Ladakh: The story of migration

Zojila the gate way of Ladakh is located on national highway between Sonamarg and Drass. It is life-line connectivity between the outer world and the unforgettable land known as Ladakh. All kind of trade, transport and communication depends upon the opening and closing of this gate way.

Due to its different topography, the agriculture season is very short and people have to stock up food grains, essential commodities and provisions for the harsh winters during which they remain completely cutoff from the rest of the world. During the winter season, people have to face many challenges and difficulties because of extreme cold in the snow-covered mountainous area.

Even when Zojila pass is reopened for general traffic during the six months summer period, travelling through it remains a great risk due to the presence of heavy snow. Traffic cannot run smoothly for the whole year because of snow avalanches, blizzard and landslides. These obstacles render the high way rough and narrow. These circumstances have proved fateful for many drivers, passengers, who have not only lost their property, but their life as well on this road.

With the advent of this harsh winter, many aged people from Ladakh migrate to Srinagar, Jammu or other states of India because of the non-availability of basic health care facilities in the region; and also in order to escape the life threatening chill of winters. Youths migrate for their education because of the paucity of good teachers and educational institutions.

Migration then what…?

Many of these temporary migrations over time have changed into permanent ones on a significantly large scale. Many people from Leh, Kargil and their adjoining areas now look for livelihood opportunities either in other warmer and better connected cities of the state or in other states of India and even abroad. Hence the temporary mobility of winters has slowly transformed into permanent adaptation to new areas. This migration has made a great impact on the unique culture of this snow land. For example, earlier the People used to wear home knit and home spun woolen clothes obtained from their tamed lambs or sheep. Now these domestic garments are limited to handloom centers and people prefer to purchase imported dresses. This in turn has affected the livelihood of local artisans.

The migration also affected the language of this region. Now the new generation that resides outside its land of origin does not prefer to speak in its mother tongue. They rather prefer to speak in Urdu or other language than in Balti, Purki and Shina etc.

Many in the region fear that if nothing is done to improve the connectivity of this place with the rest of the state it will not lose its inhabitants but also its culture.

     

Author: Abdul Hussain Muntazree

Student of Convergent Journalism

Central University of Kashmir

 Published in 'Samanbal'

The saddest day in Kashmir

It was 15^th of March 2012 when I left home for university early in the morning. I was trying to remember things to do for the day work. Suddenly I heard an unsettling bark. I turned to see back but…scratch..! The corner of my jacket was in a dog’s mouth. I got frightened and lost my way and fell down. I saw blood oozing out of my right thigh. I cried and shouted for help.

Hearing my cries, an elderly man wearing Phiran rush towards me and enquired. He rushed me to a nearby medical shop muttering and murmuring because a dog bite can be dangerous for anyone’s life be it adult, an infant or an aged person. Looking at my torn cloths Altaf the pharmacist asked, ‘what happened?’ A dog bit me.

 “Oh you should go to hospital and treat it, dog biting is very dangerous”. Said Altaf

 On his advice I went back to my home.  Changed my cloths and went to State Medical Hospital Srinagar (SMHS), to anti rabies care centre.  I saw a long queue of small children crying, on a bench in a corridor waiting for their turn. When my turn came I noticed a young doctor who asked me about the incident. I narrated all about the incident. He prescribed some medicines, injections, ointment and told me to buy injection, medicines and ointment from outside (private medical) shop.

I went back to hospital with those prescribed injections and medicines. There a vaccinator loaded the injections in an insulin syringe and injected 1ml on my right arm and asked to wait for 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes a nurse with another syringe came, injected 1ml injection on my both shoulders, after while male vaccinator with another loaded syringe present before me ask to laid on a bed. He injected surround the mark of dog bite. So it was like a needle work of an embroider for me.

    I left the hospital with wet eyes, limping like playing hop scotch and reached home. At night I felt severe pain in my right wrist and couldn’t sleep for the whole night. Next day when I consulted a doctor again at Bone and Joint Hospital Barazulla Srinagar, he asked to have an x-ray of right wrist. I did the same. He advised me to have plaster of my right hand and asked to take rest for twenty days because my wrist bone was dislocated due to fell down when dog chased.

This not only left me in severe pain, anxiety and tension but even cost a middle class student like me more than two thousand rupees which has been tough for me.

And the biggest tragedy is that even today I see stray dogs all over the streets of Srinagar. Now I stared to walk during morning and evening. So why is not the municipality doing a thing about it.

