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.