Journey from Zanskar

Duration: 6 mins 3 secs

Share this media item:

Embed this media item:

<iframe width="_width_" height="_height_" src="https://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/2156790/embed" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Choose size:

About this item

Available Formats

About this item

Description:	How far would you go to save your dying culture? Two Buddhist monks fulfill their pledge to the Dalai Lama to help save their dying culture by leading a group of 17 poor children aged 4-12 on a journey from Zanskar in remote northwest India through the Himalayas.

Created:

2016-01-16 22:56

Collection:

Digital Himalaya Films & Video

Publisher:

University of Cambridge

Frederick Marx

Language:

eng (English)

Keywords:

Tibet; Language education; indigenous; Globalisation; Buddhism;

Credits:

Director:

Frederick Marx


Abstract:	In 3–5 years a road connecting Padum, the heart of Zanskar, with Leh, the heart of neighboring Ladakh, will be finished. The route which previously took up to two days by car will take only 4–5 hours. As economic growth descends on Zanskar it will bring with it an end to this unbroken Buddhist social tradition. Will the native language, culture, and religious practice be able to survive? The Dalai Lama has instructed two monks from Zanskar’s Stongde Monastery to do everything in their power to insure that it does. The monks are building a school to educate the children from surrounding villages in their own language, culture, history, and religion. Presently, the government school teaches none of those subjects, and is closed most of the year. The nearby private school also doesn’t teach those subjects and is additionally unaffordable for the area’s poor families. At Stongde, along with indigenous traditions, the children will be educated in the best Western curricula. The monks are racing against the clock. While they complete the school they are also placing local children in other schools and monasteries in the city of Manali and beyond. This requires walking over a 17,500 foot pass. On foot. On horseback. Led by yaks... Whatever it takes.

Abstract:

In 3–5 years a road connecting Padum, the heart of Zanskar, with Leh, the heart of neighboring Ladakh, will be finished. The route which previously took up to two days by car will take only 4–5 hours. As economic growth descends on Zanskar it will bring with it an end to this unbroken Buddhist social tradition. Will the native language, culture, and religious practice be able to survive?

The Dalai Lama has instructed two monks from Zanskar’s Stongde Monastery to do everything in their power to insure that it does. The monks are building a school to educate the children from surrounding villages in their own language, culture, history, and religion. Presently, the government school teaches none of those subjects, and is closed most of the year. The nearby private school also doesn’t teach those subjects and is additionally unaffordable for the area’s poor families. At Stongde, along with indigenous traditions, the children will be educated in the best Western curricula.

The monks are racing against the clock. While they complete the school they are also placing local children in other schools and monasteries in the city of Manali and beyond. This requires walking over a 17,500 foot pass. On foot. On horseback. Led by yaks... Whatever it takes.

Available Formats

Format	Quality	Bitrate	Size
MPEG-4 Video	960x720	2.97 Mbits/sec	135.04 MB	View	Download
MPEG-4 Video	480x360	1.93 Mbits/sec	87.79 MB	View	Download
WebM	960x720	2.88 Mbits/sec	131.17 MB	View	Download
WebM	480x360	1.95 Mbits/sec	88.99 MB	View	Download
iPod Video	480x360	518.79 kbits/sec	22.99 MB	View	Download
MP3	44100 Hz	250.18 kbits/sec	11.09 MB	Listen	Download
Auto *	(Allows browser to choose a format it supports)