Keeping in mind the rich culture & tradition of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, the Government thought that a specific body is needed so this academy was formed as an autonomous body in the year 1959 with special financial powers under the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. Since 1969 this institution is working and contributing in preserving the art, culture and languages of the region. It is pertinent to mention here that Yakob Bata was the first Cultural Officer of Leh who took a great initiative. We must also recall the initiatives taken by my predecessors and I would like name Sh. Nawang Tsering and Sh. Mipham Otsal for their lifelong contribution to Ladakhi Art, culture and language in general and to this academy in particular.  

 

 

 I was interested in this field from the very beginning. Fortunately, from 2006 I got, the chance to work in this Academy. I never took my work as a duty but as an opportunity to utilise my passion and the work I like. I believed that I should not let this opportunity go waste. With dedication as the main tool, I started this job. I must say that I am very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of officers and officials to carry out whatever activities of this academy in the most desired way.

In between, I got transferred to Jammu and then after coming back, I was given the full charge of the academy. I am quite satisfied with the works that we have done in the last few years. I also appreciate the guidance and contribution that I have received from all quarters. For me, Ladakhi culture stands today at a cross road now, and really need all people/Ladakhis to come together for sustaining the rich cultural heritage. 

 

 

Nothing is static in this world. We should never oppose change. Change is a good thing. We Ladakhis have more or less absorbed the change and have not reacted in a negative way, due to which many things remained preserved. We must appreciate our parents or those generations, as they have absorbed change for the good. 

Lifestyle is something that keeps on changing with time. With development, some changes should be adopted but in a balanced way. There are some impacts of modernity that cannot be denied. There is a huge change in the lifestyle. Earlier our resources were limited so was the demand. Today’s generation is more inclined towards Junk foods as they haven’t understood the importance of Ladakhi cuisine.

 

 

Let us not call it losing but carelessness/neglecting our own culture in a sense. It is good to display our rich culture to outsiders. But, what is more, important is that we have to live and inculcate the real teaching that our culture teaches us. We have to live the life which is based on cultural and traditional values. We must inculcate compassion, good heart, peaceful coexistence and communal harmony in our lives. This is what our culture teaches us. These are the foundation of our culture. Parents must teach their children about the beauty of tangible cultural heritage as well as intangible like loving, kindness, simplicity and peaceful coexistence and family values plus other values. 

 

 

I would rather say that tourists had played a good role in preserving our culture. Had they not visited and researched about Ladakh, none would have ever visited this place. It was the tourists who did researches and explored different areas and promoted it in other countries. Hundreds of books have been written by foreigners about exploring the real beauty of Ladakh. We should shed whatever positive or negative impact tourism had. Now is the time that we should initiate policies, plans and investment for sustaining the rich cultural heritage that we, fortunately, have. Tourists are attracted to Leh because of the unique cultural identity & beautiful geographical landscape. In order to make the tourism industry sustainable in Leh then we must attract them by being good humans and through good cultural and traditional values.

 

 

Academy of Art, Culture and Language targets to infuse cultural richness in our children. We make them realise and understand the importance of culture, art and language. Since last few years, we have focussed on children. We identify the students with language potential, dance, drama, song, music, art form and traditional knowledge and try to promote them by providing different platforms.  For the preservation of Art, culture and languages a huge amount of money is not always needed, we can have maximum output at a low cost. For preserving the cultural heritage, we need to create awareness among the masses. In the last few years, we have visited different villages and tried our level best to create awareness at different possible levels. 

 

Everyone stresses unity and harmony among families and communities, but no one suggests how. Unless we do not share a bond or relation, we cannot promote harmony. In older times though people were poor, they would share things, spend time with one another and support each other during a crisis. That was the reason that there was communal harmony for thousands of years in Ladakh. That is one of the unmatched beauties of our culture. 

 

 

It is essential that youth must stay rooted in our culture and tradition. But we shouldn’t blame them for not adopting our culture. It is not their fault as they themselves have not understood the value of our rich culture. In older times there used to be lots of gatherings that were the ultimate social institution for everyone to learn. Those days are gone now. Today parents do not have time for their children. Parents must teach their children that how cultural values can help them live a better life. Ladakhis are known for their honesty, simplicity and extremely kind nature.

 

 

This is true that maximum researchers related to Ladakh are done by Foreigners. Our youngsters are well educated and now they have understood the importance of culture and tradition. Some students have now started doing research about different topics related to Ladakhi Art, Culture and Languages. There are much youth who have presented research papers in different conferences in India as well as abroad. We should not forget the contribution of our contemporary scholars who despite of all challenges have made a huge contribution in this regard. 

 

 

No doubt we are advanced in the field art & literature. Since long we have been striving hard for recognition of Bhoti language in the 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution. But that is not the solution. No doubt it would be a source of inspiration for Ladakhis and a source for funding. But unless we do not use that language in our daily life, we cannot preserve it. We have been conducting various workshops, symposium and debates regarding the importance of Ladakhi Language. We also held writer-artist camp and provide a platform to them to discuss on various culture-related issues. We also held a workshop with Ladakhi lyricists, scriptwriters, artists, musicians, onpos, astrologers and many others which proved very fruitful. But a single individual and an academy alone cannot do things. There has to be a collective effort from everyone. 

 

 

Cultural Academy is an autonomous body and not directly a part of LAHDC, Leh as far as funding is concerned. When you say CCDF’s provision, I don’t see any provision that a Councillor can sanction funds out of CCDF for carrying out cultural or literary activities in their respective constituencies.