At an altitude of 14,000 to 17,000 feet in the western parts of Ladakh lives a community of semi-nomadic herders that have lived a self-sustained life for millenniums. Despite the new found connectivity with the modern world, they have continued their wandering lifestyle that is essential for keeping their livestock well fed.
My first brush with Changpa nomads happened a decade ago, when I spotted their rebo–traditional yak-wool tents–at a distance on the long road from Manali to Leh. They had pitched tents on the famous Morey plains faraway from the road that made them look like black spots in the landscape. But smoke rising from the cow-dung stoves revealed what they are. Until that time, I had heard time and again that there are no settlements in the highlands on the difficult road from Manali to Leh. I learned few years later that they were not here just for the warm summer months, but continue to live at high altitudes even in winters, braving temperatures of -25C and lower.
Over the years, I had many encounters with Changpa people during my wanderings in the high-altitude Changthang region adjoining Tibet. A few weeks after I first saw their tents, I had an opportunity to wander in one of their settlements in a place of spell-binding beauty. The land they had chosen was carpeted with lush green grass on a kind of soft ground where you relish walking bare foot. Small streams–springs that emerged from gaps in the ground–crisscrossed the fresh landscape. When you looked up, mountains in every direction were adorned with thick cover of snow on their peaks. The skies appeared eternally blue. Yaks, cows, a few sheep that had not made their way up the mountains and a handful of donkeys grazed happily on the tender grass.
Mani stones are tablets with the sacred mantra ‘Om Mani Padmehum’ carved on them. If you travel in the Himalayan regions like Ladakh and northern parts of Himachal Pradesh where Buddhism is widely practiced, you will find these stones in every corner – outside the monasteries, in the villages, along the roads and next to sacred places. For a long time I wanted to see people working on making these tablets. I happened to witness it during my recent visit to Dharamsala.
These monks were chipping on the rocks along the circumambulation path around Dalai Lama Temple. I loved the way these two monks executed their work. Even for a second, they never seemed to think of it as hard work. Along with their tools, they had a small bottle of water and a flask that perhaps contained some tea, which indicated that they were planning to spend a long time working with the rocks. The young monk’s job was to just sit and give company to the old man while he chiseled the rock. They yapped continuously as the old man slowly chipped on the rock. Occasionally, when other monks came along the circumambulation path, they would stop by to chatter but never stayed too long to disturb their work. The old man seemed to know his job and made it look effortless. He seemed to be enjoying every moment of his task.
I watched them at work for some time until they decided to end their morning session. We did not speak any common language, so the communication between us was limited. The old man, full of compassion in his eyes like only an elderly monk could have, occasionally looked at me and smiled genially. At some point, I took a few picture of him at work. He continued working while I was shooting but once I was done, he summoned me, asked me to show the pictures and laughed heartily after seeing his photographs. He was such a cheerful person, the few minutes I spent with him put me in an elevated mood for rest of the day.
I found these insects sliding swiftly on water surface a month ago in Coorg. They looked very different from the Water Striders with long legs. Any idea what these insects are called? See the video below the image showing them moving on the water surface.
