Ladakh, or 'Little Tibet', is a wildly beautiful desert land high in the Western Himalayas. It is a place of few resources and an extreme climate. Yet for more than a thousand years, it has been home to a thriving culture. Traditions of frugality and cooperation, with an intimitate and location-specific knowledge of the environment, enabled the Ladakhis not only to survive but to prosper. Then came 'development'. Now in Leh, the capital, one finds pollution and divisiveness, inflation and unemployment, intolerance and greed. Centuries of ecological balance and social harmony are under threat of modernization.
Ancient Futures is much more than a film about Ladakh. The breakdown of Ladakh's culture and environment forces us to re-examine what we really mean by 'progress' - not only in the 'developing' parts of the world, but in the industrialized world as well. The story of Ladakh teaches us about the root causes of environmental, social and psychological problems, and provides valuable guidelines for our own future.
I travelled in Ladakh in 1996 between September and November, spending time in Leh, the Nubrah Valley, Shey, Thiksey and Hemis monastries and on the road back to Manali, which I hitchhiked along for three days, travelling 500 kms. I worked for Helen Norberg-Hodge's Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) while I was in Leh, selling water in the street. It was a life changing experience.
I spent three nights in Diskit Gompa, built by Changzem Tserab Zangpo, a disciple of Tsong-kha-pa, the Diskit Gompa dates back to the 14th century. In this recording there are around 70 monks chanting in the main hall of the monastery. Bowls of butter tea and sampa can be heard occasionally sliding along the benches as some monks take a break and others step forward to take their place. The chanting went late into the night from very early in the morning for three days.
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