Author: Abdul Hussain Muntazree

‘Kargil’

                                                      Student of convergent journalism

Central University of Kashmir

The right to talk and write

Journalists in India have no special rights. Unlike the United States, freedom of the press in the country does not flow from any special provision or amendment to the Constitution, but from the right to free speech and expression. Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution confers this right subject only to reasonable restrictions specified in Article 19(2). Therefore, to propose licences, qualifications and common entrance examinations for journalists, as Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari did a few days ago, is to try to circumscribe and limit the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Dissemination of information might be the business of some news organisations, but it is also an essential part of the everyday activities of countless Indians who talk, post, upload or tweet what they see, hear, sense or think. What distinguishes journalists employed by a news organisation and private individuals taking advantage of social media and personal communication channels to disseminate information is not the nature of their work, but the public standing and credibility that they command. Any attempt to prescribe licences and qualifications for journalists will necessarily end up limiting what ordinary citizens can do. As in other democracies, newspapers in India do not require a licence to operate. In authoritarian or managed democracies, where press licensing is the norm, the threat of a cancelled licence is often enough to ensure the media toes the official line. If journalists are to be given licences, can newspaper licensing be far behind?

All of this is not to say that news organisations need make no effort to improve the standards of their journalism. In the race to be the first to break the news, television channels, and sometimes newspapers too, often get their facts wrong and the context mixed-up. But, as the best journalism schools have already realised, practice, not theory, makes a good journalist. Mr. Tewari’s proposal seems more like a trial balloon: he gave no details of what exactly he had in mind, and did not appear to have given serious thought to all the implications. Indeed, his train of thought mirrors that of the Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju, who, some time ago, set up a committee to decide on minimum qualifications for a journalist. The Minister wants the minimum qualification to apply equally to subject experts contributing to a news organisation, reckoning that they would not resent the requirement. What is mooted as an exercise to raise the quality of journalism could just as well pose a threat to the free flow of information, and to the freedom of speech and expression.

Keywords: Constitutional amendment, freedom to write, freedom of speech, Indian Constitution, newspaper licensing, Manish Tewari, common entrance exam for journalists, journalists' right

An Iranian journalist has been killed by Salafi terrorists near the Syrian capital, Damascus.

 

Hadi Baghbani was a documentary filmmaker who had traveled to the war-hit country to make a documentary about the Syrian crisis but was slain by the Al-Nusra Front Takfiri terrorists Tuesday night.  

 

Syria has been experiencing deadly unrests for more than two years. Scores of people have been killed and thousands have been displaced as a result of the clashes between foreign-backed rebels and government forces. 

 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi condemned the incident on Wednesday and called on concerned international organizations to pursue the case and fulfill their responsibility to safeguard media officials and journalists.  

 

He added that the countries that fund armed Syrian groups and encourage them to kill Syrian people and foreign nationals are responsible for the death of the Iranian journalist. 

 

He also offered condolences to Baghbani’s family and Iranian media people.

Social Networking

Facebook is a social utility network and most popular among other social media network followed by twitter, YouTube, Google+  and other social networks like  e-Blog, Metacafe, Flicker etc.

Social Utility Network (SUN) enables people to meet with different peoples of the world and to keep in touch with their different friends, relatives and acquaintances. It enables them to communicate with their near ones, kiths and kin. It also provides a better opportunity for freedom of speech, expression of feelings, sharing of ideas etc by sharing pictures, videos, texts etc. It is not only used for personal purpose but people used it for official, social and commercial purposes.

It is an important to understand that these social networks provide so much facility to the users. Every account holder gets news updates; messages and every kind of required information through these social networks, instead of these some users indulge in the misuse of these social media networks and try to create a hateful environment in the society.

Now a number of its users get fake accounts and upload irrelevant pictures, videos, write irrelevant comments and post irrelevant texts on other’s Facebook walls which ultimately lead to the insignificance of this social media network.

Already the age criterion that is eligible to get a Facebook account is above 13 years but minors also make efforts to have their Facebook account. So those fake accounts users land other users in trouble and kept them away from its actual goal. As a result social utility networks loss its creditability and its importance.

 It becomes the duty of the every user to use social media in a right and proper way. Everyone ought to try to take the advantages of these social media networks. Now it has become a trend that every youth holding different brands of mobile phones in their hands while it may be in their home, play ground, school, college and university campus even while traveling and they chat, tweet, share pictures and videos with others.

