{"id":10920,"date":"2017-12-23T03:59:54","date_gmt":"2017-12-23T09:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/?p=10920"},"modified":"2020-06-05T08:10:06","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T08:10:06","slug":"mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india\/","title":{"rendered":"MYGRATION STORY OF A SHEPHERD NEAR ZOJI LA PASS, LADAKH. INCREDIBLE INDIA!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This blog is about the #MyGration Story of a shepherd I met near Zoji La Pass in Ladakh. It is a part of a series which I run on my blog. You can follow the hashtag #MyGrationSW series on my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter too. (Links below). To read other migration stories on my blog, pls see the tab <a href=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/category\/dont-miss-these\/mygration-story\/\">MyGration <\/a>Story.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10916\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10916\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10916\" src=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_20170713_153621.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_20170713_153621\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10916\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Me hitchhiking in a truck near Zoji La in Ladakh. Pic by <a href=\"https:\/\/escapinglife.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Johann Kuruvilla<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_55 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-662bea88448b0\"><span class=\"\"><span style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-662bea88448b0\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india\/#TYRE_PUNCTURE_AND_HITCHHIKING\" title=\"TYRE PUNCTURE AND HITCHHIKING!\">TYRE PUNCTURE AND HITCHHIKING!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india\/#AN_OCEAN_OF_SHEEP-_TRAFFIC_JAM_IN_THE_HILLS\" title=\"AN OCEAN OF SHEEP- TRAFFIC JAM IN THE HILLS!\">AN OCEAN OF SHEEP- TRAFFIC JAM IN THE HILLS!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india\/#AN_ARTS_GRADUATE_WHO_HAD_NO_CHOICE_THAN_TO_BE_A_SHEPHERD\" title=\"AN ARTS GRADUATE WHO HAD NO CHOICE THAN TO BE A SHEPHERD \">AN ARTS GRADUATE WHO HAD NO CHOICE THAN TO BE A SHEPHERD <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india\/#EVERY_ONE_WANTS_A_PIECE_OF_SHEEP\" title=\"EVERY ONE WANTS A PIECE OF SHEEP!\">EVERY ONE WANTS A PIECE OF SHEEP!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india\/#Pls_subscribefollowlike\" title=\"Pls subscribe\/follow\/like:\">Pls subscribe\/follow\/like:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TYRE_PUNCTURE_AND_HITCHHIKING\"><\/span><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\"><em><strong>TYRE PUNCTURE AND HITCHHIKING!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Just as we crossed the famous Zoji La Pass during our 12 day long epic road trip across Ladakh, one of the tyres of a car in our convoy got punctured. I hitchhiked my way on a truck to arrive near the Zoji La War memorial where other friends were getting the tyre repaired. As we got it fixed in one of the army outposts, I used the time to explore the places near the camp.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10919\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10919\" style=\"width: 819px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10919\" src=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_20170713_161017.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_20170713_161017\" width=\"819\" height=\"614\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10919\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The family of shepherd I met near Zoji La War Memorial, Ladakh. Incredible India!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"AN_OCEAN_OF_SHEEP-_TRAFFIC_JAM_IN_THE_HILLS\"><\/span><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\"><strong>AN OCEAN OF SHEEP- TRAFFIC JAM IN THE HILLS!<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As I was strolling aimlessly, I was amazed to see an ocean of sheep cascading from the hill. A shepherd single handedly herded the huge flock of sheep in to a designated resting place for the sheep near the Zoji La pass. He was returning after another tiring day of taking his sheep to feed on the open grasslands. Within minutes I and my co traveler Johann were engulfed in a sea of sheep.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10914\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10914\" style=\"width: 922px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10914\" src=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6375.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6375\" width=\"922\" height=\"614\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10914\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sheep of shepherd I met near Zoji La War Memorial, Ladakh. Incredible India!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\">THE #MYGRATION STORY OF A NOMAD<\/span> <span style=\"color:#ff6600;\">SHEPHERD!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was tempted to know his story. Somehow managing to get myself out of the parade of the sheep, I approached him. Upon my request, he readily agreed to talk to me even as his sheep made their way to their resting camp on their own.<\/p>\n<p>The name of the light eyed shepherd was <strong>Mushtaq Ahmed Chopan<\/strong>. Hailing from <strong>Sumbal Bala<\/strong> village (district Ganderbal), he spends much of his time till October in <strong>high altitude mountains<\/strong>. November onwards he <strong>shifts to lower altitude<\/strong> along with his sheep and other family members.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10918\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10918\" style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-10918 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6391.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6391\" width=\"614\" height=\"922\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10918\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mushtaq Ahmed Chopan, the shepherd I met near Zoji La War Memorial, Ladakh. Incredible India!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"AN_ARTS_GRADUATE_WHO_HAD_NO_CHOICE_THAN_TO_BE_A_SHEPHERD\"><\/span><strong><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\">AN ARTS GRADUATE WHO HAD NO CHOICE THAN TO BE A SHEPHERD<\/span> <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It was not his choice to become a shepherd. He told me that he is an Arts graduate and unemployement pushed him to become a shepherd. His mother and sister still live in Sumbal Bala while he leads a <strong>nomadic life<\/strong> along with his father, uncles and cousin brothers. From June to October he lives in tents near <strong>Zoji La pass.