Reported in today's Daily Excelsior the minister for J&K Roads & Bridges has set March 2012 as the completion date for the Nemo-Padum-Tarch highway. Nemo-Padam-Tarch refers to the chaddar road, and I presume the road linking Padum with Darcha. Tarch, I hope, refers to Darcha, rather than Takh. My uncertainty here is based on a rumour that an alternative road route was being considered to avoid the avalanche prone Shingo-La, this proposal would redirect construction out past Phugtal and through Shun to Takh (a fairly non-descript point on the Leh-Manli road) near Sarchu. Hopefully, from an environmental perspective, the Shingo La and Darcha is still the objective, to push a road through Shun - although I am sure it will happen at some point - would be a travesty.

So, the chaddar - in this case the frozen Zanskar River - will seemingly have another few years of pedestrian traffic before the road supersedes the need to walk on the ice. Presumably the further the road penetrates into the gorge the more chaddar trekkers will take the unfinished road as the easiest and most guaranteed trail. The writing is on the wall for one of the world's great treks, sure, it has been there for some time, but this announcement is a reminder that the road will be completed eventually, whether it is March 2012 or a year or five after that!

Who knows, environmentally the road may be the saviour of the Zanskar gorge; once finished it will remove the not so conscientious toilet-roll trekking groups and it will cut down on the collection of fire wood. However, unchecked juniper harvesting will certainly increase and people will have year round access to some of the most isolated valleys in the region - what they will do with this access is anyone's guess. Financially the road will change the Zanskar Valley overnight, Padum will become the new Leh in terms of tourist attraction, this includes a squadron or two of Enfield Bullets... The economic shift will far outweigh any loss of earnings suffered by chaddar guides, cooks and porters. The standard of living will increase in Zanskar, it will be fascinating to watch, great for the Zanskaris but heartbreaking for those with even the slightest romantic attachment to the Valley. But then, 'that's progress'.

You might have seen the Journey from Zanskar trailer on youtube, if not maybe take a look. The film is based on the tenuous assumption that Zanskar is the last bastion of untainted Tibetan Buddhism, or rather, and let me quote this to get it right, Zanskar is "the last remaining original Tibetan Society with a continuous untainted lineage". Buddhism in Zanskar has apparently been preserved from 'destructive global economics' by the geographical barrier of the Himalaya, but the film predicts this will change once the chaddar road is completed, whenever that is. So basically, once production costs have been covered, the film is a fundraiser. It argues that in order to preserve Buddhist culture there is an urgent need to fund a Buddhist school in sTongde before the road to Chilling (and then on to Leh) is finished.

The slightly curious thing is the film fails to acknowledge that for some time Buddhism in Zanskar has been subject to, and has actively engaged in, so called 'destructive' global economic models and forces (one could ask if Buddhism in Zanskar has ever been totally removed?). For example, there is a shopping complex in Padum built and run by Phugtal monastery, there is also a hotel and selection of shop units built and owned by Karsha monastery (the hotel was originally leased out as a bar by Karsha monastery), and there are monks who own taxi businesses and dabble in all sorts of financial dealings. What's more the majority of Zanskar's Buddhist festivals traditionally celebrated in the winter have now been moved to the summer in order to coincide with peak tourist numbers. Looking further afield, tens of thousands of US Dollars already comes into Zanskar from Europe and the US to 'support' Buddhism in the region, to say nothing of the Crores of Rupees (1 Crore is 10,000,000) recently earmarked for monastery 'restoration' by the Zanskar Development Authority.

If indeed Buddhism is, as the Journey from Zanskar's Executive Summary suggests, destroyed by 'global economics', one wonders how the funding generated by this film will differ?

Don't get me wrong, I am all for improving Zanskar's schooling (even Buddhist) and raising the standard of living for Zanskaris, however, I think Journey to Zanskar creates rather than documents what is actually happening on the ground in Zanskar. Factually the film is contrived; it omits some fairly essential context, errs toward the romantic and tugs at wealthy Western hearts. If people want to help Zanskaris there are plenty of more pressing issues which desperately need funding. Improving medical facilities and awareness would be a good place to start, as would encouraging teachers to stay and teach in remote villages. Winter tuition would also be welcomed by many. In my opinion there are many more pressing issues than building yet another foreign funded school in central Zanskar.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is set to visit Zanskar on August the 16th for 5 days. He is apparently scheduled to give a teaching in Padum - I wish I could be there for such an event, partly just to witness what will no doubt be an amazing turnout of people.

Before leaving His Holiness is also expected to visit Paldar, the small Buddhist community on the Kishtwar side of the Umasi La.