Amazing Quest: Stories from Ladakh | Somewhere on Earth: Ladakh | Free Documentary

[Music] yay [Music] [Music] situated in the indian part of the vast himalayas ladakh is a land of lofty arid mountains furrowed with deep valleys it is also known as little tibet and the land of high passes the men and women living in these high isolated villages and along the rivers dotted with glaciers emanate deep sincerity [Music] buddhism and its traditions are at the heart of ladakhi culture still the population is managing to adapt to the profound changes brought about by the region's recent boom the inhabitants of ladakh know that faced with nature they have no choice but to remain humble and to make do with what she can offer them [Music] [Music] a vast crowd of believers from the four corners of the himalayas has gathered here at the hamish monastery for the naropa festival they are all followers of drupa one of the major schools of tibetan buddhism this huge festival takes place only once every 12 years this branch of buddhism is based on the teachings of naropa a holy man who lived in india in the 11th century [Music] the festival is particularly lavish this year because it is also the 1000th birth anniversary of naropa for this special occasion the monks unveil a huge embroidered silk tapestry of the buddha it is the largest such tapestry in the world [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] his holiness the 12th reincarnation of naropa leads the festivities surrounded by the dignitaries of the monastery through his progressive teachings this spiritual guide encourages the monks and nuns to become shining examples and symbols of modernism [Music] foreign and do you sleep well not as well as i used to in a tent on the fringe of the gathering dorje is giving free consultations she is a buddhist nun studying medicine since early morning she's been treating a constant stream of people how old are you 66 66 66 years old four years ago dorje left her quiet monastery in ladakh to study traditional medicine at a school in delhi i'm simply overjoyed i'm so lucky to be able to learn this profession it was my dream to become a doctor now i can make a difference i can help people here a prescription for your bronchitis it's true i haven't finished my studies yet but these consultations allow me to practice and treat patients it's a wonderful experience the pills and powders that dorji prescribes are all made from plants found in ladakh the daytime is devoted to religious instruction but at night the colorful festivities take over the naropa festival is a mix of traditional folklore popular culture and bollywood style dance numbers [Music] [Music] the lights of the festival have gone dark and silence has reclaimed the mountains dorje has arrived back at her monastery lost among the peaks of ladakh when she was 17 she decided to leave school to become a buddhist nun a profound and personal vocation it was the choice of an altruistic life every morning she goes off by herself to meditate for a few hours practicing meditation is very beneficial seen from the outside it looks simple but it is in fact quite difficult if you don't meditate regularly you don't make any progress it's important to do it with sincerity the path to elimination is long you have to meditate for months and even years it's like milk first you have to milk the cow then you transform the milk to finally obtain the butter the basis of meditation is looking at yourself and controlling your own mind monastery practice kung fu to be strong mentally and physically but also to break down the outdated barriers between men and women traditionally only men teach and practice this martial art [Music] i stopped doing kung fu for four years because i went to delhi for my medical studies so i forgot a lot and it's hard for me to keep up with the others one two three [Applause] four we just want to change one thing you know one thinking of the world that you know girls are not less than boys we just want to go ahead in them and which you know want to you know i just want to say that every girl they have a power inside them we just have to take it out with ourselves and go ahead it doesn't mean that you know a woman has to always stay in kitchen and cook something with their husband and everything or something blah blah blah we can do everything just the problem is we're not you know the all the girls in the world are not getting a chance to do something to show something to tell something so we're just you know like giving a message to all over the world that give chance to go see what they can do better than boys [Music] in a few days dorji will go back to delhi to continue her studies but first she's going to visit her childhood village to gather medicinal plants along with three of her friends [Music] so [Music] it's the best season for picking medicine or plants otherwise it's not possible on account of my studies it'll be great fun collecting plants with my friends and seeing my family [Music] please sit down we'll get up around 3 3 30 is perched up above 4000 meters the ideal altitude for what she's after medicinal plants are everywhere if one knows how to spot them [Music] hey look i think i found something look every part is useful the flowers the stem the roots each is used to treat a particular ailment and we can mix it with other plants with different properties to make pills [Music] now the younger generation puts its trust more in modern medicine but by sharing this traditional plant lore dorji is keeping this body of knowledge from dying out [Music] yeah this one is ken this is also a medicinal plant it's good for treating back planes so in a nutshell the five main plants are kemba umbu and sipet with these plants we can treat wounds and minor pains [Music] all the plants we pick are natural and pure so they've kept all their curative properties if you grow them with chemical fertilizers they won't be as effective i'm [Music] by studying medicine dorji is fulfilling herself as a woman and at the same time helping others it was a dream when she decided to become a nun and it makes her mother very proud of her i'm very happy that dorje is studying to become a traditional doctor the only thing i want is for her to do well in this vocation and i pray for that [Music] it's time to say goodbye and get moving dorje is leaving ladakh with this summer's harvest and heading back to her school in delhi see you next she still has three more years of studies before becoming a traditional doctor [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] i even spent more time here than at home i'm glad to get home