Ladakh - Travel Diaries
Life, Learnings and more.
This trip is what changed my outlook towards life.
It was my sister, Riddhi Shah's idea to travel as voluntary teachers in Ladakh. We had the opportunity to visit a number of different schools and regions where we worked with children, conversed with monks and also painted a few walls. Because
I am a children's book illustrator with numerous books published - The Avalokitesvara Trust invited both of us to work there. Riddhi works in the field of education and ecology at grass root level, so we decided to turn this into a longer voluntary trip which would really allow us to understand the region, its people and their day-to-day struggles.
The cool atmosphere and warm people make you connect with them at once. There is a sense of slowness in their day to day life, which dispenses a feeling of calm and peace. The locals radiate happy vibes and their constant dealings with the forces of nature, both beautiful and brutal, has resulted in them being united and trusting of each other. We saw some breath taking views, snow covered mountains, calm and clear lakes.
This journey was about giving and consequently about getting some of the best things that life could bring my way.
We say Hello! and they say Julley!
Local Leh Market.
This scene looked right out of a novel whose story could have been based in Istambul or France.
However, its the marketplace in Leh city on a dusky day.
Maslow's heirarchy or mine? Although, I would change some of the words.
Haphazard houses.
A shot from a Majid Majidi film?
Not really, these are the lanes behind the Leh market that connect various houses and shops.
This gentleman would always wave and greet us in the morning, on our way to the NGO's office.
I could never really figure out what bits and bobs he sold, or how he made a living, but he always had a smile to share.
'Buri nazar wale, tera muh kaala' - at my friend Phuntsog's house in Stok Village. A good luck charm, visible outside most houses.
One of my teachers once said 'My dear, you don't buy a house, you build a home'. Truly said.
An artist's canvas with overflowing paint...
...or igneous rocks that have altered over the years into serpentinite to form basaltic hillsides composed of olivine that is inter-layered with calcsilicates.
Such multicoloured rocks on the outlying hills on the way to Changthang have breathtaking gradients of yellow, brown, green and violet.
Sangam, where the rivers Zanskar and Indus meet. It is also where we did white water rafting.
This was back then, when I did not know how to swim.
Streams like these can be seen cutting across Changthang's landscape in Ladakh, to finally go on to become one with the River Indus.
Drying Area.
Sometimes even while washing clothes you could get lucky. Look at the view!
Every cloud...
Carved 'Mani' stones lining the path leading to the monastery above in Hanle.
Carving these stones is a form of meditation in this region.
Lichen, lizards love eating it!
The view from the top of the Hanle Monastery.
Stok Palace
The doors of the Stok Palace.
An ancient, but interesting looking lock on one of the rooms in the Stok Monastary.
The young.
The old.
An old man from Lamayuru.
Lamayuru a small town which is four hours away from Leh city.
The 'Moonlands' of Lamayuru, which are indeed gigantic and consist of ancient chalk deposits on the hills giving them a characteristic look of the moon.
When we were teaching at the Lamayuru Monastary School, we had a visit to a fair organized by the army as a part of their 'Sadbhavana Program'.
A regiment called 'Chouvees' was responsible for it, and we had the opportunity to meet Brigadier S.S. Bakshi who invited us to stay at Tiger Hill.
We had a chance to visit the other schools supported by the army in the regions of Byama, Darchik and Garkon.
The lion is always carved below the throne of a Buddha or a 'bodhisattva', it is the icon of a 'dharma' protector.
This is His Holiness Dalai Lama's throne at the Lasthang Monastery in Byama.
A Mandala painted on the ceiling of Phyang Monastary.
Phyang is the home of Lama Konchuk Tharchin my good friend and Hindi teacher at the Lamayuru Gompa School.
He took us on a visit to see his village and his family.
A carved, wooden Choktse - or oblong table.
This one has an amalgamation of the 8 symbols of Buddhism in its centre.
Ornamental and beautifully coloured Choktse's in the Phyang Monastery.
The 'Maitreya' Buddha at Diskit.
Prayer Wheels, you turn each one with a touch of the hand, nudging them in the clockwise direction to negate bad karma and bring in good luck.
A 'jugaad' Prayer Wheel at the Alchi Monastery.
The painted ceiling within a stupa at Alchi.
Khardung - La
Ironically the River Shyok - means 'grief' - while all this view does is impart a feeling of calm and awe.
It is said in the ancient times the river would change its course and cause a lot of damage to the fields and villages surrounding it, hence the name.
A marmet. We saw this particular one on the way to Pangong Lake, he was tame enough to come and take piece of a biscuit from my hand.
The Bactrian Camel with two humps, but ...er...you can see only one here.
The Himalyan Tahr's up in the heights of the mountains - this image was shot by our driver Stanzin who ran up the slopes like gravity does not apply to him.
He got a lovely shot of these shy creatures framed against a blue sky.
Two more happy animals. Riddhi and me.
