One day long journey on KKH be like;
Mae Na Kaha tha naa ByRoad na jaa!
Thursday 30 April 2015
Friday 24 April 2015
Family History;
Family history gives us an anchor, a foundation from which we exist and can thrive(“Susan G Mathis”). When we look at our ancestors we will come to know that the small steps taken by them meant allot for us today .Our culture, beliefs, customs and social values are embodied on the principles set by them and we draw inspiration from their virtues. Every family is identified by an eminent ethnicity which they believe make them distinguish like language, culture, region, religion etc. These cultural beliefs were developed progressively and it later on became a strong and bonding force which kept the families intact.
The history of families residing in mountains is unique because they traveled from different places and settled their due to better economic condition at that time mainly due to grazing fields for their cattle. My family history goes back to Tibeten Khampa. Under Tibetans ruler the culture, religion and beliefs were molded into Tibetans Buddhism, thus majority of the population were converted into Tibetans Buddhism from Indian Buddhism. Our language is Balti, a Tibetans language spoken in Baltistan. My family is identified by the language because the Balti People share allot of similarities among themselves which make us different from others. Our traditions, culture and taste are unique which identifies us. Although there are some overlapping with other cultures like after the advent of Islam the majority of population converted to Islam so we have same religious beliefs but our cultural practices are different. Our cultural festivals like Polo, JashnBaharan and Harvest time festivals are unique. In addition to these our traditional food, dresses and ornaments, music and dances, art and architecture shows a peculiar character which identifies our history and we are identified as Baltiyul or Little Tibet. Our Balti language is a very developed language which has its own script and historical books and ornaments which depicts the strong foundation of our culture. We Baltis know our land as Lhayul (Land of God); Ladakh as Maryul (Mars) and Bhutan as Brugyul (Land of Dragons).
These cultural beliefs and deep affiliation with the other cultures having similar language like Tibet and Ladakh shows that we are identified by our language. At the Independence of Pakistan Baltistan was under the administration of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir which became independent state on November 1, 1947. The region was run by local government for 16 days but on the call of local residents the local government unconditionally decided to join Pakistan. After joining Pakistan we gain a new identity, Pakistani identity. But Pakistan treated Gilgit Baltistan as a stepchild since its incorporation in Pakistan. The struggle of people of Gilgit Baltistan in defending their patriotism with Pakistan is undeniable like their sacrifices in war of kargil, etc. Instead of true patriotism shown by the local the region has not yet proclaimed as a constitutional part of country. It has not yet given right to cast vote, no representation in national assembly and senate, and has been discriminated in other fields like education, health, and infrastructure. Even the main bureaucrats seats of Gilgit Baltistan is not been given to locals but it is being control by federal government. Although Gilgit Baltistan selfgoverning ordinance was approved in 2009 but it was not beneficial for long term local government because the main powers still reside in the Bureaucrats which are non locals.
GilgitBaltistan was discriminated soon after independence so Gilgit and Baltistan being geographically integrated stived together for their rights which gave us a same platform.The long communal journey of people of Gilgit and Baltistan gave them an identity, communal identity i.e. GilgitBaltistan identity. People strive for their rights through GilgitBaltistan identity but still want to intact their regional identity due to its peculiar characters. Our cultural affiliation with people having same language like Tibetans and Ladakh instead of having differences in national identity depicts that subnational identity has an eminent importance among us. In short a person is identified by his subnational identity with in a nation because it gives a proper feedback about his history and ancestors while a person is identified by his national identity at international level because subnational identities becomes dormant at international level.
Monday 20 April 2015
'You have to taste a culture to understand it.'Deborah Cater.
'You
have to taste a culture to understand it. 'Deborah Cater.
Every
culture has some specialties which gives it a unique identity. The traditions, customs,
rituals and taste of every culture develop over time. Although due to
amalgamation with other cultures their ways of life changes. A best example of
this is the culture of sub-continent which became more or less Anglo-Indians due
to long decades of British Imperialism. Although the people of Baltistan were also
migrated from different areas like India, China, Kashmir, etc. They migrated
from far-flung areas and settled in Baltistan due to better economic condition
at that time i.e. Evergreen landscape to cultivate and graze their livestock.
But due to certain limitation i.e. Geographical location, the culture preserved
for long time and it was less merged with outside world.
'You
have to taste a culture to understand it. 'Deborah Cater. It means that for an
in-depth study of any culture you have to learn about their rituals, customs, beliefs,
morality and above all their history. Let me take an example, in western
countries the gesture of waving “the middle finger” shows an individual sign of
disrespect but in some cultures it is completely neutral. Although in our
culture it is a sign of disrespect too but the gesture of “Thumb”, raising it
in a gathering is also a disrespectful act. Let me give you some glimpse of my
cultural food. We live in the mountains of Himalayas and Karakoram which
separates us from other culture mainly due to natural climate. So we have our
own unique cultural foods mainly prepared from local ingredients.
*Sorry
for the example if you guys think that it is not a good way to start. : P
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| "These are savoury buckwheat pancakes called Kisser..." |
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"Zerchoon, a deep-fried mildly sweet cross between cake and bread. I couldn't stop eating these!"
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Sunday 19 April 2015
Helping Hands!
Faiz Bakhsh Public School is a private school run by LSO, Hassan Abad Welfare Association - HAWA since 2001. We strongly encourage all those local support organizations which are working to uplift their society, especially by furnishing quality education to their young generation.
Spirit of Game
Snap shot during Ghanche Festival.....Polo mach is shown in picture which is a part of our cultural heritage....
Loving & Caring People!
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress is judged by the way its animals are treated.―Mahatma Ghandi
Streets_Having Zik Zak Patterns
“Be comfortable in the narrow streets because they will take you to the wider streets!
You are safer here tonight than you would be on the streets of any other part of the world"
~ Khaplu Barah
You are safer here tonight than you would be on the streets of any other part of the world"
Eyes that smile..
Walking through the narrow alleyways of #Turtuk, I noticed this little #girl in a #window. By the time I picked my camera up, she
had covered her face. But the warm genuine smile shines through despite the #veil. Best part about visiting places like
Turtuk is the warmth you will feel all around. Natives are so kind, curious and
shy.When the Indo-Pakistan war ended in 1971, Turtuk (together with 5 other
Balti villages) was then included within the Indian line of border control
which was early in the Pakistan territory.
Local Dance_Dancing little Angels
The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie.―Agnes de
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