Monday, February 6, 2017

A Short Tryst With The Mountains


Where Journeys end, stories begin


During a trek to a remote, mystic monastery, I stopped over for a month at a tiny village in Zanskar Valley. The hamlet, felt like the last point on earth, beyond which lay miles and miles of barren mountains - majestic, immovable, invincible yet ever changing! Once in a while random adventure seekers trekked across them, enduring all the adversities, of a rough terrain inhabited by snow leopards, for that ineffable, glorious feeling of having triumphed over the untamed.  Aware of my limitations, I contended myself by capturing the breathtaking experience in my camera.

Some days, the mountains were cloaked behind layers of cottony clouds waiting to reveal well-kept secrets. Some days, the peaks glistened with fresh dust of snow while romancing the sunrays kissing them. Some days, they looked dry, barren and lifeless as if in mourning. Yet other days, they looked like a surreal painting on a bright blue canvas.  The mountain-scape kept changing, mysterious, intimidating to sublime and alluring.

The mountains spoke a story of change.  Change, they say is inevitable but not everlasting. It brings with it the apprehension of letting go the known yet it gives the thrill of discovering the unknown.

Alice In Ladakh


“While nature can mystify, architecture can stir the soul”



A few years back, in my process to heal after a certain personal setback, I had decided to hit the road for a solo soul search. The lone trail led me to the mystical ‘land of passes’. What began as a sudden whim, eventually, turned into a magical journey of amazing discoveries.

Some wise soul had once said, “you don’t need magic to disappear; all you need is a destination”. Ladakh is one such thaumaturgic destination.

Traveling and healing are connected in a weird way. Traveling may not be a panacea but it does bring positive changes in perspectives. A place as beautiful as Ladakh, with its many untouched, unexplored, ethereal, exotic locales, possesses the magical charm to heal and rejuvenate.  Its natural beauty is beyond comprehension; almost a painting on a life-size canvas and as amazing is its architectural splendor.

Being an architect, monasteries and particularly their architecture, caught my attention.  Whether it was the secluded, spiritual cave temples of Zanskar or the colorful, vibrant gompas of Indus or the tall statues of Nubra, Ladakh revealed a rich treasure trove of art and architecture. The breathtaking clay and wooden edifices ensconced amidst the rugged Himalayan terrains and gorgeous, clear azure sky presented a surreal spectacle hard to find anywhere else on earth (and I literally mean it).

….
There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger!” said the maddest Hatter

“That is impossible” Alice replied flaunting her 7 and a half-year-old attitude.

“Only if you believe it is! Every adventure requires a first step” snubbed back the hatter.
…..

If I am Alice, Ladakh is my wonderland. Fairy tales do come true - Where Journeys end, stories begin.