To recall old Leh town, talk series organised in city

By Kunzang Chosdol LEH, Oct 16, 2017
LEH :
With an aim to flashback the memories of old Ladakh, Leh Old Town Initiative (LOTI) and Tibet Heritage Fund (THF) organised a talk series on the theme “Early Memories of Old Leh town” on September 30 at Kushu house, Gogsum, Old town Leh.

Abdul Ghani Sheikh, 81 years old, Scholar was the chief guest on the occasion, whereas the resident of Old town Leh and a total of 20 students from Lamdon Model School and Moravian Mission School also participated the programme.
 
He said, “Our time was far different than the present days, today the younger generation are privileged. They can get all comfortable things right from their birth. We are the one who witnessed every new thing that came to Ladakh for example, Aeroplane, Pressure Cooker, Fountain Pen, Tourist, Television etc. and each time people were amazed to see the new things”.
 
He told about the meaning of some town such as Gogsum “Go” means “gate” and “sum” means three which has been named after the three entry gates of the area. Stalam, “sta” means “horse” and “lam” means “path” which has been named because the caravan used to move from the area.

 He said that there was less number of household below the Leh palace those times. During the time of war, all the gates used to be closed and houses inside these gates remained safe. Having a house below the palace and field below the pond was considered privileged and accordingly, women get married to each other. 
 
Sonam Gyatso, LOTI staff said, “Leh old town has been the capital of Ladakh through centuries and today there are still rich cultural heritage that can be found in every corner of the town. In 2003, LOTI was founded in Leh. It is a part of Tibet Heritage Fund who works in Lhasa. From 2003, we have been working to renovate old houses of Leh old town. This is for the first time that we organised LOTI talk series about the memories of Old Leh town where we invited old experienced people to share their memories with the younger generation.” 

Yutaka Hirako, Director LOTI said, “We have been working for the preservation of ancient palaces and houses because it is the part of our history. At the same time, we feel the importance of preserving the intangible history along with tangible one so we organise this talk series.” 

On October 7, Razia Sultan, LEHO Director talks about the glimpse of Old Leh town and on October 14, Tsepal Goji shared his childhood memories in Leh old town.

Interaction session was also held among the tourist, students and local residents on the occasion.