Cover picture credit: Bilal Ahmed Abasi
Another day carving my dreams, Another day calm and serene, Make me so drowsed like I have never seen, Beauty you possess and story of your green.
Within the ruins of the tantalizing album of experiences in the Himalayas, emerges a face so well carved, childish and impeccable – Leh. Metaphor of calmness justly placed in the serenity of a cold desert; Another face of nature – the land of the Lamas. Before I actually went to Leh, I thought of it as a land with sparse events of life and surprises. Just a repertoire of lofty naked mountains, some with a snowcap and others bare head. In reality, Leh was altogether a different experience, everything that came across our eyes had a dull gray tinge attached to it, aged and wise, but somehow so full of happiness and life. It is a seemingly untouched place which actually housed the historical Silk route from 2nd century B.C. to 14th century A.D. and still provides a real showdown with nature.
I was thrilled from the beginning and started thinking about the destiny which was waiting for us in the Himalayas. Getting familiar with a contingent of 45 people was an exciting task. I love socializing and this proved to be an exclusive opportunity for the same. We had an early morning flight. Our group constituted the majority of the people boarding the flight. It was akin to taking a chartered flight across the mountains, just like a picnic in an aircraft. I could see the clouds teasing the wings of the aircraft. Our whole flight was full of turbulence, a trial of rough trails of Ladakh. We could see sharp mountain peaks standing out and glittering reddish tinge as they were illuminated by the morning sunlight.
Early morning landing and the chill outside forced us to put on some warm clothes and we headed towards the lodging. It was probably the best accommodation possible in Leh. Mahabodhi International Meditation Center, its calmness doing justice to its name. Nothing fancy was expected and nothing extraordinary we got. We were given a full day to acclimatize ourselves with the environment and were suggested not to eat much. We met at the dining area in small groups to have lunch and to plan what to do next. We were served some yogic food with a little spicy and western touch. We felt already adapted to the place because of the enthusiasm to explore as much as possible. Finally at the end of the day, we started with the Leh market.
Fresh snowfall had blocked the road and ruined our plans to go to Pangong so we were left with our second most exciting spot of the trip, Khar-dung La pass, the highest motorable pass in the world. The view from 18,380 ft here was mind blowing but the conditions were not easy for everyone to breathe in. However, no one wanted to skip the feeling of being there. We sipped down a mug of coffee and started climbing up the hill, our path leading us to chilled heavens. Climbing a snowy rift was much easier than coming down it, unless not directly jumping. It seemed like one way. We had a long day, but the tiredness was not intense enough to beat the excitement wavering in the conscious part of our mind and lull us off to sleep.
Leh was calm but had many memories to cherish: fun at the magnetic hills, sitting out on the window of our cab, losing our cab driver at Sangam where actually Indus & Zanskar rivers meet, having lunch at the Gurdwara, missing Nubra valley & Pangong lake, difficulties in sharing the pictures we had taken during our time in Leh, calm monasteries but some of their haunting rooms, early morning hill climbing, taking a dip bath in indus. I remember the basic teachings and beliefs of Buddhism shared by a monk at Thiksey monastery – “refrain from taking life, stealing, acting unchastely, speaking falsely, and drinking intoxicants”. The belief in the perseverance to escape suffering and be released from the cycle of rebirth. It was good to know about yet another and one of the oldest religions in the world.
Leh is certainly a dreamer’s destination. It wasn’t short of any magical journey. I didn’t feel like a tourist even for a moment, maybe because I felt at home in the vast array of the mountains. Reality is that four days are not enough to visit a vast place like Leh.
Bilal Shah
Bilal Shah is a Project Associate in Zebrafish Chemical Genetics Lab with Dr. Chetana Sachitanandan. Trying to Dig deeper into the epigenetics of social isolation.