My first proper day in Leh started with a rush to the ATM. In a town that has more tourists than locals, your best bet to get your money from the only functioning ATM is to get there early in the morning. At 10am, the queue was already long enough that it took me an hour of waiting, a few tense moments of machine malfunctioning and rumours that the money is running out. I had to get some money that day or go hungry till tomorrow! Thankfully things turned out for good.
Leh is not a place where you want to hurry things. And hurry, we did not. When we asked our guesthouse owner for something do that evening, he pointed us towards Shanti Stupa. Stepping out and loosing our way through the maze of roads in Sankar Village, I spotted a little girl and asked for directions.
Shanti Stupa
“Julley..,” I greeted her, using the Ladakhi word for ‘hello’, and asked for directions to Shanti Stupa. Incidentally, julley can mean ‘hello’ as well as ‘good bye’.
She looked up with her bright face and smiled in return, the kind of innocent smile that makes you fall in love in that very moment. She pointed me towards North in response, added that she is heading in that direction and will show us part of the way. I asked her a few more questions as we walked together, but she did not have answers to much of them. “I am from Kargil,” she responded instead, indicating that she doesn’t know much about Leh.
Shanti Stupa
Puffy clouds over Ladakh Range of Mountains, seen from Shanti Stupa
Evening light over Namgyal Tsemo Monastery, seen frmo Shanti Stupa
Like everything religious in Ladakh, Shanti Stupa is also located on a hill. The way up appears easy on looking up from below, but as I walked, I became conscious of the thin air in this high altitude (10,600 feet, 3500 meters) and had to cut down my pace. The vista of the mountains got better as I climbed up, bringing in the whole town into the view from the top. Shanti Stupa itself is not an admirable structure, but the panorama of the Indus Valley from its premises, with its green stretch spreading like an oasis in the middle of dry brownish mountain ranges, gives a perspective of the scale of the landscape that accommodates Leh. Puffy white clouds hovered over brown mountains at one side, while the cold snow claud mountains of Zanskar were kissed by dark rain bearers to the other side. At the opposite side of the town, the last rays of the sun gently moved past a crag hosting Namgyal Tsemo Monastery, making a distinct mark between the arriving night and departing day. At the twilight hour, peace prevailed in the atmosphere despite the crowded platform of the Stupa. Shanti Stupa is the best place to watch the sun drift over the skies above Leh.
Join expedition leader Manish Lakhani on Chadar Trek – January 2012
This is a guest post from an avid traveller Manish Lakhani. Manish lives in Baroda and works in the telecom industry. He has traveled extensively in the Himalayas, including Ladakh and Sikkim. He went on Chadar trek last winter, and hopes to return again in the coming winter.
Chadar Trek is an unusual expedition of walking on ice. The Zanskar River freezes in winter, enabling walking on the ice sheet along the area that is inaccessible in summer. As you can see from pictures, a warm weather can break the ice, forcing the trekkers to climb over the mountains or walk in the frigid water.
Text and Photographs by Manish.
Mighty mountains and clouds that hide Sun on a cold morning before the trek started. We spent two days visiting places around Leh to acclimatize.
Walking on thin ice? Yes, there is no choice. This is part of day to day trek. A small mistake and you are in freezing water. Porters do this like walking in garden… amazing !
A frozen stream! I was thinking how it must have been flowing in summer. Imagine the temperatures required to make it into ice. There are lots of mineral in the ice that make it look colorful in direct sunlight. Nature is amazing isn’t it ?
It was a very hard day on the way back. After lots of snowfall, there was a shiny day. There was alway risk of melted ice and broken Chadar. A wrong step directly takes you into frigid water. The water is deep, and cold enough to take bring death.
During the return.. There was heavy snowfall, and the next day was sunny. Snowfall takes the temperarte up, resulting in in broken Chadar. We were walking in an ice slurry. I walked almost halfday with my wet feet, a horrible experiense. For the entire night, I was trying to dry my shoes near the fire. Yes i would like to experience this again.
Near Neraks camp site which is near Neraks village. We were wating here for 3 days to get clear snow . These goats belonged to a villager who was staying nears camp site. One day, a fine morning few of the villagers came to my tent to say good morning.
Going Home, a late evening. I was very much tired after after hard day. We walked two days’ distance in one, walking between avalanches. But in the evening, we had some hot soup and delicious food.
The amazing flight. Aerial view of Leh-Delhi route on the way back.
Join expedition leader Manish Lakhani on Chadar Trek – January 2011
Dushyasana laughed at Yudhishtira for being a poor looser at the gambling table. Draupathi was dragged in from the middle of people behind whom she was hiding. She pleaded for mercy and begged hapless Yudhishtira for help. Her lips quivered, and her face shrunk. And years later, she pleaded Krishna not to help Pandavas reconcile, but to get them to war. Krishna remained calm and pleasant all through, his green face betraying no emotions. And in the ultimate war, Bheema was unstoppable. His face burned, eyes went red and his body trembled with anger as he searched for Dushyasala. And when Dushyasana fell, a raging Bheema drank his blood and pulled out the intestine with his canines.
Scenes from a Kathakali performance!
I was at a Kathakali performance organized by Bangalore Club of Kathakali and the Arts last weekend. Having got consent to shoot backstage, we arrived early and spent time watching the faces slowly come alive with colors. Here are some pictures and a few words. See more images on flickr group India Travel and Photography.
At the backstage
Preparing for the performance is a long process. The artists start applying colors on their face first, and then take help of a make-up person to give the final touches. Mixing colors started as early as 12pm for the show that was about to begin at 6.30pm. When we arrived at the scene around 2 o’clock, the greenroom was full with artists at various stages of colouring their face.
The artists relax before getting ready for the show
The day’s story was Duryodhana Vadham consisting four scenes. The first one is from the court of Dhritarashtra where Yudhisthira gambled away his clan and kingdom. The remaining scenes involved Krishna’s reconciliation efforts after the Pandavas return from exile, the war at Kurukshetra and Bheema’s revenge against Dushyasana and Duryodhana.
Our first introduction to the characters happened as the artists painted their faces with a brush in one hand and mirror in the other. Dushyasana – the evil – was painted in red(katti), while the good guys Yudhishtira and Krishna had fluorescent green (paccha) faces. Duryodhana, evil but royal, had a mix of both. Draupathi’s makeup had a fair face with long eyelashes, called Minukku.
mixing the colors
Duryodhana is a mix of katti and paccha
Kathakali evolved as an art form nearly four hundred years ago. It was then called Ramanattam, as the stories performed in those days were from the Ramayana. Achuthan Kutty, a retired scientist from BARC, now a connoisseur and artist, explained us with a child like enthusiasm on the intricacies of the art, about its history, the mudras and the rules of the performance.
On stage, it was a dazzler of a performance. Two and a half hours went like minutes as the actors duly justified the characters they had become.
Krishna shows his Vishwaroopa
An angry Bheema searches for Dushyasana.
The show culminated with Bheema defeating and killing Dushyasana and Duryodhana in the battle.
See more images on flickr.