If they were doing so, they have to think that they have to use in a right or proper way. Otherwise it will land them in trouble. If they were not using it without any moral or social response they were only waste their money and time because time is very precious for everybody.  Once it slips out of hands, it cannot be regained, because ‘time and tides waits for none’. It is very important to keep our conscience alive and regulate these social utility networks accordingly with moral and social ethics.

 by: Abdul Hussain Muntazree

R/o: Chumikchan Sankoo

published in 'Rangyul' a fortnightly newspaper from Ladakh  

BIRD TALK

RAYS OF NEW HOPE

As the rays of spring glare, the silent and gloomy winter days come to its end. Spring with its bright golden rays enters and infuses the soul of beauty in the universe. It gives way to bright sunny days and new life. The days start with the chirping of birds and gradually the greenery overcast all around and various flowering fruits trees get in full blossom. Once again we get to smell the sweet fragrance of different flora that bore varieties of beautiful flowers and delicious fruits.

This season provides new life to different species. The different species of Arial animal in this season collect straws to rebuild their nests that damaged in winter. With the dawn of this season kindergarten schools open where children’s clad in different shinning attires and having  smile on their faces also adds the charm of this season. Similarly other academic institutions like schools, colleges and universities were also open during this season.

This season also develops a new hope. Farmers having plough on their shoulder once again came down in their barren field and furrow it for cultivation. Businesses are also blissful and flourish during this season. It means from a small insect to a human being pleased with the advent of this season.

The migratory birds once again visit their old abode and collects straws in order to rebuild their damaged nests. Sparrow which we called ‘Nazbi’, Crow ‘Forok’ Hoopop ‘Puth puth’ etc are migratory birds that comes during this season. But there are some other species also in our areas that are so beautiful and have matchless features.  Birds like Abichubi, Toto bi, Brok bi etc. They are different in colours like black and white, yellow mix with black, light brown etc.  So these are the birds that reside in our area during summer season especially found in Broks (forest), springs water and channels.

‘Magpie’ which we called as Khashaqmuru, is a unique bird only found in our Ladakh region and has its worthful features. Similarly Ruveetmar and Tsintaliq are the birds that accompany with us during whole seasons of a year, especially during ruthless chill season.

Due to some ecological imbalance now many of these birds are became extinct because of the advancement in technologies, now these birds are rarely found in our vicinity and some of these birds that reside during the whole season especially during cold months that their thrilling sounds accompany with us and never let us feel the absence of those chirping sound of migratory birds.

Imagine, if these loving species which accompany with us especially during harsh winter season and enthrall us with their mellifluous voices are extinct.  Can we miss them and feel their absence? How we could enjoy and spent those harsh months in the absence of these enchanting sounds of those loving birds?

I appeal to the people of this snow land, its administration especially the concerned department to consider all this, if they are really concerned about these species. They must realize that these birds also have a right to life.

                          Abdul Hussain Muntazree

                           R/o  Chumikchan Sankoo.

             Published in 'Rangyul' a fortnightly Newspaper of Ladakh

Sankoo: Gulmargh of Ladakh

Sankoo is one of the tourist resorts in district Kargil, which is popularly known as the Gulmargh of Kargil. There is no doubt that the valley has everything for the people who are in quest of pleasure and cheerfulness.  It is so beautiful that one can hardly resist seeing it again and again. Many places in and around here are either having religious significance or are tourist attractions. Sankoo is about 40 kms away from its main city Kargil. Some of religious significance or tourist attractions places are as karchykhar chamba, cool springs, Batakhar and so many other tourist recreation places.

karpokhar shrine is really glorious among these. This shrine is dedicated to Sayed Mir Hashim, who was a Muslim scholar and saint. He was called to give lessons of Islam to a Buddhist ruler, Thi-Namgyal. In 16th century, Thi-Namgyal changed his religion to Islam. Tourists visit Karpo-Khar Shrine to offer prayers and religious ceremonies.

Sankoo is a place bound with greenery and has a variety of flora and fauna, different coloured of flowers which blossom mainly during the summers. On reaching Sankoo one can have immediate look toward the engulfed mountain valley full of green land, meadows on all sides. One feels overwhelmed on seeing the exciting view of this snow clad mountain valley. On the other hand one also witness the fresh and tidy air, clean spring water streams running through it, which also add to the beauty of this valley. Now with change in environment or due to movement of tectonic place these natural springs are constantly depleting. Its count is less as compare to its earlier count.  

The place is so attractive that even after spending days together here, you are never tired. It’s the one of the most picturesque, astonishing and a must visit place in Ladakh.  Every people can be seen clicking photography because of its natural beauty and posses the quality of wild, landscape and portrait photography.

 Each has charm of its own. Similarly Batakhar is another great historic monument in Sankoo area, which has also a big worthy history behind it. The local as well as the administration failed to preserve this great monument. This is located near Batacho glacier, which is one among the grand water source for the whole valley.  

