Aba Kunga Tundup, Shey

Aba Kunga Tundup le, 95, from the prominent Laba family in Shey, recalls his youth when he procured salt and wool from Changpa traders who would travel to Chemrey during ston (autumn). In return, he bartered wheat, barley, and flour sourced from Shey. The exchange rate for salt varied: some years it was traded in equal quantities, while in other years, the value of salt could double.

Some residents of Shey also journeyed to Kargil to sell salt. Kunga Tundup specifically recalls the involvement of members from the Kanku family in the Kargil trade, while members of the Choldan and Sayeepa families would travel to Changthang for commercial exchange.

Aba Kunga recalls a time when employment opportunities in Ladakh were scarce. Even individuals from affluent families from leh and Zanskar had to seek work outside Ladakh after the harvest season, typically around October. They traveled via the Manali route to find jobs in government-funded projects like road and irrigation works.

He himself joined such a journey once, working on several development projects in Dalhousie. At the time, the daily wage there was Rs 1. As summer drew near, Ladakhi laborers would shift northwards to Manali, where wages rose slightly to Rs 1 and 8 annas per day. On the return journey, Aba Kunga and Phunsog Tsering from Shey, who was accompanied by his son, shared two donkeys to transport their belongings back to Ladakh after a full year away from home. Aba Kunga estimates he was around 30 years old at the time.

He also recalls that in those days, most parts of northern India lacked electricity. Railway stations and Bus stops were illuminated by oil lamps.

Aba Kunga also remembers the oppressive Res system of forced labor, under which local villagers were compelled to carry goods from one village to the next. However, his family, being from the Laba lineage, was exempt from this harsh duty.

In later years, Aba Kunga began traveling to Leh to sell hay, eggs, and firewood. The earnings from these sales were used to purchase essential supplies such as tea and cooking oil for his household from Lala Shaadilal. Eventually, he opened a shop in his village, which he managed for twenty years. 

Nurla village: The Radio and the Mail Runners of Ladakh

Nawang Tundup

Nawang Tundup, 90 years old, of Serchongpa family in village Nurla, in Leh, Ladakh, India, measures his land by sunsets. It takes him three sunsets to finish working on his vast fields. When he was young, prices were significantly different: Chuli was Rs 1 per Pao (250 grams), and Phating was Rs 3 per Pao. In his youth, Nawang Tundup would visit Sakti with his donkeys, staying there for 2-3 days until the Changpas (nomadic herders) arrived. He bartered Nas (barley) for salt, then returned to Nurla before heading to Kargil, where he would again trade his surplus salt for Nas, earning a profit. Once back in Nurla, he would grind the barley into Phey (a type of flour), which he then sold again for a profit. 

At the age of 25, Nawang Tundup made a trip to Kashmir, taking Rs 200 with him to buy rice. His companions on the journey were a member of the Tongspon family, Tashi from the Kyatpa family, and Skarma from the Gongmey family. He returned with Rs 100 still unspent—a significant amount in those days, when Rs 100 could meet most of one’s needs. “One hundred rupees back then was worth more than a thousand now,” he remarked. He traveled with one horse and five donkeys (Horbung), which he had purchased from the Hors. From Kashmir, the horse carried 50 Battis (1 Batti equals about 2 kg) of rice, while the stronger donkeys carried 30 Battis, and the weaker ones carried 25 Battis each. The journey to Kashmir took 15 days each way, and they stayed in Kashmir for several days. During this trip, Nawang Tundup and his team met the famous Ladakhi engineer Shri Sonam Nurbo, who was taking measurements for the new road from Srinagar to Leh. He later met him once again when he was inspecting the road from Wanla to Hanupatta.

