The Hindu Business Line : Via Nathu La… again

It was the late-1950s and business was booming on the fabled Silk Route between Nathu La in Sikkim and Tibet. Indian traders exported cigarettes, watches, salt, petrol, kerosene, auto parts, cycles and construction material among other things. In return, they brought back mules laden with sacks of kasturi (musk pods), Tibetan wool, silk, and Dyangs or Chinese silver coins.

The Tibetan town of Yatung in the Chumbi Valley, just 52 km from the Nathu La pass and at a height of 14,500 ft, was the main trading centre at that time. The Tibetan capital Lhasa is 525 km from Nathu La. Indian traders had set up shops at the Yatung and Phari towns, which bristled with activity and did roaring business.

By the early-1960s, growing hostilities between India and China began to cast clouds of uncertainty over the traditional trade links. By 1958, most of the traders from Sikkim and Kalimpong began to close down their businesses in Yatung and return home. With the total breakdown in Indo-China relations in 1962, the trading came to a grinding halt. A 24-hour Quit Tibet Order forced the remaining traders to down shutters and leave.

A 40-year-old trader from Sikkim resisted the ouster till the last minute. Finally, he was asked by the trade agent in Tibet to leave. On June 2, 1962, he stood outside his “Shree Sikkim Store” for one last time, took a final look at the place and left, leaving behind all his remaining stock. He was one of the last traders to return from Tibet.

For nearly four decades after that, Khyaliram Singhi and his fellow traders were forgotten by time and the coming generations. Sikkim became a part of the Indian Union in 1975 and Indo-Chinese relations remained frosty. But for Singhi, the memories stayed fresh and he held a cherished desire — to be able to go back to Tibet some day.

In June 2003, when the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee signed a memorandum with China on expanding border trade, prospects for reopening Nathu La for trade were revived. Singhi and other old-timers who once traded with Tibet were suddenly besieged by media attention. Suddenly the whole world wanted their stories, and old documents, photographs and anything connected with the Tibet trade in the past was dug up and documented.

When this writer met Singhi in 2003 for an interview, he at first appeared a little irritated by the sudden media attention. “Where were you all these years? For 40 years no one wanted to hear our stories. We were forgotten. Now since Nathu La is reopening, you have come to me.” Then he smiled and remarked, “It’s not too late.”

It took nearly two-and-a-half years for both countries to finally clear the diplomatic and logistic hurdles. After several false starts and postponements, Nathu La was finally reopened for trade on July 6, 2006. Singhi however was not present to witness this historic occasion. He passed away on February 7, 2005. He was 84.

Another veteran of the Tibet trade, 76-year-old Ridhkaran Thirani was more fortunate and saw history repeat itself in his lifetime.

Thirani recalled how in 1954, as a young man of 22 years, he made his first trip to Yatung. And his annual trips continued until 1959, when the trading stopped abruptly. “It was a difficult time. I did not have much money. So, my business was small but significant nonetheless.”

When the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Sikkim in 1952, the traders of Sikkim had called on him and requested him to persuade the Tibetan Government to permit trading with Tibet. Within a few months, trade links were established; soon, traders from Sikkim set up shops in Yatung

“I concentrated on food grains, edible oils to trade with. It used to be an expensive affair. The cost of transport in those days was astronomical. For a single trip to Yatung from Gangtok, the cost of a single mule carrying a load of two maans (1 maan = 40 kg) was Rs 800. There used to be at least 10 mules in a single caravan. Also the trails were kuccha and the weather extremely unpredictable. But we braved it all,” Thirani recalled.

Recounting the details of his first trip to Yatung, Thirani said, “I set out with a Sherpa assistant on horseback one early morning. After an entire day’s walk we finally reached Tsomgo Lake, where we halted for the night. We had to take shelter in makeshift tents. I had carried some drinking water in a thermos. In the morning when I opened the thermos, to my utter horror I discovered that all the water had disappeared! I was spooked, thinking maybe it was the doing of some ghost! Later, I realised that all the water had turned into ice.” The duo set out for Nathu La and then downhill through the notorious “Phema ko Oralo” or Phema’s downhill trail. “The trail was a shortcut which saved us at least 3-4 hours to Yatung. It was a very steep downhill trail upon which we had to scurry down like monkey, holding on to branches for support. We finally reached Yatung in the night, after two days of high-altitude trekking.”

The mule caravans of the traders used to be laden with bags of salt, which was the preferred item for barter, and other goods. Blue jeans from India were the most sought-after item. Chinese soldiers were apparently crazy for them. The traders sold readymade garments, paints, household utensils, quilts, cycles, watches and so on.

