MEET THE DARDIC TRIBE IN THE CAPITAL
Take a peek at this colourful community from Ladakh, at the ongoing Arya Utsav
There are just 3,500 members of the colourful Dardic community of Ladakh remaining in India. And here’s your chance to know more about them as some of them are currently in the Capital for Arya Utsav. Also known as Dard Aryans, the community has retained its customs and traditions for centuries.
“The Dardic community is different from the communities inhabiting the cold deserts of Ladakh. While some scholars establish this tribal community with that of Aryans, other consider us the descendents of Alexander. Our lifestyle has an inheritance of ancient Vedic Aryans, too,” says Tashi Phunchok, a community member.
Dards are present on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), in India and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Phunchok adds, “We are a population of around 3,500 across India. After partition, one village of Dardic community fell in Pakistan. The community celebrates the harvesting festival, Bononah, every three years because three villages — Dha, Garkon, and Ganoks (now in POK) — take turns to celebrate the festival.
The Dardic language is very close to Sanskrit. “I can read almost all Sanskrit texts and understand the core meaning of it. I am not even a graduate otherwise,” says 30-year-old artist, Disket Dolkar.
The community is known for its attractive dresses and floral headgears. “Our attire reflects our mastery in arts and crafts. We love being colourful,” says Tashi Gailson, an artist.
The tribe resides in a region that usually remains out of contact due to heavy snowfall and the deployment of armed forces around the area. Despite such conditions, the community is quite accepting to contact. Enjoying their visit to Delhi, they are extremely happy to be interacting with people here.
“Delhi is beautiful! It has such beautiful architecture and roads; just that people here don’t bother about the environment,” adds Gailson.