All the locals utilize this water for domestic and agriculture purpose, except for drinking and cooking. Especially every farmer does good use of this superior water source, which brings the alluvial soil from high mountains which is very fertile and best for agriculture purpose.  The glacier at this place was large a decade back as compared to what it looks now. There are many more aspects which needed to be elaborated and discussed.

In brief it becomes our fundamental and primary duty to protect like these sources of water. Our administration has to look for prolong project to protect this great natural water sources because that day may not be far off when these glaciers will remain only as night mare. So its needs of the hour for public as well the concerned authority to take some advance step in order to protect these natural water sources, which are very important.

Abdul Hussain Muntazree

R/o Chumikchan Sankoo

DAYS I WANT TO REWIND

The days I want to rewind and remember once again are those days when I had the so called ‘freedom of speech and expression’. I would never forget them.  During those days I used to greet my friends, acquaintances and my relatives by short message services on daily basis.  I also used to greet them with picture messages especially on the occasion of their birthdays, weddings and other ceremonies.

I had a simple model of mobile phone in my pocket. I used to send messages to my friends and eagerly wait for their reply. I would often recharge my number with message packs, which was easily available in the market. Sometimes the communication network system provided different message offers and schemes. It also availed me from consuming expensive budget.

With the passage of time sending SMS’s to my friends and others became a nightmare for me. Every day there were different models of mobile phones of different brands, which are very costly? Besides purchasing such kind of highly configured mobile phone from which we couldn’t send a single message to our friends due to the SMS restriction.

Now every day I failed to explain the function of ‘message sending’ system, means the process through which we could send text or picture messages to our youngsters. They always asked me, how can we send a text or picture message to our friends and acquaintances through our mobile phones? I used to narrate them the whole process of sending messages by mobile phones and tried to understand them but they never got satisfied with my answers. At last they asked me a single question, why SMS service is banned in Jammu and Kashmir?

Abdul Hussain Muntazree  

published in Kashmir Standard, a weekly Newspaper

Supreme Leader visits Tehran Intl. Book Fair - Tehran Times

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei paid a visit to the 26th Tehran International Book Fair on Saturday, in which 77 publishers from different countries including Britain, U.S., Germany, India, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon attended the fair this year. 

Iranian films line up for Lucknow festival in India - Tehran Times

Iranian films in various categories will be competing in the 5th International Children’s Film Festival, which will be held in Lucknow, India from April 19 to 25.

                                                                    JAFAR PANAHI

He was born on 11 July, 1960 in Mianeh, Iran. He is an Iranian filmmaker and is one of the most influential filmmakers in the Iranian New Wave movement.

Jafar Panahi was ten years old when he wrote his first book, which subsequently won the first prize in a literary competition. At the same age, he became familiar with film making. He shot films on 8mm film, acting in one and assisting in the making of another. Later, he took up photography. During his military service, Panahi served in the Iran–Iraq War (1980-90) and made a documentary about the war during this period.

After studying film directing at the College of Cinema and Television in Tehran, Panahi made several films for Iranian television and was the assistant director of Abbas Kiarostami’s film Through the Olive Trees (1994). Since that time, he has directed several films and won numerous awards in international film festivals.

Panahi’s first feature film came in 1995, entitled White Balloon. This film won a Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His second feature film, The Mirror, received the Golden Leopard Award at the Locarno Film Festival. His most notable offering to date has been The Circle (2000), which criticized the treatment of women under Iran’s Islamist regime. Jafar Panahi won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival for The Circle, which was named FIPRESCI Film of the Year at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and appeared on Top 10 lists of critics worldwide.

Panahi also directed Crimson Gold in 2003, which brought him the UN Certain Regard Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival. During that time Panahi was detained in the JFK airport, New York, while taking a connection from Hong Kong to Montevideo, after refusing to be photographed and fingerprinted by the immigration police. After being chained and waiting for several hours, he was finally sent back to Hong Kong.

He has gained recognition from film theorists and critics worldwide and received numerous awards including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

                                                                                                                                  MUNTAZREE

                                                          

                                                             Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Filmmaker, novelist, screenwriter, editor, producer, human right activist

He was born in southern Tehran May 29, 1957. In his teen years, he fought against the dictatorship in Iran and was injured by bullet shots by the police and spent some five years in prison as a political prisoner.

The revolution that freed him from prison also unleashed his creative energies. He started story writing whilst in prison and turned to filmmaking. Currently there are 27 books published from Mohsen Makhmalbaf as a ground-breaking writer.

Nasouh Repentance, about a bank clerk who seeks true repentance while facing death. This was the first in a trilogy of highly didactic films with strong religious themes and poor cinematic quality.  Makhmalbaf became a controversial figure when the two films he made in 1991, A Time of Love and The Nights of the Zayandeh-Rood were banned for dealing with physical love and raising doubts about the revolution.

One year before the September 11th incident took place with his film “Kandahar”, premiered in Cannes film festival 2001, he put Afghanistan into the map before any other media. Mohsen Makhmalbaf is the winner of more than 30 prominent international awards including the Legion d’honneur Medallion form France as well as The Best Asian Filmmaker of the world award from Pusan International Film Festival. He became the Dean of the Asian Film Academy in 2007.

Makhmalbaf taught cinema to his family. His older daughter the celebrated Samira Makhmalbaf with her films The Apple, The Blackboards & At Five in The Afternoon (all premiered in Cannes Film Festival). His younger daughter Hana Makhmalbaf with Joy of Madness (premiered in Venice Film Festival) & Buddha Collapsed out Of Shame (screened in Berlin international film festival). His son Maysam Makhmalbaf with “How Samira Made the Blackboard” and his wife Marziyeh Meshkini the director of “The Day I Became A Woman” & “Stray Dogs” premiered at Venice Film Festival.

Mohsen Makhmalbaf filmmaking is not limited to his country. He has the experience of shooting films in different regions including: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Iran. Films by the Makhmalbaf family have been screened in over 50 countries and been shown more than 2000 times at the festivals all over the world and have taken some 110 international awards.

Makhmalbaf in addition to filmmaking lived in Afghanistan for a period of two years and succeeded in carrying out 82 human rights projects. This included the building of schools in the towns of Herat and Zaranj and the teaching of cinema, as well as helping to set up the Afghan cinema, which had been totally destroyed during the Taliban regime. 

Letters from Ladakh - Culture Demolition in Fast Forward

 Culture Demolition in Fast Forward

Unforgettable Delights

The diverse cultures of the world have their own peculiar characteristics and have some practiced custom attached which define and enrich them. The affinity and the bondage one feel towards his culture is not merely an emotion but a work of history down the ages.

The ladakhi culture is also a wonderful and spectacular. The eye catching and heart throbbing gestures of ladakhi culture define the very essence of its practice even to this date. One of them is the famous and delicious dish called “Thookpa.”

As unique and unmatched dish sound from its name.  It is a very distinctive and popular cuisine of ladakhi culture. Peoples are fond of having “Thookpa” in the winter season and particularly during the beaten chill and snow falling winter season because it preserves their warmth and physical strength which helps them to face the harsh chill winter.

Thookpa has different kinds like Chapthook, Brasthook, Chukithook, Rsrabthook, Nangthook etc. Thookpa is almost prepared domestically at home. Chapthook is most popular and mouth watered dish commonly prepared at home. Chapthook is basically prepared by the flour of ‘wheat’ which is also a common and popular crop of the Ladakh region. ‘Wheat’ is a unique and popular crop cultivated in every parts of the ladakh region.  Peoples mostly prepared “Thookpa” in grindmills (Ranthak) where wheat’s grinded for making flour. The  ingredients used in preparing “Thookpa” are vegetable oil, chopped meat ,pieces of fats, garlic (zogpa), mithi ,meatmasala, salt, countable amount of mirch and healthy, water and add milk to  add the taste. People prefer to have this cuisine or mouth watered delights in carol Chinese bowls (foto).

Mokmok is also one of the loving cuisines of ladakhi people. It has its special features and unique identity in cooking and preparing. It is prepared by fine Atta like “samosa” filled with chopped meat and mixture of different spices. It is prepared in a special pot called “mokta” three steps pot (two with tiny holes in bottom in which mokmok is kept and plain one in which water is boiled) with the help of its hot steam mokmok get ready to eat. It is domestically prepared at home as well as at hotels in market. Other popular dishes like Punjabi Dhabba, Kashmiri wazwan, ‘Thookpa’ and ‘Mokmok’ are also available at hotel during day time.

I am sure that you have got the idea of preparing Thookpa, Mokmok and its importance as culturally and have the taste of this delight literally but don’t forget it to take manually by your loving ones.

Abdul Hussain Muntazree

                                                                                   R/o Chumikchan Sankoo

Brave dad Badri, 53, told The Sunday People: “We want the world to know her real name. “My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself. “I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks. They will find strength from my daughter.”

Brave dad Badri, 53, told The Sunday People: “We want the world to know her real name.

 

“My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself.

 

“I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks. They will find strength from my daughter.”