'Rock-Star' educationist of Ladakh

 My Ladakh visit actually happened in 2021...its just that this blog entry comes a bit late.

One couldnt miss the iconic Pangong lake of Ladakh and as you do it...you also cant miss the numerous stalls on its banks which sport scooters and seatings inspired from the film Three idiots. It was an entertaining film with an educational message but the educationist in me wasnt happy looking at a tourist destination commercialised because of the film. I was looking at the education though.

We were also urged to visit the Druk Padma Karpo school aka Rancho school

where the last scenes of the film were shot. The school being practical and perhaps fed up with the number of visitors, has made a corner for tourists in one corner of the school where one could click a picture with a wall resembling the scenes of the film. But I think the best educational message was in the  film rather than these touristy places.

Flashback...while driving out of Leh towards Pangong had seen a board saying "Ladakh Rock and Mineral Museum', which had stayed with me. As we go free from the Rancho school a bit early, we headed to town and as we passed the museum board, I asked my wife if she would want to give the  museum a try. It was  a nod.

And soon, we were greeted with a flight of stairs with a stone lying there asking us to try and pick it up. My friend with me tried but it just wouldnt move. The stone was small but it couldnt be moved. As we moved up the stairs to the first floor, we saw stones of various sizes, shapes and colours. Some instructions asked us to bang the stones to create sounds.

Soon, we were greeted by a man who said he started the museum because of his interest in rocks and had collected the rocks himself. He  took us through the museum sharing a lot about rocks and got us interested. Its a simple museum with Rocks around.

 Now the educationist in me got interested...and I was hooked when he shared that he often takes students on 'rock tours' and even though many of them are doing great in geography, I ask them to identify a igneous or sedimentary rock...they are unable to do that....as their knowledge is bookish.

He showed us fossil rocks and a number of other rocks which  are used as minerals including the famous rock extract 'shilajit', which he sells as well.

It was  a practical geography class happening and I felt that the person was a true educationist who had taken on educating people about rocks even though he had no academic backround in geography or geology. I asked his name and he said Its 'Phunchok'...Phunchok Angchuk. I told him he is a true Phunsuk Wangdu that people come looking for in Ladakh. In fact a 'Rock-star' Phunchuk.

See a video of his here and dont miss out his museum, when in Leh. Its near Samkar Gonpa. There are two numbers on the ticket: 9419178704 and 9622976050. I had told him to write his email id on the ticket back side so that when I write this blog I will email him. The blog is being written after almost 2.5 years.

Take your kids there to learn practical geography. As he says in the video...its important to know practical than theory.