Sanskriti Talwar

Naveen Macro

Photographs

Vishaka George

Text Editor

large_01-Image_8-NM-Searching-for-grazing-grounds-in-Spiti.jpg

medium_01-Image_8-NM-Searching-for-grazing-grounds-in-Spiti.jpg

small_01-Image_8-NM-Searching-for-grazing-grounds-in-Spiti.jpg

thumbnail_01-Image_8-NM-Searching-for-grazing-grounds-in-Spiti.jpg

01-Image_8-NM-Searching-for-grazing-grounds-in-Spiti.jpg

“About 30 years ago it used to snow heavily in Spiti. It was greener and the grass was also good,” says Chhering Angdui, a herder and farmer in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh.The 43-year-old lives in Langza, a village situated 14,500 ft above sea level and home to 158 people (<a href="https://censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=14260">Census 2011</a>). A majority of them are from the Bhot community listed as scheduled tribe in the state. Residents of  the village are largely engaged in farming, livestock rearing and hospitality for tourists who visit Spiti. In late July 2021, we met Chhering and a few herders  in Langza tending to their livestock of cattle, sheep and goats. They spoke about having to travel greater distances just to find grass for their animals. “Now it snows less here in the mountains. It doesn’t rain much here either so not much grass grows now,”  Chhering says, “This is why we have to take the animals to further heights for grazing.”

Spiti lies in the north-eastern part of Himachal Pradesh and is home to many high-altitude valleys of several rivers. The region has a cold desert-like environment which attracts tourists from the rest of India – especially during the hot summer months. Visitors can also  catch a  glimpse of the Milky Way galaxy visible in the clear night skies up here. The herder&#39;s story told in this film shows us how erratic snowing patterns have impacted the lives and livelihoods of Chhering and his fellow herdsmen. “We [villagers] have been thinking that in the coming years something will happen and the bhed bakria [sheeps and goats] here will go extinct because we don’t have much grass left. Where will we get it from?” he asks, worry apparent across his face.

Searching for grazing grounds in Spiti

స్పీతీలో పచ్చికబయళ్ళ కోసం వెతుకులాట

ஸ்பிதியில் மேய்ச்சல் நிலங்களை தேடுதல்

ਸਪੀਤੀ ਵਿਖੇ ਚਰਾਂਦਾਂ ਦੀ ਭਾਲ਼

ସ୍ପିଟିରେ ଚାରଣ ଭୂମି ଖୋଜୁଛନ୍ତି

മേച്ചിൽ‌പ്പുറങ്ങൾ തേടി സ്പിതിയിൽ

ಸ್ಪಿಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹುಲ್ಲುಗಾವಲಿನ ಹುಡುಕಾಟ

स्पीति में चरागाहों की तलाश

સ્પીતિમાં ચરવા માટેના મેદાનોની શોધખોળ

स्पीति मं चरागान खोजत

স্পিতি উপত্যকায় চারণভূমির খোঁজে

স্পিতিত চৰণীয়া পথাৰৰ সন্ধানত

اسپیتی: مویشیوں کے لیے چراگاہوں کی تلاش

Tabo

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Searching for grazing grounds in Spiti

The climate is changing at 14,500 feet, and herders in Langza say that there is not enough grass for their livestock at high altitudes anymore

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit