Xeni Goes Trekking

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xeni-taping-gaddi-singers.jpg No, not Star Trek — across the Himalayas. Xeni Jardin, a freelance journalist who is on the Boing Boing blogroll, recently went to India, China, and Tibet for NPR, as part of a four-part series called “Hacking the Himalayas”. The Boing Boing post introducing the series is here; the main focus is on how technology is transforming the lives of Tibetans, both in Tibet and in exile in India.

The first two parts in the series have links up at NPR, though as of now only part 1 has audio (part 2 is expected to go up later today). The first story is actually not on the Tibetans themselves, but on a partially-nomadic local tribe called the Gaddi, who are based around Dharamsala and various villages in Himachal Pradesh. Most of the story is about their local folk traditions, which are apparently somewhat in decline. I’m not quite sure what technology (or Tibet, for that matter) has to do with it, but at least the story is something other than the usual, “look, they have Cyber Cafes!” type of thing.

Xeni has started a blog dedicated to providing auxiliary material to the stories that air on NPR. Among other things, she has a short post there on the popularity of hip hop amongst Tibetan-in-exile teens in Dharmsala.

(Link via Desipundit)

4 thoughts on “Xeni Goes Trekking”

  1. From her blog:

    This seems to be the preferred dress code for most young Tibetans living in the US, Canada, even Europe and increasingly in India and Nepal: a loose baggy jeans hanging precariously below the waistline; an oversize t-shirt; a baseball cap worn backward or sideways; and, a pair of boots or sneakers at least 2 sizes bigger. Add the defiant swagger, some hand-signs and some expressions like NawmsayinÂ’? (Translation: you know what I’m saying?), and lo and behold, we have ourselves a Tibetan wannabe nigga, in short a tigga.

    i find this really hard to believe.

  2. Note that she’s referring specifically to Tibetans living abroad — the second generation — so it’s not that hard to believe. But I agree that it’s a strange thing to include; it’s less about her own travels than it is a diaspora thing.

    Hopefully the stories to come will be ‘heavier’.

  3. Hey guys — I didn’t write the article about tibetan “tiggas,” and the term is not mine. It was written by a Tibetan refugee living in the United States, and posted to a Tibetan community website called phayul.net. I simply pointed to it from xeni.net/trek.

    The NPR series is about cultural change affecting the Tibetan diaspora, and the role of technology in that change… so, yes, I definitely thought this essay — by a Tibetan — was relevant!

    And re: “IÂ’m not quite sure what technology (or Tibet, for that matter) has to do with it, but at least the story is something other than the usual, “look, they have Cyber Cafes!” type of thing.”

    So, the connection is this: the Gaddi were the predominant ethnic group in Dharamsala before Tibetans and western tourists arrived en masse. If you’re going to report about the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, it makes sense to start with the people who were indigenous to this place.