Master Sonam Dorjey

Master Sonam Dorjey, 98 yrs, is a retired headmaster and respected scholar of mid-20th century Ladakh. Over his career, he taught in remote areas across Ladakh, including Nubra and Changthang. His most memorable experience was in 1954 when he traveled to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar with the 19th Venerable Bakula Rinpoche. The pilgrimage team consisted of four lamas, the Goba from Spituk village, Nyemo Acho Phunsok, Tsetan Tundup from Gongbey Tongspon, Leh, Khambey Ajang Tsering Sonam, and 10-11 other attendees. Master Dorjey recalls an incident during this pilgrimage where the person in charge of planning the route made a mistake, leading the group from Demchok, Tashigang to Rudok and then to Manasarovar, and back through Changla. According to Master Dorjey, the journey should have followed the Buddhist practice of Skora (circumambulation), taking them from Changla, Tangtse, Chushul, and Rudok, with the return via Tashigang and Demchok.

After leaving Tashigang, the next major stop was at Minsar, which is Indian territory ( for more on Minsar, pl refer to the terms of the Treaty of Timosgang, of 1684), and the residents there paid revenue taxes to the Indian government. By this time, the people of Minsar were aware of the looming Chinese threat and shared their concerns with the group. The team stayed in Minsar for a night. The next stop was at Tetapuri Gompa, where the Komyer (incharge Lama) hailed from Hemis Monastery in Ladakh. They then moved on to Tokponoo and Chosku Gompa, where they stayed for two days, followed by a two-day stop at Deraphuk Gompa. After crossing the Dolma La Pass, they reached a place called Zumthulphuk.

Four days later, they arrived at a village called Tarchen, at the base of Kang Rinpoche (Mount Kailash), where many families lived in Rebos (tent-like structures) and small flat-roofed houses. The team stayed in Tarchen for 2-3 days before climbing to Diyung Gompa, a small, pristine monastery with only four lamas. After this, they reached a place called Gyantak and ventured no further. Master Dorjey fondly remembers seeing many Chortens (Buddhist stupas) at the base of Kang Rinpoche. The entire journey took about three and a half months before they returned to Leh.

In the past, Sham was known for its resilient traders who ventured to distant places in Tibet. Many from Sham would even participate in the famed Lopchak Trade Mission to Lhasa, Tibet ( for more on Lopchak,  pl refer to the Treaty of Timosgang,1684). Master Dorjey never witnessed the Lopchak Mission firsthand, but he frequently heard about the departure of the mission through Phunsog Namgyal of the Thangpa family from Nurla, who would accompany the Leh Kalon on the Lopchak every three years. The villagers of Nurla would hold a send-off ceremony, Kalchor, for Phunsog Namgyal before his departure. Other than Lopchak, the Shamma traders would go all across the Indus Valley, Nubra, Changthang, and Tibet. The furthest the Ladakhi traders traveled was to Gerste, where they encountered a Gerste Spon, who was in charge of all affairs in the area. Shamma traders from Ladakh carried goods such as Phey, Skampey, Phating, Stho Phating, and Nas. In return, they brought back Tsoskhul, Lena, Bal, Legu, Khulu, Sukdan, Sukthul, Mar, and Luk from Tibet.

According to Master Sonam Dorjey, during his youth, Meme Sonam Tundup of the Tsaskan family in Nurla was the leading trader not only in Nurla but perhaps in the whole of Sham. Master Dorjey also noted that Aba Phunsog had traveled as far as Lahore for business. He described Tundup as a generous and semba lakmo (clean-hearted) individual who frequently helped others in need. Tundup often advised people not to take large loans from him, although he always provided whatever they asked for. He sent his three sons to different regions of Changthang to trade and helped many families in and around Nurla become wealthy.

Besides the annual visits to the remote regions of Ladakh and Tibet, the Sham people also traded with outsiders passing through Sham. Sonam Dorjey recalled the Hor traders, who passed through Sham on their transit to Haj. These visits created business opportunities, particularly for those living along the highway (Paldapa), compared to those who lived nearer the mountains (Lungbatpa). In fact, many people residing along the roadside in Nurla and Sham learned some of the Hor language, which helped them trade with the Hors. One Abhi from the Staskan family was particularly known for her fluency in the language. Other traders passing by Nurla included Kashmiris and Baltis, though the Karjapas, who traveled to Leh from the southeastern roads, did not reach Sham.