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10915\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10915\" style=\"width: 922px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10915\" src=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6387.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6387\" width=\"922\" height=\"614\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10915\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traffic jam of Mushtaq&#8217;s sheep. Shepherd I met near Zoji La War Memorial, Ladakh. Incredible India!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"EVERY_ONE_WANTS_A_PIECE_OF_SHEEP\"><\/span><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\"><strong>EVERY ONE WANTS A PIECE OF SHEEP!<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The sheep adapted to cold and high altitudes spend the night in the open fields. The <strong>sheep are strong animals<\/strong> who withstand cold and rain with aplomb. They are of course <strong>guarded by the pet dogs.<\/strong> The sheep face threat from wild bears and leopards. Even army men demand <strong>sheep for their meat.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10917\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10917\" style=\"width: 922px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10917\" src=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6383\" width=\"922\" height=\"614\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10917\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sheep of Mushtaq. Shepherd I met near Zoji La War Memorial, Ladakh. Incredible India!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The herd often passes through snow covered hills in search of greener pastures. Though many of the sheep in the flock is owned by his family, some of his sheep are owned by the Government. He takes care of them on a paid basis. Mushtaq\u2019s eyes light up when he tells me with a smile, \u201cDespite their large numbers I know how to identify the sheep!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This blog is the part of my series on the 12 days long road trip through Ladakh in Incredible India on invitation by <a href=\"https:\/\/scoutmytrip.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scout My Trip<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyorooms.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OYO Rooms<\/a>&nbsp; It takes fun company to make Highest Blogger Meet at Khandungla top happen!<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10913\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10913\" style=\"width: 922px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10913\" src=\"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6372.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6372\" width=\"922\" height=\"614\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10913\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zoji La War Memorial, Ladakh. Incredible India!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\"><strong><em>Spread the love, share this blog<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><strong>Got any question\/comments, ask in the comment section below so that it can benefit other readers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\">Email me for collaboration: 21abhinav21@gmail.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><strong><em>Be a part of my journey on social media. The travel content I create there is different from this blog.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align:center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Pls_subscribefollowlike\"><\/span><span style=\"color:#ff6600;\"><strong>Pls subscribe\/follow\/like:<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC8K8pGNVByDAfy7kNKl7mAA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">You Tube<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/asoulwindow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/asoulwindow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/A-Soul-Window-Travel-Blog-by-Abhinav-Singh-322014484524692\/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><em>WARNING : COPYRIGHT TO ALL THE TEXT SHARED HERE REMAINS WITH ME. YOU CAN NOT JUST LIFT THE CONTENT AND USE IT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. STRICT LEGAL ACTION WILL BE TAKEN IF CONTENT IS STOLEN. YES, I AM SERIOUS.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog is about the #MyGration Story of a shepherd I met near Zoji La Pass in Ladakh. It is a part of a series which I run on my blog. You can follow the hashtag #MyGrationSW series on my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter too. (Links below). To read other migration stories on my blog, &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/mygration-story-of-a-shepherd-near-zoji-la-pass-ladakh-incredible-india\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">MYGRATION STORY OF A SHEPHERD NEAR ZOJI LA PASS, LADAKH. INCREDIBLE INDIA!<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[47,3064],"tags":[95,1120,1540,1573,1574,1782,1783,1786,1787,1880,1986,2052,2054,2421,2463,3000,3051],"modified_by":"asoulwindow","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg",922,614,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg",150,100,false],"medium":["https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg",300,200,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg",768,511,false],"large":["https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg",922,614,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg",922,614,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/img_6383.jpg",922,614,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"asoulwindow","author_link":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/author\/abhinav2111\/"},"uagb_comment_info":26,"uagb_excerpt":"This blog is about the #MyGration Story of a shepherd I met near Zoji La Pass in Ladakh. It is a part of a series which I run on my blog. You can follow the hashtag #MyGrationSW series on my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter too. (Links below). To read other migration stories on my blog,&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14629,"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10920\/revisions\/14629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}