I am named Drubjyal in my native tongue and I have never known what exactly it means. “Drub” means “accomplished” or “succeeded” and “Jyal” means “won” or “surpassed.” So in English you can call me “The winner of success” or “Successful winner” or perhaps something else. This is why it is so difficult for me to explain my name to people with different cultural backgrounds. I was born in the year of 1985 but the date and month has never been known to me. The village where I was born is nomadic; however, I don’t know whether I deserve the title of “nomad” since I have been going to school since age 8 and was never truly involved in nomadic affairs. The remembrance of my childhood is the only treasure I have had throughout my life to earn me the identity of a nomad. That is what ties me to nomadic life. However controversial it may sound, I still want to be nomad in name. I have no great achievement that’s worthy talking about. I have dreams and hopes, but none of them have been realized so far. There is a saying in Tibetan: “ A double pointed needle does no sewing,” so I have so many dreams that I can’t concentrate on any one thing. This is my life, but I don’t know what it will be. I am supposed to be the painter of my life, but it always paints it own way before I realize it. All these photos are taken in my hometown, which is located in one of the Tibetan dialectal regions called Amdo.
Projects
Traditional Loom