Sad Losses and New Beginnings
Keith Ball
We regret to announce that Dr Keith Ball died on 9 January aged 92 after suffering from a long deteriorating illness. Keith’s connection with Ladakh dates back to 1980 when – already well into his 60s – he joined the Bristol University expedition to Zangskar. Together with Jonathan Elford, he subsequently contributed a chapter on “Health in Zangskar” to Himalayan Buddhist Villages, the set of research papers on Zangskar edited by John Crook and Henry Osmaston). On his own and in association with Dr Tsering Norboo of the Sonam Memorial Hospital in Leh, he later wrote a series of research papers on silicosis, high-altitude oedema, tetanus and respiratory illness in Ladakh. John Crook, who led the Bristol expedition, remembers him as “a patient doctor to us all” and notes that “his warm personality soon attracted villagers to him.” Everyone who knew Keith - whether in India or in Europe - will remember those same qualities of warmth, patience and careful research.
Peter Marczell
We have recently heard of the death of our colleague
Peter Marczell in late 2007. Peter was Hungarian-born
but was based in Geneva for most of his adult life.
He initially earnt his living as a market researcher,
but in the early 1990s embarked on what became a
series of studies on the Hungarian scholar Alexander
Csoma de Kőrös who had stayed in Ladakh in the 1820s.
Peter’s researches culminated in a two-volume
study Alexander
Csoma de
Kőrös, consisting of a set of
essays and transcripts of archival records, which was
published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal earlier in
2007. He had been suffering from a serious illness
for some time, but was able to take part in the IALS
conference in Rome in September. Peter had been a
member of the IALS Advisory
Committee.
Kim
Gutschow
Kim gave
birth to a daughter, Yeshe Johanna Gutschow Rai, at
home on December 30, 2007. Kim reports that “after a
small bout of jaundice, Yeshe is now well and
claiming her place in the family song and dance”
alongside her elder brother Krishan and sister Tashi.
Seb
Mankelow
Seb became a father in November (Seb's wife Jaj, and
Kim were both sporting bumps at the Rome Colloquium)
with the birth of Erin. As a consequence Seb can
occasionally be found working on the IALS website in
the early hours of the morning...
The IALS Executive Committee is currently discussing
the possibility of introducing reduced membership
rates for the under fives!