds were carved in Kholi mainly because in the early days it was believed that birds are sacred and brings good luck to the family. They deliberately made small holes in the Kholi design in a tasteful way so as to allow honey bees to get inside the Kholi, as it is believed that bees bring luck and blessings and make the house safe and pure.

More than just being an ornamental showpiece, Kholi was also part of the security system in the village. Years back when there were no burglar alarms, Kholi was attached to the signal system in case of burglar attacks in ‘Kothar’, which were traditional storage houses of food grains and other valuables. A string was attached to the lock of the Kothar with its other end tied to a bell inside the Kholi. It was attached in such a way that any person who touches the ‘Kothar’ at night will set the bell ringing, waking up the whole village.

Usually people from rich families opted for Kholi as their houses, since it took at least 2-3 years to make an intricately designed one. It was said that on an average one Kholi was made every ten years in a village, the reasons might vary from the time taken for making a Kholi to affordability among the people. Traditionally, no colours were used to decorate it, but as time went on, people have started using colours to make it more attractive. Earlier, people used to collect trees for building Kholi based on the colour they wanted to have. For example, deodar trees give yellow wood, thuner gives red wood and kel tree gives white wood.

The process of making a Kholi is very elaborate with religious rituals performed along with community participation. The entire process is a classical example of the social interaction of the locals as well as cultural integrity. The process starts with the person who wants to build the house by evoking the village deity to get permission and advice on every matter, from construction area to size of the house to fixing the day to start the construction. The artisans normally start their work in winters as there is enough sunlight and the cool weather makes such hard work bearable. Even cutting the tree for Kholi is a big event with religious rituals held in the village temple and offerings being made to the tree. This is done because of the belief among the locals that if permission is not sought, it may result in accidents and losses. At least one person from each house in the village accompanied and assisted in the process (It is common in the villages in Uttarkashi that whenever there is a big event in a house the entire village participates and assists the family in the event and it is called Rem. Once the work is done, a grand feast was organised before everyone returned home). The trees were usually cut before sunrise and after sunset – before 4 am and after 8 pm.

Deodar or thuner trees are usually used for making Kholi, the reasons being that deodar wood allows for intricate designs to be made and thuner is very durable with a shelf life of at least 200 years. The artisan starts his work after doing religious rituals for the tree and though he is from a lower caste, on that particular day and throughout the construction process he is treated like a Pundit and equivalent to God. The artisan uses traditional locally made tools like kulhadi (to cut the tree and shear off the bark), ari (to cut it according to the measurements), renda, basula (for finishing), thiya, hathodi, gunya and kanasi (instrument used for sharpening the equipments).

According to experts, in the early days there were no measuring tapes or pencils or chalk, therefore these artisans used their palm (blasth in local language) as scale of measurement and used burnt coal to make drawings. To make outlines of designs on the wood, they soaked burnt coal in water and a thread was immersed in it. The designs were using that smeared thread and the design was carved into the wood using the equipments. Gum called ‘dal ki masett’ used in construction of the Kholi was made locally by grinding black grams soaked overnight in water. Even though in the early days no colours were used on the Kholi, later people used natural dyes on it, for instance they painted the colour extracted from the skin of acroot which gave it a purple colour.

The designs for the Kholi are decided upon in consultation with the house owner too. Once the work is finished, Kholi is installed with permission from the village deity. The installation happens before sunrise or after sunset only as it happens in the case of every important event. It is closely followed by Brahmbhoj, a special feast prepared by the Pandit. This is equivalent to the house warming ceremony.

Kholi is mentioned even in some folk songs and devotional songs of Uttarkashi like ‘Nara Bijola’ and other devotional songs.

Kholi designs have not changed or evolved since then, but with new and improved equipments the process becomes comparatively easy. Even then, Kholi’s popularity is only going down, with the lesser number of skilled artisans and the ever changing preference of people now constantly in touch with the styles of the outside world. Kholi is still in demand with the hotel owners and outsiders building their houses in Uttarkashi, and they resort to buying old Kholis. Moreover, nowadays an artificial Kholi is used as entrance to the venue of marriages or any such big ceremonies, as they are no longer built in the region.

(Link to original blog on High Himalaya Forum)

Rural Technopreneurs to address Himalaya’s energy needs

The youth participants cheered for each other as each of them performed completing electronic circuits successfully! The youths were being trained as Rural Technopreneurs to start up renewable energy based micro-enterprises in the district in order to improve energy access in remote villages of Himalayas. With >5000 un-electrified villages, the high altitude Himalayas is one of the least electrified areas in the entire country. The inhabitants meet 60-80% of their energy needs from the dwindling vegetation cover. Uptake of renewable energy and efficient energy technologies in the Himalayas is constrained by lack of awareness and procurement of renewable energy equipments calls for importing from far-away plains areas; maintenance services are not available within the region. The Pragya initiative is striving to create an energy supply value chain with Energy-Shop-cum-Technology-Kiosks as retail outlets for these products to be run by Rural Technopreneurs (read more). The two weeks long vocational training course helped these youth learn installation, sales and servicing of renewable energy equipments. They are now gearing up to form a cooperative and start their venture.