Livelihood The Gaddi are both agriculturists and shepherds. They move fromone place to another in search of food for their animals. Inwinter, the Gaddi go down to the foothills with their flock wherethey may camp in the forests or stay on the barren field of acultivator who, though not usually paid in cash, benefits fromthe animal dung that is left all over his fields.

The life of the Himalayan shepherds. (Download Realplayer)

Morning sunshine on the mountain slopes. Credit: Karamjeet Singh

In some groups, the whole family moves with the flock whileothers maintain a semi-permanent residence in sheltered valleyswhere the children, women and old people stay while the men movewith the flock.

With the approach of spring the Gaddi leave their winter home andbegin to move to the higher hills, arriving at the alpinepastures soon after the melting of the snows in order to derivethe full benefit of the lush growth of grass that usually appearsby then.

The Gaddi are great travelers and they take their flocks over thehigh mountain passes to the high altitude meadows of Lahaul andthe Miyar Nala. They move with their ferocious sheep dogs, whichwear spiked iron collars, incidentally to discourage theleopards.

The Gaddi travel through some of the wildest and most beautifulalpine terrains on earth. Traveling over the 16,000 ft highpasses of Kurt, Kalicho and Chobia, they move to Lahaul, and asthe snows recede and the fresh grasses emerge, the Gaddis climbtowards the higher pasturelands at 15,000-16,000 feet.

Clouds swirl around the Pangi Range Credit: Karamjeet Singh

The Gaddi lead a dangerous life -- the passes and the rivers arehazardous, there is no medical aid in case of accidents and noemergency rescue services available -- they are entirely on theirown. Unpredictable weather makes even high altitude passcrossings dangerous. Often a few hours may hold the balancebetween a safe crossing and tragedy from avalanche or blizzard.When approaching a pass, protective incantations in the name ofLord Shiva are whispered.

The Gaddi earn their living both from agriculture and by sellingthe milk, milk products, wool and meat of the sheep and goatsthey rear.