Parkachik, Suru Valley.

 

    

For generations, the people of Parkachik and Zanskar shared a close, symbiotic relationship nurtured through seasonal trade and enduring hospitality. On their return from Kargil, Zanskari traders regularly halted in Parkachik, where friendships were rekindled and goods exchanged. Likewise, Parkachik traders traveling into Zanskar were always assured of warm hospitality. In nearly every village along the highway, a Dzago (friend) household welcomed them with free food and shelter.

Each autumn, during the harvest season, Changpa nomads from Changthang would arrive in Zanskar with salt, which they bartered for local barley.

Soon after, traders from Parkachik would travel to Zanskar. The Zanskari households, having traded barley with the Changpas, would then exchange the salt with Parkachik traders for essentials like rice, chuli, phatings or money.

While Ali Mohd (Pic-2), age 72 yrs, sourced salt for his family, Mohd Ibrahim (Pic-1), age 77,  would sell the additional salt to other households in Parkachik for money.

With the salt trade in decline, Ali Mohammad who also owns a cloth shop in Padum, turned his attention to wool. He began bringing raw wool purchased from Bakarwal nomads into Zanskar, where it was traded with households, especially those with few sheep or goats in exchange for livestock. Barter remained the primary medium of exchange, as money was scarce in the region.

Over time, the wool trade became more intricate. Parkachik traders would also procure wool from Zanskar, weave it into Nambu, and return to Zanskar to sell it, this time to families who lacked the resources to spin or weave their own. Ali Mohammad would carry these heavy Nambu on horseback across Penzila pass, sustaining a modest but vital circuit of exchange. Another trade item was ral (coarse goat hair), sourced in Zanskar and taken back to Parkachik, where it was used to make saali, a durable blanket/carpet used in homes.