Tobdan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1944 Tod valley, Lahaul tehsil, Kangra district, Punjab Province, British India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Historian and linguist |
| Known for | Work on the history, traditions, and languages of Lahaul and some neighbouring regions |
Tobdan (born 1944) is a historian and linguist from Himachal Pradesh, India. He is noted for his work on the cultural traditions, histories, and languages of the Lahaul and Spiti district, and some neighboring regions.
Tobdan originally belongs to the Tod valley of the Lahaul division of the Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh. [1] [2] He is a retired bank official. [3] [4] He lives in the Kullu valley, Himachal Pradesh. [5] Tobdan is multilingual. He is fluent in his native sTodpa, Hindi, English, and Punjabi, and is conversant in most of the languages spoken in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, and Spiti. [6]
Tobdan's work as a historian has focused on the western Himalayan regions of Lahaul, Kullu, and Kinnaur, and the trans-Himalayan regions of Spiti and Ladakh. As a linguist he specializes in the Tibetic languages of the Lahaul and Spiti district (see Bibliography).
Tobdan was among the founder-members of the non-governmental organization 'Society for Conservation and Promotion of Culture in Lahaul & Spiti', and the chief editor of its annual, and later bi-annual magazine Kunzom, which was published from 2005 to 2014. [7] [8] Kunzom published short stories, poems, folksongs and grammatical sketches in various languages spoken in the Lahaul and Spiti district.
Tobdan writes in English, Hindi, and Tibetan. [9]
Tobdan's works have been cited by many academics and independent scholars as important secondary sources on the histories, languages, and cultures of regions in Himachal Pradesh like Kullu, Lahaul, Spiti, and Kinnaur. These include Moran (2013), [15] Tsering (2014), [16] Bellezza (2015), [17] Rahimzadeh (2016), [18] Bhattacharya (2017), [19] Chamberlain and Chamberlain (2019), [20] and Halperin (2019). [21]
Elizabeth Anne Stutchbury, who conducted her doctoral research in Lahaul in the early 1980s, appreciated Tobdan's early initiative, as a Lahauli local, of studying and documenting his homeland, while decrying the general lack of any in-depth anthropological research on Lahaul at that point of time. [22]
John Bray commends Tobdan and Dorje's book on the Moravian missionaries in western Himalayas (2008) as a valuable contribution that makes information from disparate sources on this subject more readily available. [23]
As of 2021, Tobdan had written the following books:
Kullu is a district in Himachal Pradesh, India. It borders Shimla district to the south, Mandi and Kangra districts to the west, Kinnaur to the east and the Lahaul and Spiti district to the north and east. The largest valley in this mountainous district is the Kullu Valley. The Kullu valley follows the course of the Beas River, and ranges from an elevation of 833 m above sea level at Aut to 3330 m above sea level at the Atal Tunnel South Portal, below the Rohtang Pass. The town of Kullu, located on the right side of the Beas River, serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district. The Kullu district also incorporates several riverine tributary valleys of the Beas, including those of the Parvati, Sainj, and Tirthan rivers, and thus some regions somewhat distant from the Kullu valley. The economy of the district relies mainly on horticulture, agriculture, tourism, and traditional handicrafts.
The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul and Spiti. The present administrative center is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were merged, Kardang was the capital of Lahaul, and Dhankar the capital of Spiti. The district was formed in 1960 and is the fourth least populous district in India. It is the least densely populated district of India, according to the Census of India 2011.
Kinnaur district is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas and has six tehsils. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Reckong Peo. The revered Kinnaur Kailash mountain, one of the Panch Kailash sites, is situated in Kinnaur. As of 2011, it is the second least populous district of Himachal Pradesh, after Lahaul and Spiti.
The state of Himachal Pradesh is spread over an area 55,673 km2 (21,495 sq mi) and is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on the north, Punjab on the southwest, Haryana on the south, Uttarakhand on the southeast, a small border with Uttar Pradesh in the south, and Tibet on the east. Entire Himachal Pradesh lies in the mountainous Himalaya region, rich in natural resources
Spiti is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Spiti incorporates mainly the valley of the Spiti River, and the valleys of several rivers that feed into the Spiti River. Some of the prominent side-valleys in Spiti are the Pin valley and the Lingti valley. Spiti is bordered on the east by Tibet, on the north by Ladakh, on the west and southwest by Lahaul, on the south by Kullu, and on the southeast by Kinnaur. Spiti has a cold desert environment. The valley and its surrounding regions are among the least populated regions of India. The Bhoti-speaking local population follows Tibetan Buddhism.
Kye Gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelugpa sect located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres (13,668 ft) above sea level, close to the Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul and Spiti district, India.
