Ladakhi Chimera........
Mountains have been my favourite halt for ages, especially in winters
and summers. Thusly, my painful sojourn through steep seeps of dust and
pebbles keep minutest of significance to me. The new Manali-Leh highway
cut down the travel time from 16 to 2 days; bearing an indifferent
burden on my ensurient desires to view the mountains in close quarters.
The drive is without parallel. And there goes as a warning to future
travellers as it passes through one of the most desolate areas covering
four passes and second highest places in the world. My frequented
infatuation to the mountains often mingled the traveller and driver in
me, and tough was to keep myself cautious about the foggy mornings
during the drive. Although, spellbinding to its deepest arid core,
Ladakh is far more beautiful than imagined, the reason being my self
driven approach (i was driving myself). Driving my own vehicle provided
with the advantage of pacing the vehicle myself, stopping for a photo-op
and getting edified by the Gompas on my way. Ya .......... a noticeable
act of nature that I would present unto all- the scary altitudes didn't
do injustice to my body metabolism. May be because I scathed it by
oodles of water!! Instead, I was thrown to the task of getting permits
for inner line areas as Nubra Valley, Phangong-Tso, Dha-Hanu valley,
from the Collector's office in Leh. Involutions, guides and saffron clad
lamas with blunt features, Ladakh is a chimera .........
A day with Buddha in Leh ....
The 17th century capital of Namgyal Empire is the epicenter of Ladakh.
Leh is epicenter of Ladakh. A peace seeker I bumped into Leh for a
reason particular, Leh is where the last glimpse of Mahayana Buddhism, a
religion with fascinating rituals that are still practiced within the
ancient walls of its monasteries, and a unique culture that walked
through the tight rope of modern development, can be witnessed . Just
one visit to the Gompas took me several years back., and, in moment of
solitude, one cannot believe that such a place can exist. Sengge Namgyal
is now seeing a second rise, I was updated on this by an elderly Lama of
the Gompa. The present glimpse of Leh pressed an curiosity for checking
out yesterday's Leh. And to satiate this escalation in me, I took a walk
through the old quarters, under the Leh Palace, getting introduced to
Leh which was yesterday. Looming above, overlooking the town is the Leh
Palace with a imposing say in Ladakh. The Palace was built during the
sixteenth century, and luckily the heritage edifice is supervised by the
archaeological survey of India for its repair work. In a ensorcelled
state of mind I got to see Tsemo Gompa, Shanti Stupa, Shey and Thiksey
(ancient capitals of Ladakh ), staring with its calm and silent share of
dilapidated ruins. Immediately after that I caught on the site of Spitok
Gompa, the head Gompa at Leh. Gompa are synonymous to Leh as all that is
visible here from a distance are Gompa perched atop the hill pinnacle.
However, the most beautiful Gompa at Leh is Hemis Gompa built by Palden
Sara under the patronage of King Sengge Namgyal on a site previously
sanctified by the construction of a cave hermitage dating from the 12th
century.
After my visit to the Hemis Gompa, the only expression I could render
is that of being 'speechless'. The biggest Gompa, it has awesome window
colours and there onwards my camera didn't stop. The main Gompa building
reached its zenith with the construction of the Dukhang Chenmo or large
assembly hall, its adjacent building, the main entrance to the Gompa
building, the large courtyard and its enclosing gallery decorated with
painted stone reliefs. With paintings on all pieces of wood, the Hemis
is dark inside and when entered just after the seeing the sunlight one's
eyes take time to adjust to the shade. Further inside this beautiful
Gompa, you can meet immediate Buddha idols arranged in rows before a
glass case containing a life size idol of the Buddha. Before the altar
are cushioned seats for the lama in constant attendance on the spirit of
the Buddha. The walls are lined with carved and painted pigeon holes,
each holding the manuscript of a scripture. These manuscripts are made
of two boards joined together by a cloth, which holds the handwritten
parchment. The war dance is held during the "Feast of the Snowy
Heights" to celebrate the spirit of the demons. These Buddhists
have incorporated some of the local folklore in their religion. It was
getting very difficult to keep my hand on my camera as it was freezing
cold out. I could not see the evening setting in as my meditation hours
tranced me to my inner self and where I needed no interpretor to
understanding the Buddha teachings, it got etched in my mind. Children
to elders to ladies, Ladakh is god's chosen destination.
Trekking- A Slice Of Ladakh
It's all utterly beautiful at sunrise in Ladakh. An orange circle grows
to red behind the mountains as the line of shadow recedes down the rocky
slopes as the sun rises higher up in the sky, the veil is torn apart.
Trekking was not at all a cake walk. Ladakh is for people with prior
high altitude trekking experience. The area is full of trails that
connect remote villages spread across the quondam trade routes. Heights
do not please me much, so I took a short trekking expedition instead.
Trekking was all the more interesting because you can use it as tool to
meet the real Ladakh. Till the time I was halfway through, my expensive
'scarp' boot had refused to come along. I had to replace them with
sandals. Up in the mountain passes, on our rest stoppages, I saw
children who came running, asking for gifts, or pen and sweets, which I
had none. Running short of all these gift ingredients I had to replace
the pen and sweets demands with my leftover eatables, immediately paid
back to me with innocent smiles, instead. Going through the massifs made
me lighter by some pounds, I felt that at the next stoppage. On my
trekking expedition I was accompanied by many co-trekkers from different
nations. All along they kept bestowing the locals with gifts, and I was
not surprised for being deprived of my eatables. But talking to these
children was literally difficult as my Ladakhi couldn't go beyond “Jhule”
so I resorted to sign language. Heights were making me paranoid but of
course the interest stuck on me. It got dark and freezing just when
clouds covered the sun. On my next and final halt I was greeted by the
people there followed by a sumptuous rice and lentil dinner and camped
for night. My next was as beautiful as the first and I decided to stay
there for my swollen legs and thighs. The day ended with waving gud bye
to Ladies who returned after their Buddhism class.
Shopping Zones
And finally..........to put end to my valley travel I glommed on
shopping that came last on my list. One would wonder about shops at
Ladakh. Curio shops and handicrafts emporiums, travel agencies and book
stores are distributed throughout the main Leh area. During the season a
Tibetian Market is set up of the Fort Road area with a complete array of
curios, handicraft and jewelery. Bargaining is at par due to I could lay
my hands on many of authentic jeweleries.
Writer's Account
Benjamin
Allan
Benjamin Allan is a young and vibrant travel specialist who would
guide you to a perfect location in most comfortable manner.
Traversing to places, perfumes, food and luxury are his leading
qualities and fascinations. Allan spills forth one such penchant in
the following article. Know more about Allan and his discoveries in
– 'Home on
the shore-Majorda Beach Resort'.
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