You might have seen these people and their animals often on the road. Clogging up the road. Causing traffic jams. Who are these shepherds? Why are they on the roads?
For want of a better word, these people are called pastoralists. They move with their livestock from pasture to pasture. They trace their lineage to the first humans - hunters and gatherers.
In the Himalayas, their livestock usually consists of sheep and goats. In the summer they go up high into the mountains, crossing treacherous mountains passes. In the winters they can be found in the plains. They walk the entire distance, up and down, each year, with their flock.
Are they freeloaders? Consuming public goods - roads and pastures - without giving back. Are they refusing to get along with the times? Or are they keepers of an ancient tradition, who will be here long after we have crushed every mountain, silted every river and sipped every drop of oil out of this earth. For them, these highways and cars and all our hurry is just a speck on the vast canvas of life.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, the next time you see them on the road, please don't honk. Be patient. You don't have to be too patient either - they're experts at getting their flock out of the way. And why shouldn't you honk? Because we don't honk at nice people.
If you ever find the occasion to get off from your car and talk to them, do that. You'll find that they're the nicest people you've ever met. And they really really care about their animals. Like family. You'll usually find them carrying an animal around their neck because it is injured or too young or sick.
When we were in the mountains in March, we were stopped by one such shepherd. He wanted us to chase a car that had just injured one of his lambs and sped away. I told him I'm hardly the right guy for a car chase in the mountains. He showed us how one of the legs of the lamb had been crushed. The lamb was limping along. He said he is unable to lift this lamb. It was all very heart wrenching. We asked some stupid questions, such as "what will you do with the lamb now". He gave me a tortured look, as if asking "what would you do if God forbid one of your kids got hurt".
Well I'm just glad I only have two kids to manage, not a hundred.
And oh. Shepherd dogs are the cutest!
For want of a better word, these people are called pastoralists. They move with their livestock from pasture to pasture. They trace their lineage to the first humans - hunters and gatherers.
In the Himalayas, their livestock usually consists of sheep and goats. In the summer they go up high into the mountains, crossing treacherous mountains passes. In the winters they can be found in the plains. They walk the entire distance, up and down, each year, with their flock.
Are they freeloaders? Consuming public goods - roads and pastures - without giving back. Are they refusing to get along with the times? Or are they keepers of an ancient tradition, who will be here long after we have crushed every mountain, silted every river and sipped every drop of oil out of this earth. For them, these highways and cars and all our hurry is just a speck on the vast canvas of life.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, the next time you see them on the road, please don't honk. Be patient. You don't have to be too patient either - they're experts at getting their flock out of the way. And why shouldn't you honk? Because we don't honk at nice people.
If you ever find the occasion to get off from your car and talk to them, do that. You'll find that they're the nicest people you've ever met. And they really really care about their animals. Like family. You'll usually find them carrying an animal around their neck because it is injured or too young or sick.
When we were in the mountains in March, we were stopped by one such shepherd. He wanted us to chase a car that had just injured one of his lambs and sped away. I told him I'm hardly the right guy for a car chase in the mountains. He showed us how one of the legs of the lamb had been crushed. The lamb was limping along. He said he is unable to lift this lamb. It was all very heart wrenching. We asked some stupid questions, such as "what will you do with the lamb now". He gave me a tortured look, as if asking "what would you do if God forbid one of your kids got hurt".
Well I'm just glad I only have two kids to manage, not a hundred.
And oh. Shepherd dogs are the cutest!