Master Sonam recalls a unique mail-runner system that was in popular practice during the first half of the 20th century in Ladakh. It was through his uncle, Tsering Chhospel from Pharketang, who was a well-known mail runner, that Sonam learned the details of this unique system. Introduced by the Dogra officials to ensure mail reached its destination promptly, the system involved a series of runners covering the entire route from Leh to Srinagar and Skardu. The chain continued day and night, ensuring that a letter or parcel reached its destination without delay. Two mail runners covered each four-mile segment, passing the mail like a relay. Letters from Leh could reach Nurla the same day. Heavy parcels were kept separate and delivered later. In May 2024, Angchuk Fargo, the nephew of Master Sonam Dawa and the grandson of Tsering Chhospel, showed me the remains of two remote sites that were the remnants of old Dak Ghars used for storing Dak (mail)) during the days of the mail-runners.

 Ka Angchuk Fargo 

It was his mail-runner uncle who first told Master Sonam about a new technology called the radio. According to Master Sonam, a Christian Padri (priest) who came to live in Khalatse had brought the first radio to the region. His mail-runner uncle, Tsering Chhospel, would stop in Khalatse every Saturday after handing over his mail load to the next runner. The uncle, fascinated by the Padri’s English, began learning the language from him. It was during this time that his uncle saw the radio for the first time and returned to the village to tell people about the Padri's "talking box" with wires. He also recounted seeing the Padri cry while listening to the strange device. Much later, Master Sonam learned that the Padri had been receiving news about World War II on his radio and was saddened by the Allies’ defeats at the hands of Japanese soldiers. For a long time, no one in the village believed his uncle’s description of the “talking box.” Master Sonam also witnessed a gramophone for the first time when the Gyalpo Sonam Tundup Namgyal of Zangla in Zanskar visited Nurla on his way to Leh. Villagers gathered under a walnut tree to listen to the Gyalpo play music on the gramophone. Master Sonam also recalled how, during this period, when Europeans visited Ladakh, his mail-runner uncle, a keen learner of English, would quiz Master Sonam on the origins of these visitors, distinguishing the British (the "real Angrezpa"), Spainpa, Germanpa, and Italipa. 

Master Sonam remembered the  dreaded tradition of Res (forced labor), which required villagers along the road to transport goods for officials traveling to and from Leh for free on their  back. Foreigners, especially under orders from the British Joint Commissioner, would pay for the labor, but local Ladakhi officials, including Chaprasis, and Kashmiri officials, such as the Wazir, never paid for the labor. Many villagers purchased horses to avoid being forced to carry loads on their backs. Some even took loans to buy horses, hoping to escape the grueling Res labor. The Wazir’s wife and dog would often be transported in a Palki (palanquin), carried by a team of 15-16 people who took turns after short distances.

Master Sonam recalls a story as told to him by his grandfather, once a group of foreigners pitched three tents on Master Sonam’s land.  There was a dispute about the final payment to be made. One day, the British commissioner happened to be passing by Nurla. Master Sonam's grandfather seized the opportunity to visit the commissioner at the bungalow and complained to the British Joint Commissioner. The official listened patiently and ordered that the remaining money be paid. The order was typed using a small box, which villagers later learned was called a typewriter.

During a certain year, news spread of the impending bursting of a lake in Depsang, Nubra, leading to an influx of foreigners to the region who were part of the team assigned to solve the issue. The English recruited strong men from Nurla and nearby villages like Timosgang, including Tsaskan Meme Tundup's younger brother and Master Sonam’s mail-runner uncle, who was selected because he understood English. In Nurla, the Kutti (a small house) and a bungalow, once used for officials, have since been converted into a hospital and a school. According to Master Sonam, although times have changed, nothing has gone to waste. 

The above interviews were conducted in 2021.