I came across a similar case in Uttarakhand where at a Buddhist village Dussehra was being celebrated. A goat sacrifice had just taken place when we reached and it was there that I got somewhat of an answer to my queries regarding the Buddhist-Hindu mix up. According to the villagers, they were well to do traders when the Indo-Tibet passes were open and when trade stopped they lost everything. They then fought for a Scheduled Tribe status for the betterment of the community, which they were accorded later on. That, however is one of the many overriding theories that exist regarding the quaint mix of cultures in the region. Ladakh, to me was like going back in time. In the sense that the people and the lifestyle they followed was very much like what I had heard from my mother and elders about how Sikkim was about 40-50 years ago. The pastoral life, the smell of yak meat, the very-expensive-in-Sikkim yak tail, the elusive butter tea (drunk only on special occasions in Sikkim) - they were all there.
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