Page 15 - English Expedition Class 6

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The Ghost of the Mountains

Sujatha Padmanabhan

Peaceful co-existence with nature can be a diffi cult and challenging task for humans. People often
make the easy choice to destroy forests and wildlife when these pose a threat to their livelihood.
However, with a little patience and eff ort, we can fi nd ways to allow both humans and wildlife to
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fl ourish . Can you think of any such method? Share your ideas with the class.
This story is inspired from a real-life incident that happened early one morning in Ang, a small Ladakhi
village. The fascinating land of Ladakh is home to one of the most mysterious big cats in the world,
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the snow leopard. Read on to fi nd out how this elusive predator aff ects the villagers in Ang, and
how Rigzin, a young lad from the village, deals with the confl ict between his fellow villagers and the
leopard.

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t was the morning of Buddha Purnima , a day of great religious signifi cance for the Buddhists of
Ladakh. Th at night the moon would shine in its full glory. Sixteen-year-old Rigzin had woken
Iup earlier than usual. He had promised to help in the preparations for the special prayers that
were to be held late that night in the village monastery. Aft er gulping down a steaming hot cup of
tea that his mother had made, he picked up his towel to have a wash in the stream that fl owed by
near his house.
At the stream, Rigzin hung his towel on a branch of an apricot tree. It was spring. Th e tree was
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in full bloom, and a rosefi nch fl itted in and out of the tree.
As Rigzin splashed the icy cold waters of
the stream onto his face, he heard a voice in the • Why is Buddha Purnima important?
distance call out to him, ‘Rigzin! Rigzin!’ He looked
• How old was Rigzin?
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up to fi nd his friend Jigmet wildly gesticulating to
• Why did Rigzin get irritated with
him and pointing in the direction of Tashi’s house.
Jigmet?
‘Now why would Jigmet want me to go to Tashi’s
house? I have no time today,’ grumbled Rigzin in a

1 fl ourish: grow or develop successfully 4 Buddha Purnima: the birthday of Gautam Buddha, the
2 elusive: diffi cult to fi nd founder of Buddhism. It is celebrated on a full-moon
3 predator: an animal that hunts, kills and eats other day in the month of Vaisakh (April/May) according to
animals the Buddhist calendar.
5 rosefi nch: a small bird with a short beak and red plumage
6 gesticulating: moving one’s hands and arms about in
order to attract attention
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