Hirdey Rampal

PhD Student in Cultural Anthropology

Supervisors: Grant Otsuki, Catherine Trundle (La Trobe University, Australia) and Sita Venkateswar (Massey University, New Zealand)

Afflictions and Wellbeing in Spiti Valley, India

Through my research, I aim to understand and elucidate the afflictions and the struggle for wellbeing experienced by people in Spiti Valley of India. Enveloped in the steep and colossal Himalayan range of India, Spiti is a high-altitude cold desert mountain valley. I have recently completed my ethnographic participant observation fieldwork in the region for a duration of 11 months. Life at this altitude coupled with geographic conditions poses nuanced challenges for people with regards to their health, healthcare, and wellbeing. My fieldwork dwelled into these topics to understand the lived experiences of people dealing and living in the face of afflictions while simultaneously hoping and aiming towards their wellbeing. In addition, I worked with and assisted traditional healthcare practitioners, including shamans and traditional medicine doctors to understand the causes and response to physical, mental, and spiritual ailments while further comprehending the local religious worldview of Buddhism that provides a framework of wellbeing for the people.