Reaching for the Stars, Literally
How a young astronomy enthusiast from a remote Ladakhi village is smashing gender stereotypes
Hear audio snippet of this story
I’ve always been curious about the stars.
Growing up, our elders narrated beautiful stories about the Pole Star – the king of the night sky – and his children. When two specific stars come close to each other, we believe a marriage is on the cards! Losar, the Ladakhi New Year, is also a festival associated with the stars.
My village Maan, on the shores of Pangong Lake in Ladakh, is a special place for stargazing. There are no clouds here, no light or air pollution. Only a sky full of thousands of stars, twinkling in the silence of the night.
Growing up here, I learnt that women in our village take care of household chores, work on the farm, raise children and weave handicrafts. Men usually go to Leh and other towns to work as guides or travel agents. So as a woman, I had two options: to get married or to find labour intensive work.
I knew I wanted to be self-independent in life, but there was no visible path for that. I wanted a better life than what our elders had – and they encouraged me to pursue that dream. So I continued to study, hoping to find my own path.
They say fortune favours the brave! The stars aligned for me one eventful day, when I was selected among several other women, for an astronomy training session by the scientists of the International Astronomical Union.
After all these years of looking at the stars with naked eyes and hearing stories about them, we were excited to be trained on the basics of astronomy, the technicalities of operating a telescope and interacting with travellers. I was thrilled to hear that the first telescope of the project would be installed in my village!
Astronomy training. 
Establishing Astrostays. 
Setting up the telescope. 
Learning to use the telescope.
Since then, our group of 5 women have been conducting stargazing sessions every night on the shores of Pangong Lake. On a regular night in Ladakh, we can see constellations like the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia, and the Pole Star. Sometimes we can spot the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, zoom into the craters of Earth’s moon and identify numerous other stars and constellations! During the sessions, we like to share stories about the stars that we heard growing up.
We try to learn continuously and keep our knowledge up to date. Our supporting partners share documents, websites and practical applications for us to expand our knowledge of the night sky.
We now also have a network of homestays called “Astrostays”. Through Astrostays, we have found employment, a steady source of income and a clear path towards self-dependence.
Today when I look at young girls in my village, I realize how things have changed for the better. Girls have started attending school regularly, and the marriageable age has gone up to 23-24 years. I hope to inspire and motivate them through my own journey.
Whether in astronomy or something else, I hope the stars will align for them one day too.
Hear audio snippet of this story
Meet the storyteller
Stanzin Dolkar
Stanzin Dolkar is a resident of Maan village, where she is part of the astronomy team. She completed her primary education till 5th grade in Maan, then moved to a nearby hostel till 10th grade. Since there are not many options for higher education in nearby areas, she is currently pursuing her 11th grade from IGNOU. She has a family of 10. Dolkar loves to sing and dance on local Ladakhi music. She is also a known knitting expert in her village!
Global Himalayan Expedition
Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) is a social enterprise dedicated to development of remote Himalayan communities through sustainable tourism and technology. They focus on providing basic energy access through installation of solar microgrids, creating digital education access through setup of computation labs and generating livelihood opportunities through community tourism. GHE till date has electrified 115 villages in Ladakh and Meghalaya and setup over 50 homestays in the villages.
12 Comments
Aman
Wow, so heartwarming to read that such changes are happening in your village. And more power to you for taking the path less travelled
Deepa
Hope other girls in rural India like her can also reach for the stars 🙂
Nidhi
That’s a beautiful story, an inspiration to us living in cities to rise above the mundane and ordinary.
A great initiative to bring such stories out in the looming times of a Pandemic, where we surely need more love, encouragement and motivation.
Pallavi
What a lovely story. The stars aligned for you, and you took the leap! Hope I get the chance to stargaze from your beautiful village someday.
Anupama
What a,stellar story ! I am extremely happy for Dolkar that instead of marrying she decided to follow her heart and has become financially independent. May she be a channel of blessings for more women and men of her village ,and other villages too.
Selvi
Wow ! You’re are really inspiring. Wish I had known you when i visited pangong . Big hugs to you. Hope every soul in your village will get to meet their stars.
Divya
Way to go! So good to hear stories of young girls taking that extra step to fulfil their dreams. More power to you Dolkar
Mitra
That’s an inspiring story Stanzin ! Hope to visit your astrstay one day ❤️
Manoj C
Excellent and inspiring story!!
Priya
Hey, so motivating story !!
Ram Krishna Mukerji
The journey just begin………Very encouraging and charming though…..Let the stars shine forever to show the path of enlightenment…….Amen
Gomathi S
Awesome 👍