There is a community that has hailed from Tibet that have found home in the Phalung valley, a cold desert of North Sikkim bordering the Tibetan Autonomous Region that is manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The valley is inhabited by Drokpas (people of solitude) who rear sheep and yaks for the folk of Lachen and Lachung (neighboring towns). I learnt about this community when I heard about Drokpa Tsheshi, an annual festival where the people of Lachen, the DC (District Collector) and the police hike up the valley and celebrate the festival with the Drokpas, marking the union of their bond. The highlight of the day, being a yak race. 

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This is a documentation of the exiled community and their animals, who are facing ecological deterioration in the cold desert. Years of environmental turmoil and struggles have left the land with only 12 families.  This essay, while examining the cultural footing of the community, also looks at their social and political processes, in the backdrop of their most celebrated day.

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