Koto's Adventure

By Elena Moffet | 3 Comments | Posted in | Permalink

It's been 5 months since Erik Koto left ZAAZ to do volunteer work in Ladakh. Yesterday, we received an in-depth update about what he's been doing with his time away. 

Below Erik returns as a ZAAZ blogs Guest Author to share the story of his work in Ladakh.

Himalayan Folk Recordings - Powered by ZAAZ
by Erik Koto

How do you go head-to-head against Brittany Spears and Bollywood when you're promoting centuries old folk songs and quaint pastoral dances?

That's the type of question Morup Namgyal has been asking himself for three decades as he's struggled to keep his culture's folk music alive in the face of slick commercial entertainers imported from India and the West.  Over the past 30 years, Morup has tirelessly used his status as a much-loved folk singer to help pass down the cultural traditions of his native Ladakh to younger generations.

As it turns out, we had a chance to help Morup go mano-a-mano with Bollywood and Brittany.  Here's the story:

Ladakh -  "Land of high passes"
With an average altitude of 12,000 feet and a sub-zero winter that lasts 9 months, Ladakh is a very remote place.  The region survived as an independent Himalayan Kingdom for over 1,200 years until the British drew it into India's borders in 1947.  Today, Ladakh is home to roughly 250,000 people and one of the most vibrant cultures in Asia.

Like many mountain cultures, Ladakh's history and traditions are largely oral.  As a result, very little has been recorded in a written format.  So when Morup worries about folk songs dying out, it's more than just the loss of a pretty tune; it's an important piece of Ladakhi history vanishing. 

The Lamdon School
I had the good fortune to meet Morup two years ago while on vacation in Ladakh.  I met him while visiting The Lamdon School.  With 1,500 students, The Lamdon School is the largest school in Ladakh.  It is a non-profit organization created with the specific objective of preserving the Ladakhi language.  Like many indigenous languages in India, the Ladahki language is not taught in the Hindi dominated public schools and is at risk of slowly dying out.  The Lamdon School was founded by Morup in 1971 with seed money he had earned performing folk songs and dramas.  It was his first effort to pass down Ladakh culture to a younger generation, and over the years the school has grown into the most significant educational and child welfare institution in Ladakh.

 
The Lamdon School (foreground) with Stok Kangri Himalayas in background

The Lamdon International Center for Music and Drama
While many older Ladakhis recognize the importance of preserving their culture, it's a significant challenge convincing younger generations to care.  Try telling a kid from a Himalayan village whose parents just installed satellite television that he should be singing folk songs instead of channel surfing: Television 1, Folk Songs 0.

Over the years, Morup has learned that you cannot make children care about their culture simply because "they should". 

 
 
Morup Namgyal

Morup’s dream for preserving Ladakhi folk music was to open a world-class music and drama center at the Lamdon School.  The facility would not only offer music and drama education, but also provide the opportunity for students to interact with visiting international musicians, plus gain hands on experience with cutting edge digital recording equipment. 

Experience with computers and digital recording equipment was essential for the music center.  Unemployment is a major problem in Ladakh, and many Lamdon students graduate with limited job prospects.  However, computer literacy dramatically improves one's chances of employment.  Morup knew that if the Music Center could offer potential economic opportunity in addition to cultural education it would provide a significant draw.

With the resources of The Lamdon School already strained, Morup needed financial support from International donors to make the Music Center a reality.  That's where we came in.

It's a Party... I mean a Fundraiser!
ZAAZ is full of artists.  Singers, writers, musicians, dancers, filmmakers, photographers, graphic artists… you name it and there's probably someone here doing it.  We're also a bunch of tech geeks, and whether it's Photoshop, Pro Tools, Aftereffects, or Final Cut every artist at ZAAZ is using digital tools to create or distribute their work.  So when I started shopping around the idea of supporting Morup in his quest to bring world-class digital creative tools to Ladakh, I found a very receptive audience.

We also love a good party.

In June of this year we threw an auction fundraiser to support the Lamdon Music Center.  Like any good fundraiser it started with drinks, lots of 'em…  By the end of night, we'd auctioned off over 30 items and raised over $6,000; enough cash to outfit Lamdon School with a full recording studio, plus a set of handcrafted traditional Ladakhi instruments.  ZAAZ also made a corporate donation of two speedy MacBooks to power the studio and complete the night of fundraising.

The auction was a huge success, and also a completely ZAAZ created event.  ZAAZ employees and friends donated the auction items, the event was organized and hosted by ZAAZ employees, and all the money raised came from ZAAZ employees and friends.  Call it closed loop social responsibility, or maybe just coming together for a good cause, either way it was a blast.

The First Recordings
In July of this year, a coworker and I (both on temporary leave from the working world) traveled to Ladakh to set up the studio and teach the school how to use the equipment.  Nothing close to this level of technology had ever been installed in Ladakh, and the school was surprised, awed, and more than a little intimidated by all the new gadgetry.  But they took to learning the new technology quickly.  In mid July the Lamdon Center for Music and Drama was officially opened and by August 5th we had completed the first recording session.  We left the school that day making plans to bring Morup and other master Ladakhi musicians to the studio to record a CD along with the students. 

 
Lamdon student playing a Ladakhi Damian

The Flood
I was awakened around midnight that same night by torrential rains and non-stop thunder.  It was an unnerving sound; Ladakh is a high altitude desert and normally receives minimal rainfall during the summer months.  By morning, it was clear how devastating the rains had been.  Flash floods had ripped through dozens of villages during the night.  In the capital city of Leh, where the Lamdon School is located, an entire section of the city had been washed away taking with it the hospital, bus station, radio station, and telephone exchange (including the city's internet connection).   The only two roads connecting Ladakh to the outside world had been washed out and would not reopen for many weeks, any supplies reaching Ladakh had to be brought in by military aircraft. 

 
Floodwaters cut through homes and villages

During the next week news began to trickle in, over 200 hundred people had been killed in the flooding and thousands more had lost their homes.  The entire village of Choglomsar, a Tibetan refugee colony of 20,000, had been destroyed by mudflows.  The Lamdon School, situated on higher ground, had escaped damage, but tragically, the school was not unaffected.  Two teachers and two students had been killed by the flooding and many more students had been left homeless.

With activities at the Music Center suspended, we put our efforts into helping with flood relief fundraising.  In conjunction with a well-established Ladakhi aid organization, we shot a fundraising video with the Principal of The Lamdon school and helped create content for fundraising presentations.  The video and presentation can be viewed here, along with information on donating to support flood victims: 

http://www.ladakhfloodrelief.org

As of October 2010, the site and related fundraising efforts had raised over $100,000. 

The Future
Having spent the last 6 years in corporate America, I left Ladakh feeling defeated.  Not only was I leaving an area devastated by flooding, we had also fallen short of our goals for the recording studio.  The students and staff had only a basic grasp of the technology, and we had been unable to produce a planned CD of student recordings.  In corporate speak; the project was off schedule and now understaffed.

When I asked Morup about my concerns, he gave me a puzzled look.  

When you speak with Ladakhis you quickly learn that their homeland is one that teaches patience.  With a nine-month winter, a house can take 5 years to complete.  In the Himalayas, building a 100-kilometer road link might take 10 years.  A young Buddhist monk will spend his next 30 years memorizing sacred texts.  "Why" Morup asked me "does the recording studio have to be completed in one short summer?”  All good things take time, especially culture.  Recordings can begin again next summer.

After all, with the Lamdon Music Center now officially underway, Morup is confident his students will be singing folk songs for many years to come.

 
Lamdon Students at their morning assembly