Best practices
Traditional Values that helped Ladakhis
rebuild their Lives
Chetna Verma
he night of August
5, 2010 bestowed
nation-wide fame on
the sleepy town of Leh
and its neighbouring
villages when it woke
its residents to the cruel devastation
of a cloudburst that engulfed several
lives and rendered many injured,
homeless and missing. The cold
desert was ravaged by a vast river of
rock and mud ripping apart houses
and razing shops and structures
to the ground. The destructive
floods lasted less than two hours
but caused havoc that would take
years to recover from. Everyone
expected a drastic change not only
in the landscape but in the lives of
its shocked survivors.
T
The Ladakhis
simply accepted the
challenges of this
natural calamity
and voluntarily
launched a
community-wide
support to help
those affected
YOJANA March 2012
Eighteen months later, belying
all doomsday predictions, the
Ladakhi community in and around
Leh stands on firm footing. The
beautiful landscapes complement
the rough terrain, as people go about
their daily chores, celebrating life
with enthusiasm and characteristic
hard work to rebuild a vibrant
town, continuing their tradition of
welcoming tourists with open arms.
It would seem that the newspaper
reports and television news channels
broadcasts were tales of a different
land.
The scars will take time to
heal, though, and reconstruction is
following a slow but steady path.
As one walks down to the inner
regions, remnants of the devastation
become visible – large mounds of
mud and rocks spread over vast
expanse of land, broken houses, and
remnants of cars, buses, shelters,
and houses – all narrating the
incident of that dreadful night. If
the intensity of the cloudburst was
so strong, what drives the people of
Leh to recover and find happiness,
allowing them to carry on their lives
in such a short span of time?
The secret lies in the traditional
lifestyle of Ladakhis that is based
in the fundamental values of
humanity. For them their true duty
is not only towards the almighty
but also towards mankind and
that is certainly a reason why
Ladakhis, known for their
hospitality worldwide, succeeded
in recovering from the devastating
natural calamity. They have always
believed in community efforts,
whether it is about maintaining
their natural and cultural heritage or
about building new prospects.
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