and see my family but i'm also happy in my truck because i get to see new places with his indomitable truck namgyal brings supplies to ladakh's most isolated valleys all year round now after a week on dizzying roads he's heading home to lay the region's capital [Music] [Music] this city owes its prosperity to its strategic location between china and india back in the time of the silk road lay was a key stopover for the camel caravans [Music] now with a population approaching 40 000 this noisy dusty city continues to grow and attract villagers from the isolated communities higher up nam gial like many ladakhis came to lay looking for work when the state began to build roads to connect the valleys at the time they were recruiting drivers brave enough to handle construction trucks and tackle ladakh's high mountain passes before he takes to the road namgyeol buys the supplies he'll need for his trip and now he'll pick up some really important items truckers in ladakh have a very keen sense of style hey my friend here i'd like to buy one of these take your pick how much 100 rupees a pair do you have any in black let's go see inside okay how much 200 rupees and i have a lot of nice stickers for you too no i don't want any stickers come on they're perfect for a truck and this one the indian flag it's great what else do you have here this to clean your truck plus you can use it as a clothes brush oh come on it's already broken look i have other stuff look a solar lotus how much for the prayer wheel 400 rupees so what's the total 1500 rupees okay i'll give you one thousand deal seeing as you're my first customer of the day for so long and then i drove it to punjab to get it painted and decorated we like beautiful [Music] things hey where are you off to the new bruh see ya okay from lay to the nubra valley is only 120 kilometers as the crow flies but the road trip is no walk in the park there's a major hurdle the khardung la a pass perched up at 5 360 meters this road is known throughout india and the rest of the world because for a long time it was the world's highest motorable road it lost its title recently to the new roads that the chinese built in tibet i like this road and i know it like the back of my hand as soon as the truck is loaded up you have to get moving and even if i'm afraid sometimes i have no choice the trucks are high and wide but even worse most of the road is very narrow in good weather like this it's okay but it is dangerous when there's snow [Music] [Music] nam gial has been running the kardung la pass for 15 years now he's one of the veterans one of the few truckers will tackle this road as soon as the weather permits their courage and experience has earned them the respect of the other drivers personally i'd rather drive at night there's less traffic and you can see the oncoming headlights in daytime you never know when a car is going to come barely around the corner driving at such high altitudes is a real challenge above 5000 meters the lack of oxygen prevents the motors from running smoothly the khardung la pass has its price the trucks are dragging and wheezing when they make it to the summit [Music] so [Applause] [Music] [Music] when i take the mountain roads i pass by holy places and i always string up prayer flags other people come here just for that whereas i'm lucky enough to pass by these spots they're on my way hello according to the buddhist religion the wind caresses the holy prayers and scatters them to the four winds transmitting their messages to humanity and the gods a few kilometers beyond the pass nam gyal makes a stop at his mother's village oh just fine he worked as a messenger boy on construction sites he was also in the army school when his father died because we didn't sometimes i'll bring my mother some flour and fruit there are no orchards here otherwise i'll send someone to bring her some apples and apricots i don't come through here very often because right now the shipments are going to change when i make a long-haul trip it lasts at least 20 days [Music] these high mountain villages seem frozen in time cut off from the rest of the world for a good part of the winter these small communities of robust men and women come back to life in the springtime when the roads reopen [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] when he can namgyal acts as a messenger bringing the latest news from the neighboring villages and from the capital the nubra river valley situated close to the pakistani border is one of the most well preserved regions of ladakh with its lower altitude and milder climate it is the orchard of ladakh [Music] is coming into the final twists and bends his trip is ending he'll be able to deliver his shipment [Music] hey stanzan how's business great thanks a lot call me for the next order [Applause] at the end of each day i try to find a nice place to pass tonight here today somewhere else tomorrow hotels and restaurants they're not for me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] before leaving the nubra valley namgyal stops at diskit a 14th century monastery clinging to the mountainside like an eagle's nest [Music] soon nam gyal will have to tackle the khardung la pass again on his way back to lay he's praying and making offerings to the monastery to obtain the protection of the gods he'll even have his truck blessed personally i think that such rapid change isn't a good thing too much progress kills our traditional values i think it would be better if ladakh remained [Music] traveling at the wheel of his truck nam giel has witnessed firsthand the radical changes his country has been going through a native of the mountains he travels the length and breadth of ladakh to earn a living for his family [Music] others have taken their destiny in hand and are striving to reconcile traditional society and development in this remote province of india my name is dorje but everybody calls me stanzi because ghia is the village where i was born and raised having my village's name added to mine means a lot to me because i'll never forget my roots [Music] life unfolds at a leisurely pace in ghia this village is off the beaten path and has managed to preserve a certain harmony between the villagers their animals and the surrounding mountains [Music] gia is one of ladakh's oldest villages they found traces of human activity here dating back to the second century bc it's harvest time and all through the village they're grilling the freshly picked barley then they'll grind it up to make a flower called santa there's a lot to do at this time of year so stanzan has come back to his village to lend a hand