About a month ago, I had come across this interesting article about goddess Lakshmi, which gave a very different perspective on the concept of wealth creation and its associated morals. The article was so insightful that I made note of the author, Devdutt Pattanaik, and bought one of his books – Vishnu, an Introduction.

Hence, I was glad when I came to know (via @aditisi) that Devdutt Pattanaik was one of the speakers at the recently concluded TED Talks. I would highly recommend this talk which you can view below. If you are unable to view the player, click on this link.

Devdutt talks about how differences in beliefs of God, Life and Death influence culture. An important line that he states is “culture is man’s reaction to nature”.
Do check out the entire talk (it is about 18 minutes long and well worth your time).

This is a continuation of the previous post on our short trip to Ladakh.

After seeing the Indus river on that evening, we left to see another Buddhist monument – The Shanti Stupa. The Shanti Stupa stands majestically amidst a backdrop of high peaks and the sun shone down on the monastery, giving it all a divine feel.

The Stupa has beautiful drawings and paintings of the Buddha and other deities.

Treks are usually not my cup of tea (or kahwa, for that matter), but this place is too appealing to be missing out on long walks. We set out to go to the Gyamska valley (at least that’s how our driver pronounced the name) and were greeted by this structure at the entrance:

After what seemed like thousands of kilometers of walking along the foot of a mountain, we finally reached the much promised valley!

To make it even better, there was a glacial stream flowing right through this valley. The water was ice cold and crystal clear. And, of course, it was wonderful to drink it right off the stream as it gurgled downhill.

While I was busy during the days attending a meeting, the Mrs. got a chance to visit some Ladakhi homes. Here are some great looking pictures she took:

Our next stop was the famous Khardung La pass, the world’s highest motorable road, located at a height of 18380 feet above sea level. The road to get there was very scenic and I got to see some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen in my life:

After almost an hour of driving up into the mountains, we finally reached Khardung La.

What greeted us was expanses of white snow on the sides of the mountains and a sudden chill in the air. The snow was not as clean as I had anticipated, but I managed to dig some out from below the top layers:

Here at Khardung La there is a small restaurant that serves tea and the best Maggi I have ever eaten. Seriously, there was something different about the Maggi cooked here. Or probably it was just that the cold was too much and the hot Maggi in simmering water made it feel heavenly.

Another place we visited on our way was the Magnetic Hill. Local knowledge states that when a car is placed on a particular location on the road, in neutral, it moves uphill towards a mountain which is nicknamed the Magnetic Hill. We did see the thing in front of our eyes, but one of our guides spoiled it for us by saying that some sceptics consider this to be an optical illusion. It was too cold for me to argue my thoughts on the concept of optical illusions, so I let it be.

Our organizers had arranged for a camp outing along with lunch on the banks of the Indus. This was a beautiful moment and we got to spend hours sitting alongside the river, with our legs dangling into the cold water while the mountains watched patiently.
This, the photo on the right, was the loo of our camp. It was a hole in the ground, covered with a colourful looking tent, zip et al.

We then left to visit the point where the Indus meets the Zanskar river. The two join here and the resulting river continues to be called Indus.

After visiting the various market places, and checking out a cool restaurant called the Wonderland (cheesy name yeah, but a great roof-top seating makes up for the name), we finally had to bid farewell to this paradise of this part of the world.

Previous post on Ladakh: Ladakh Photo Diary – 1

This is a first in a series of posts depicting our Ladakh trip in pictures.

First some background. Ladakh is a province in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. It has two main towns – Leh, considered the capital of Ladakh and Kargil. Situated at a height of over 11,000 feet above sea level, the oxygen levels here are lower compared to the cities we live in. It is close to the China and PoK borders and the famous Siachen Glacier.

In case you are planning a trip to Leh, be advised that your first day in Leh should comprise of, and only of, complete rest in your hotel room. Doctors suggest a resting period of at least 36 hours. Otherwise, you tend to suffer from altitude sickness. During summers, Leh is considerably warm and dry. There is not much of humidity so the sun can be harsh. Now, sit back and enjoy the view.

The Himalayas from the plane’s window as we flew through the mountain range on our way to Leh. Majestic and awe inspiring:

An aerial snapshot of the airport of Leh:

As we got off the plane on to the rudimentary looking tarmac, there was a slight chill in the air. Looking around, we were surrounded by mountains and the presence of the Indian armed forces was easily felt. There are various mountains which have some inspiring texts written by the various regiments. One of the mountains had the following written in white and visible from air:

Touch the sky with glory

Once at the hotel, we were asked to take complete rest to acclimatize ourselves with the low levels of oxygen. In the evening, we visited a Buddhist monastery nearby.

The person who used to run this monastery, Mr. Kushak Bakula, had initiated a lot of social and development work for the town of Leh. Owing to his great work, he had been awarded India’s Padma Bhushan title. For the first time ever, I got to see how the certificate of a Padma Bhushan award looks like:

After having spent time at the monastery, we went to a river nearby. And well, this wasn’t just a river nearby. It was the Indus river. The Indus river – the mother of civilizations in this part of the world!

It was a strange feeling to be able to dip your fingers into a river of such historical significance.

More on this trip shall continue later. Watch this space, ladies and gentlemen.

Update: Read part 2 of this trip here.