(note: I started writing this in June 2011 when I came back from Ladakh and had time to absorb the experience. However, I still wasn't able to post it back then.Finally managed to post it a year or so later :))
Only something as surreal, as compelling as the Ladakh experience could have moved me out of my writer's block and back to the blog. When I see that my last post was in Oct 2009, I just wonder where the time went. We'll leave the recriminations and reflections on the hiatus out for today, focusing instead on what drove me back to this sparsely decorated blog.
Only something as surreal, as compelling as the Ladakh experience could have moved me out of my writer's block and back to the blog. When I see that my last post was in Oct 2009, I just wonder where the time went. We'll leave the recriminations and reflections on the hiatus out for today, focusing instead on what drove me back to this sparsely decorated blog.
Ladakh. One word, but not one world. Ladakh of the bizarre, surreal landscape. Ladakh of the extreme, harsh weather conditions. Ladakh of the spirituality and deep religiosity that permeates life and supplements the sparse oxygen afforded by the thin air. Ladakh of the heroes, the fallen and those that brave the harsh conditions and the enemy to keep our borders secure. Is it possible to experience all of these worlds in just a week? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe enough to stir your soul and force you to accept that what you've walked away with in that week is but a small sample of everything that goes on in this frozen desert, in a land that is virtually cut off from the rest of civilization for most months of the year.
Perhaps it is thin air that makes you light headed and that adds to the mystique. From the moment I stepped off the plane, to our arrival back in Delhi a week later, I felt I was in a swirling mist. I'll recount some of the experiences that stood out.
Perhaps it is thin air that makes you light headed and that adds to the mystique. From the moment I stepped off the plane, to our arrival back in Delhi a week later, I felt I was in a swirling mist. I'll recount some of the experiences that stood out.
A Plane with a View
While folks swear by the drive through the mountains and passes, the flight into Leh took my breath away. What a view! you could see the majestic Himalayas stretching away for endless miles in every direction. Many a brave adventurer has set out to conquer these lofty heights, dreaming of glory and immortality, for most this has been their final destination.
As we flew above, and then through these snow capped peaks, all sense of space and time left me. A ridge that looked tiny in this range was probably large enough to hold a 100 people. How much had these mountains changed in a 100 years? in a millenium? Their timeless, ageless nature and the sheer scale on which they existed made a human lifetime pale in comparison.
As we flew above, and then through these snow capped peaks, all sense of space and time left me. A ridge that looked tiny in this range was probably large enough to hold a 100 people. How much had these mountains changed in a 100 years? in a millenium? Their timeless, ageless nature and the sheer scale on which they existed made a human lifetime pale in comparison.
A Walk in Leh
What's a blog post without a photo of food :). The walk in Leh was not about food. It was a walk in a different environment - how it looked, how the air felt, how the rays of the sun beat down on to my face through the rarefied atmosphere. It was as if we were walking in a giant bowl of dirt - brown hills all around us, but even a stroll was more work than running full tilt back home. When we reached this little dhaba, breathless and hungry, the simple subzi and poori breakfast accompanied by lots and lots of tea tasted heavenly.
A Lake in the Mountains
Pangong Tso. Wikipedia tells me that this is a long, narrow enchanted lake. Wikipedia also tells me a lot of trivia. But Wikipedia - or any source for that matter - cannot describe the rich blue color of the water. It cannot describe how after a bone jarring, back breaking 5 hour ride from Leh, when you get out, all weariness lifts from your body as you wonder at the beauty and inexplicable presence of the lake. How all around you the mountains change color from sandy brown, to chocolate to white in the distance. How in the middle of all the dust and pebble, the waters seem extra blue. And how a lake that is 5 km wide and over a 100 kms long, still seems small in the presence of the majestic mountains.
A Reflection in the Sky
We ambled through the Diskit Gompa on our way to the Nubra dunes, and when we reached the top, I forgot about my camera, my gps, Facebook and Foursquare. We walked slowly through the temples, but then we sat down at the top of the monastery with some very friendly monks, and took in the view, the solitude and the peace it offered. We sat on a ledge outside the temple, but it seemed as if we were sitting in the sky. Some force compelled me to sit there and meditate, to contemplate and reflect upon life and the meaning of living. The word "peace" took on a whole new dimension.
[As an aside, this was the second time I was caught in the grip of such an intense introspective and spiritual moment. The first time was my first visit to the Harmandir Sahib, maybe I'll write about that someday.]
[As an aside, this was the second time I was caught in the grip of such an intense introspective and spiritual moment. The first time was my first visit to the Harmandir Sahib, maybe I'll write about that someday.]
A High on a high
There are many, many things we crammed into the one week. I do need to write about the visit to the war memorial and museum, the Gurudwara, the prayer flags, the dunes of Nubra and our night time jaunt there, ice-craft at Siachen - and many more. I'll end this blog post though with a study in contrasts :). It wasn't enough that we were light headed because of the thin air, we couldn't resist cold beer at the highest motorable pass - Khardung-La. I'd send this photo to Mr Mallya, but I don't think it will cheer his spirits as much as the cold beer cheered ours in Ladakh.
While riding up and down the roads to get through the pass was quite an experience, this is where I wish I was in the driver seat. Some of us have agreed to revisit on hogs someday - when we are all dealing with our mid-life crises. We'll see if that happens.
I call it the Ladakh experience - not trip, for it really was an experience. If Kerala is God's own country, Ladakh is God's Playground, where he experimented (still does?) with Nature - moulding and shaping it until satisfied with the result - made it a part of the landscape elsewhere. How else do you explain barren mountains and fertile valleys, hot springs and saline lakes that freeze over, snow capped mountains and sand dunes, plateaus and glaciers all in one place? it's been over a year since I visited, and I can still recall the emotions and thoughts that went through my head in that one week. I do hope I'll go back someday - but at a much slower pace. Juleh Ladakh!
While riding up and down the roads to get through the pass was quite an experience, this is where I wish I was in the driver seat. Some of us have agreed to revisit on hogs someday - when we are all dealing with our mid-life crises. We'll see if that happens.
The Ladakh Experience
I call it the Ladakh experience - not trip, for it really was an experience. If Kerala is God's own country, Ladakh is God's Playground, where he experimented (still does?) with Nature - moulding and shaping it until satisfied with the result - made it a part of the landscape elsewhere. How else do you explain barren mountains and fertile valleys, hot springs and saline lakes that freeze over, snow capped mountains and sand dunes, plateaus and glaciers all in one place? it's been over a year since I visited, and I can still recall the emotions and thoughts that went through my head in that one week. I do hope I'll go back someday - but at a much slower pace. Juleh Ladakh!