Motilall Lakhotia, another trader in the old times, recalled how automobiles were ferried across the borders to Tibet. “Trucks and Jeeps used to be dismantled onto the smallest parts possible and packed into mule backs and sent to Yatung. Once there, the parts used to be reassembled and the vehicle driven to Lhasa,” he says. “Rolex and Omega watches were also in great demand those days. Watches used to be sent across packed in 10-kg boxes,” he added.

All payments were initially made in dyangs or Chinese silver dollars. Each silver dollar was worth Rs 2.50 and weighed about 3 tolas. “It used to be 2 tolas and 10 annas in pure silver and the rest impurities. A dollar used to be sold at Rs 3 to Rs 5 in Kolkata,” Thirani recalled.

“By 1959, my family had decided to wrap up our business in Yatung and come back. The Chinese had started putting subtle but persistent pressure on us by making it logistically and bureaucratically difficult to do business there,” he said.

Many traders were also forced to leave behind their money in the Chinese Bank there. “My father left about 2,000 Remphi (Chinese currency) deposited in a bank there. He always hoped that the money would be returned to him some day,” said Singhi’s son, Ashok. In fact, most of the old traders still have their bank passbooks with them. The reopening of Nathu La not only renewed traditional trading ties between Tibet and India, but also opened a floodgate of memories for the old-timers. “Yes, things are definitely different now. There would now be roads instead of dirt tracks and trucks instead of mules and completely different items would be traded. I would like to take this opportunity to travel to Lhasa through Nathu La and Yatung and perhaps a pilgrimage trip to Mansorovar some day soon,” Thirani said. “And yes, this time, I will travel in a motorcar,” he added.

Follow the ‘listening ear’

The history of the initiation of formal trade linkage between British India and Tibet through the passes of Sikkim dates back to the late-18th century. It was the report written by John Edgar, the Deputy Commissioner in Darjeeling, in 1873 that really drew the attention of the British India government to the strategic and commercial potential of this route in Sikkim. The trade through Nathu La (“the path of listening ear”) resulted after continual discussions at the highest levels between the British India/Sikkim and the Tibeto-Chinese governments.

The later half of the 1890s witnessed fairly good trade, as can be seen from a diary extract dated January 16, 1898, belonging to the Political Officer for Sikkim: “the trade for December are very good, amounting to Rs 3,41,290. This includes a consignment of gold worth Rs 16,800 — the finest that has been sent in for some years”.

This used to be one of the most vital trade routes that connected India with China. There are very interesting oral accounts on this trading route. According to the “Sikkim-Tibet Trade via Nathu La: A Policy Study on Prospects, Opportunities and Requisite Preparedness” by the Nathu La Trade Study Group commissioned by the Sikkim Government: “Deorali village (a few miles below Gangtok town) was mostly used as a starting point for the mule train caravan. All the mule trails were kuccha and un-metalled and most were susceptible to the wrath of nature. Starting early in the morning, in the break of day, the caravan used to trudge along the mule trail to the Naya Bazaar; 10th Mile was the next stop and then came the uphill climb to 15th Mile. Thegu was the next stop before coming to the hamlet of Tsomgo. The next climb involved crossing the cold pass and the last outpost of India, Nathu La. Once the pass was climbed, it was down-hill all the way into the Tibetan hinterlands of the Chumbi Valley. The very first village was that of Lathung followed by Phri La, Gyantse, etc and, finally, Lhasa.

“There used to be custom checks at 15th Mile. Yaks were used only from Phari onwards. Up to that point, mules and, occasionally, coolies were used to ferry the goods. An average mule train consisted of 15-50 mules. Each mule carried 40-60 kg goods. About 5-10 mule riders would accompany the caravan in the company of a group of Tibetan mastiffs.

“It was the Chinese who invented the two-wheel carriage pulled by mules. It was more in use from Phari onwards because of the level terrain of the Tibetan plateau. It is estimated that the mules could now ferry up to 4 “maan” or “maund” (1 maan = 40 kg) of goods with this new invention. There were post-offices en route the trade trail. They were also couriered on mules.

“All trade was regulated via the India Trade Agent (Central Government), who issued trade permits to the traders, especially in the case of high value commodities like petrol, diesel, auto parts, liquor etc.

The trade was that of an open market. Most of the trade, especially from Nathu La, was done on the basis of cash transactions whereas the trade from Jelep La was mostly done on the basis of barter, even during the later days. The preferred currency for trade was the Indian currency but later on, post- 1950s, the Chinese dollar called “dyang” (1 dyang = Rs 3-4) gained prominence. It was a pure silver coin.”

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