Lochen Rinchen Zangpo, also known as Mahaguru, was a principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet, variously called the New Translation School, New Mantra School or New Tantra Tradition School. He was a student of the famous Indian master, Atisha. His associates included (Locheng) Legpai Sherab. Zangpo's disciple Guge Kyithangpa Yeshepal wrote Zangpo's biography. He is said to have built over one hundred monasteries in Western Tibet, including the famous Tabo Monastery in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, Poo in Kinnaur and Rinchenling monastery in Nepal.
Kaza, also spelled Kaze, Karze, Karzey, is a town and the subdivisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley in the western Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Spiti is a high altitude or cold desert having close similarities to the neighbouring Tibet and Ladakh regions in terms of terrain, climate and the Buddhist culture. Kaza, situated along the Spiti River at an elevation of 3,650 m (11,980 ft) above mean sea level, is the largest township and commercial center of the Spiti valley.
Tabo Monastery is located in the Tabo village of Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It was founded in 996 CE in the Tibetan year of the Fire Ape by the Tibetan Buddhist lotsawa (translator) Rinchen Zangpo, on behalf of the king of western Himalayan Kingdom of Guge, Yeshe-Ö. Tabo is noted for being the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in both India and the Himalayas. A large number of frescoes displayed on its walls depict tales from the Buddhist pantheon. There are many priceless collections of thankas, manuscripts, well-preserved statues, frescos and extensive murals which cover almost every wall. The monastery is in need of refurbishing as the wooden structures are aging and the thanka scroll paintings are fading. After the earthquake of 1975, the monastery was rebuilt, and in 1983 a new Du-kang or Assembly Hall was constructed. It is here that the 14th Dalai Lama held the Kalachakra ceremonies in 1983 and 1996. The monastery is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a national historic treasure of India.
Gandhola Monastery is about 18 kilometres (11 mi) before Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, India on the road from Manali, Himachal Pradesh. It is located on a hill above Tupchiling Village at the sacred junction of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers, which together form the Chenab River. The village is at 3,160 m (10,370 ft) and is famous for its 7-storey tower fort.
Gemur Monastery is a Buddhist gompa, above the village of Gemur, Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, northern India. The monastery dates from the first half of the 17th century.
Kibber, also Kibber Khas and Khyipur, is a village high in the Spiti Valley in the Himalayas at 4,270 m (14,010 ft) in Himachal Pradesh in northern India. It contains a monastery and is a base for visiting the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary. It is located 19 km (12 mi) from Kaza and a bus service connects them in the summer months. Agriculture forms the backbone of the local economy and lush green fields are abundant. It is the base for visitors to the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, home to about 30 snow leopards. Treks to nearby peaks and to a high pass in the Zanskar range between Spiti and Ladakh start from Kibber.
Buddhism in the Himachal Pradesh state of India of has been a long-recorded practice. The spread of Buddhism in the region has occurred intermediately throughout its history. Starting in the 3rd century BCE, Buddhism was propagated by the Maurya Empire under the reign of Ashoka. The region would remain an important center for Buddhism under the Kushan Empire and its vassals. Over the centuries the following of Buddhism has greatly fluctuated. Yet by experiencing revivals and migrations, Buddhism continued to be rooted in the region, particularly in the Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur valleys.
Phunchog Rai is a politician from Himachal Pradesh, India, and a member of the Indian National Congress Party.
Bhoti Kinnauri is a Tibetic language spoken in the Lahaul and Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh, India. It forms a closely knit group with other Lahuli–Spiti languages, and is fairly close to Standard Tibetan.
Bhaba Pass, also known as Bhawa Pass, is a high mountain pass situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalayas. It is located on the border of Kinnaur district and Lahaul and Spiti District, and borders Pin Valley National Park and the Rupi-Bhaba Wildlife Sanctuary.
Stod Bhoti (sTodpa), occasionally known as Lahul Bhoti or Lahuli, is a Tibetic language spoken in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It forms a closely knit group with other Lahuli–Spiti languages, and is fairly close to Standard Tibetan.
Mud is a small village in the cold desert region of Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, India. Located at an altitude of 3,810 m (12,500 ft) on the left bank of the Pin River, a right bank tributary of the Spiti River, the village is nestled at the base of the Parbati range that towers almost vertically 1,600 m (5,200 ft) above. Mud is near the boundary of the Pin Valley National Park and is a convenient base for treks in the park, and to the neighbouring districts of Kullu and Kinnaur. It is the last village on the Spiti side of the Pin Parbati trek to Kullu and the Pin Bhaba trek to Kinnaur.
O.C. Handa is a historian of the western Himalayas, noted for his work on the history, architecture, archaeology, and folk arts of this region. He is the author of numerous books on these subjects.
Tshering Dorje was a cultural historian from Himachal Pradesh, India. He was regarded as an authority on the cultural traditions and histories of the Lahaul and Spiti district and some neighboring regions. He also played an important role in bringing about the construction of the 9.02 km-long, high-altitude Atal Tunnel.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)