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The village of Zemithang is located about 80 to 90 kilometres by road (if you can call a winding, narrow pothole a road) from Tawang in Arunacha Pradesh, India. It figures as #3 on my list of the worst roads I've travelled in the northeast. But what country it winds through! One Lonely Planet account puts it like this: "Braving heights above 14000 feet, totally ragged and run-down in parts, completing the journey will itself become a feat to remember."

 

On the way, we pass below Khinmey Gompa, a beautiful monastery.

 

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Further along the road to Zemithang, we come across Kesang Choten (right) and her sister Lhamu Choten (bending) weaving a shawl the traditional Monpa way. Lhamu shuffled back and forth, made a knot at the far end and carried back the ball of wool in the little bucket for Kesang to retrieve. Then the process was repeated.

 

 

 

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Some 50 odd miles (80 km) north of Tawang, on the way to Zemithang, is the 12th century stupa, Gorsam Chorten, built by Lama Sangye Pradhar. 

 

Nestled at the base of veiled mountains, the stupa rises almost a 100 feet. Four pairs of eyes painted on it's crown keep a watchful lookout for evil spirits. The main doors, however, have been bricked up. Every twelve years, the bricked up doors are ceremoniously broken open, for a short period, before they are blocked again. My guide has no idea why this custom is followed. There are mysteries in the remotest of places...

 

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Edited by farhiz
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Some 50 odd miles (80 km) north of Tawang, on the way to Zemithang, is the 12th century stupa, Gorsam Chorten, built by Lama Sangye Pradhar. 

 

Nestled at the base of veiled mountains, the stupa rises almost a 100 feet. Four pairs of eyes painted on it's crown keep a watchful lookout for evil spirits. The main doors, however, have been bricked up. Every twelve years, the bricked up doors are ceremoniously broken open, for a short period, before they are blocked again. My guide has no idea why this custom is followed. There are mysteries in the remotest of places...

 

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What a beauty! thank you for these dream images...worth the bad road.

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Even though electricity has reached the tiny village of Kharman, the Monpa folk are quite happy knocking about in the near darkness of the enormous rooms in their homes.

 

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Kharman is a tiny village in Zemithang Tehsil of Arunachal Pradesh. According to the 2011 Population Census there are a total of 44 families who call it home. There is at least one cat.

 

 

 

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At the tiny village of Kharman, the few, whitewashed stone houses perched precariously on the slope of a hill.  From what I could make out, all 44 families living here seemed to inhabit one large structure.

 

 

We'd just finished a short walk, down and up mud paths when from above I heard someone shout to call us back.

 

 

Quite a gathering of Monpa women folk awaited us. Though they were in the middle of a ceremony, they were just as keen on welcoming us in. There was much animated chatter back and forth, which my guide tried best to translate. Then a bowl, filled to the brim of the local brew, called chang, was offered around. Very strong stuff. After a bit, we gathered them all together for a picture.

 

If the focus isn't just right, I blame it on the chang.

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Zemithang. The Nyamjangchu river flows below the village of Zemithang near the Tibetan border. In the late 1950s, His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama crossed into India somewhere near here, fleeing the Chinese invasion of Tibet. During the Indo-China war of 1962, this area came under occupation for a brief period till the Chinese withdrew. 

 

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