Leh Floods: My Diary

August 6, 2010.

Tsondue’s forwarded SMS towards the late sultry afternoon breaking the sort of crude news about this early morning ‘flash’ floods in Leh Ladhak caused by the massive ‘cloudburst’ that witnessed the death toll of 200 Tibetans and alerts for forwarding it to others and prayers. It jolts me into a posture on bed to mouth a dedicated prayer for them. But I learn later at night from NDTV online news through Yahoo! India the death toll is said as crossing 100 but without any citation of Tibetans included. It’s therefore proved that the SMS is just a product of immature rumour. And from my friend T. Dawa, as it’s shown in the telecasting footage on INDIAN TV program played at Sakya canteen at camp 6 this evening, I learn that the most buildings are of mud structures, so easy to be collapsed to the state of muddy quagmire as shown in the clip.

But I’m going to find later that Choklamsar, where Tibetan settlement is situated on the outskirts of Leh town, was badly hit.

August 7, 2010.

I learn from web-based news the death toll has risen to 130. So, I hasten to post the following sentimental update on my fb wall.

My heartfelt condolence and dedicated prayers for those died, bereaved and displaced by the catastrophic ‘cloudburst’ floods in Leh Ladhak, JK on the early morning of 6 August……..!

A mass prayer congregation is held here today at Drepung Gomang (Mundgod) not merely for mouthing more timely prayers but especially for expressing our deeply felt solidarity for those affected ones at large. Yes, we stand with you so!

*

Lo, the mother-nature!

Hold us, fate-rupture,

Precipitated thus cruel,

Burst the seeded ill-spell.