to his brother and sister-in-law however there are a few villages like here where the farmers understand that it's important to consume local produce so they've gone back to growing and eating and it's gradually becoming the staple food [Music] [Music] until the age of 15 stanzan was a shepherd along with his sister then when he still could hardly read or write he left his village to pursue his education since then he has traveled widely in india and abroad and he would like the whole community to benefit from his experience [Music] we've recently started growing sweet peas here the problem is that the seeds are expensive because they come from cashmere and deli so to be self-sufficient the farmers keep seeds from the harvest to sow the following year they don't have to buy them anymore and peace grow really well here [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] stanzin is fighting to improve the everyday life of these villagers he has an ally in this undertaking his friend christiane mordelle a french woman with a passion for ladakh their goal is to reorganize the community based on sound sustainable farming methods together they founded an association of the region's shepherds and a cooperative run by the women of the valley's four [Music] villages the farmers and the shepherds are in fact completely interdependent and if the shepherds disappear so will the farmers and then the village will disappear so they need a little bit of help from all sides to try to re-establish a new constructive connection and mutual respect among all the concerned parties the women are certainly proud of what they're doing and so are we knows [Music] stanzin is now 39 and he has become the dac's first documentary filmmaker [Music] the foreign [Music] [Music] he told [Music] thank god i've been lucky enough to travel but every time i come this lake is not only a delight for the eyes you can feel in your heart that this is like a resting place for the gods and goddesses okay the effects of climate change are even more visible in the himalayas than elsewhere in 2014 gia was hit hard by a sudden flood the glacier upstream from the village is receding and a pocket of melt water formed when it gave way the torrent destroyed everything in its path and swept away the village's only bridge organ stanzin's brother was there he was the one who gave the alert it was around 11 o'clock at night the water hadn't risen but i noticed the strange smell then later around midnight i heard an enormous noise the water started rising and it kept rising around four in the morning the water had risen above the bridge and it was cascading over it after a while half the bridge was torn away and the force of the water ripped away the banks [Music] stanzin was alerted by his brother during the night and arrived at the village early in the morning helpless before the raging elements he took out his camera to have a record of the disaster [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] they lived in harmony with their land so they weren't afraid of the climate now every year in 2002 2003 2004 before and especially in 2010 when will my cattle die i'm afraid too like all the doctors it's really starting to pray on our minds how can we come up with a solution to the climate problems the family house was spared by the flood of 2014. stanzan comes home to his village far from the bustling capital where he lives half the time to enjoy the peace and quiet here in the cocoon of his childhood he finds the inspiration for his film projects feel somewhat lost if you live your life respecting the traditions you miss out on the modern world and if you live in the modern world you lose the traditions there's a huge question mark between these two worlds making documentaries is stanzan's way of finding a balance between present day and traditional ladakh his extraordinary destiny has taken him traveling in his childhood when he was a shepherd with his sister then later abroad to international film festivals but stanzan has never forgotten where he comes from his sister is still a shepherdess as a tribute to her he made her the subject of one of his documentaries the shepherdess of the glaciers [Music] today stanzan is going to give his sister a surprise he's going to show her the film for the first time [Music] thanks to my camera i can transmit the beauty of ladakh and the himalayan mountains the beauty of its people i've been very lucky in becoming the first ladakhi to make documentary films many films have already been shot here but since i grew up here i can do an even better job of capturing the traditional ways of life the culture and art [Music] his sister tearing is still living with her flock a half days hike from the village the only human being in these rugged mountains 4 500 meters up she is one of the village's last shepherds good yeah not too tired no [Music] you have a good trip i surprised you didn't i i was wondering who it was in the distance i didn't recognize you lives in her tent year round in winter the temperature can drop to minus 40 degrees celsius this wild region is home to wolves and snow leopards it takes an enormous strength of character to live in such a rugged isolated spots [Music] hey ben you want to see it yes how did it turn out you'll see it's the film i did about you remember i'll show it to you on my computer [Music] [Music] hey uh [Music] look it's your film it's embarrassing i'm shy don't be embarrassed look it's beautiful [Music] [Music] oh my little baby goats they're like your little children huh yes they're so cute i love them nice yeah [Music] [Applause] i can't believe that's me it's as if it was some other woman [Music] is a very hard job it's true because the working conditions are too harsh but deep down i think that even after you get a good education you can still choose to exercise this profession because it's so rich and it's indispensable for everyone [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] as he accompanies his sister with her flock stanzin is taken back to his childhood he remembers all the special moments he shared with sarin from his vantage point up in these mountains stanzin can measure just how far he has come in life [Music] [Music] there's one very important thing [Music] that is why i'm a filmmaker [Music] [Music] just [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 338,957

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), somewhere on earth, amazing stories, amazing stories from Ladakh, amazing quest, Ladakh

Id: pac3SkzzfFk

Length: 52min 14sec (3134 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 28 2022