Gompas of Ladakh - An amazing blend of religion and beauty

During the long course of its history, Ladakh was ruled by several dynasties who brought their culture, religion and traditions to this region, giving it a unique feature. As far as religion is concerned, Buddhism is followed by a  major portion of the population. Irrespective of the rugged terrain and remote inaccessible areas, monks and preachers passed through them and built monasteries all over the place. There are are innumerable monasteries in Ladkah, some in ruins while others are still in inhabited, running as educational and religious centers. During our week long tour in Ladakh, we got an opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful monasteries and today I would like to share some of my experience. A typical character of the monasteries is that each monastery has a courtyard where main rituals in gathering are performed or yearly festivals are celebrated. The walls of stones which are inscribed with prayers and religious figures are called Mani walls. On the outer walls one can notice the lines of ‘prayer wheels’. Prayer wheels are wood and metal cylinders with prayers written on the long pieces of paper inside. Every rotation of teach cylinder is equated to prayers written on the paper and are sent to Buddha.

The first monastery we visited was on our way to Leh from Kargil - Lamayuru Monastery, one of the mysterious and the oldest monastery of Ladakh. The Lamayuru monastery is situated about 10 kms from Leh, on a big rock overlooking the Indus River. According to the legends, Lamayuru was a lake. It was blessed by a Lama after which the water of the lake receded up to the mountains leaving place for the monastery to be built. The monastery has Dukhang, the assembly hall, Gonkhang, the temple and residential buildings for monks. The main hall of this monastery is very impressive and houses numerous Thangkas and is worth a visiting place. There are caves carved out of the mountain wall and some of the rooms are richly furnished with carpets, Tibetan tables and butter lamps. Walls of the Dukhang are painted with colourful images of Buddhist deities. In front of the temple there are three chortens. The only disadvantage is that you are not allowed to do photography inside the monastery :(

The next monastery we visited was the Hemis Monastery. Situated in the foothills of Indus at a distance of 45 km from Leh, the monastery has access to motorable roads. Travelling to Hemis monastery itself is a thrilling experience and the surroundings make the journey a memorable one. Hemis Monastry is the wealthiest monastery in India and famous for its rich collection of ancient remnants like the statue of Buddha made of copper, stupas made of gold and silver. Monastery also has sacred Thangkas, murals and various artifacts. The Tibetan Buddhist monastery belongs to the Drukpa Lineage or the Dragon Order of Mahayana Buddhism. The Tibetan style architecture of the monastery is very colourful and attractive. It is divided into two parts – the assembly hall known as Dukhang and the temple which is called Tshogkhang. The huge courtyard of the monastery is also worth a visit. All the celebration and public functions are held here. Verandah is decorated with colourful wall paintings of Buddhist Kalchakra. Below the monastery there is Chomoling which is the abode of nuns.

Painting on the walls

The next one we visited was Thiksey Monastery. The 12 storey monastery has 10 temples, assembly hall, and residence for 120 monks and nunnery. The monastery buildings are structured in hierarchal order. The monastery is referred as ‘Mini Potala’ of India as it resembles Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. There is one big statue of Maitreya (future Buddha) which covers almost two floor of the monastery that is 40 feet in height. Tara temple of Goddess Tara is another major attraction for the visitors. Apart from visiting monastery one can also find some rare and precious stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords in the monastery.

From outside the monastery, we could see a panorama of beautiful landscapes all around. The green patches are a result of dedicated efforts by the local people. They have implemented schemes like water harvesting. The greenery everywhere often makes you forget that Ladakh in fact, is a cold desert!

This writing would remain incomplete without a glimpse of the Diskit Monastery, the largest and the oldest surviving monastery in Nubra Valley. The Diskit Gompa has two distinct parts - one, the Gompa (monastery) itself, which, like most other monasteries is located on a inclined land and which you have to walk and the second, the statue of the Maitreya Buddha (future Buddha), upto which there is a motorable road. 

A climb to seven storied Diskit Gompa through a few hundred steps takes some time and effort; but the effort is adequately rewarded. From elevation of upper stories of the Gompa, the panorama of hills and the greenery around the Diskit village looks spectacular.

The maitreya is visible from a far distance and hence, I am sure anyone would be curious to find out how it looks up-close : well, you should experience this for yourself. Not only the Buddha is huge (almost 3 storey high) it is also very well decorated and painted in bright colours. The view of the sky and mountains from this place is exhilarating.

Having written a few words on the various Gompas of Ladakh, some readers may feel tad monotonous on this aspect of Ladakh. If one is at Ladakh, one can not wish away Gompas and Chortens  which are the fountain heads of Buddhist religion and will make their appearance in every possible destination. These mountain clutching multistoried structures, invariably give a kind of divine dimension to the mountains of this Trans-Himalayan region and from layman’s point of view, break the monotony of the rugged hills. 

Pangong Lake - Blue Heaven

Remember the scene from the movie 3 Idiots when Kareena Kapoor comes riding on a scooter to meet Aamir Khan? Those of you who have seen the movie, already have seen the scenic beauty of the picturesque Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake. Situated in the upper reaches of Himalayan Mountain range in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, the most notable feature of the lake is the ever changing hues of the lake. Pangong Tso in Tibetan stands for "long, narrow, enchanted lake". One third of the lake is in India while the remaining two thirds lies in Tibet, which is controlled by China. Majority of the streams which fill the lake are located on the Tibetan side. 

Pangong Tso is about five hours drive from Leh. During our recent trip to Leh, we chose to go to Pangong Tso last to give our body enough time for acclimatization. At Karu, about 45km from Leh city, we had to deviate left for Pangong lake. The road till Karu, that goes along the river Indus, is in a very good condition and could be made to Karu in well within an hour. 

As we started ascending higher and higher, the temperature fell drastically and oxygen kept depleting. As we got closer to Chang La pass, the roads started getting worse with potholes and sharper curves. At Chang La, the second highest motorable pass in the world at 5360m, the mountains were magnificently snow capped and the weather was mind-numblingly cold. There is an army outpost at Changla pass which serves complimentary tea and has maintained public conveniences. Also there is a temple embellished with numerous fluttering Buddhist festoons, as colourful as a rainbow.  The flags are of vibrant colours and have prayers written on them.  The Buddhists put up this flags so that as the wind blows, it spreads its piousness in the air. It is such a selfless act for greater good that it touched my heart.

After a few clicks, we started our descent. The road conditions were pretty bad after Chang La pass, the descent was a steep one and at some places the roads were completely ripped off. We stopped for lunch at Tangste valley where stands a chain of war memorials in commemoration of the soldiers who lost their lives during the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. Some of the historic army bunkers and trenches present here, are still in use. Tangste like any is a simple Ladakhi village - quaint and beautiful.

Tangtse Village

From Tangtse, it took us another one hour to reach Pangong. When we had the first glimpse of the azure, crystal blue color of this lake, we were awestruck by the beauty of nature.. It is amazing to look at! The mountains shadowed by the snow white clouds and visible till the snow peaks can be seen (yes, that far!)- engulf these beautiful blue green waters (I just can't get over the bright ever changing beautiful blues), and the overall scenery....WOW!!!! How can a place be so beautiful???

I felt like standing in front of the lake forever. It was clear, blue, pollution free and simply breathtaking. However, due to strong wind, the weather was extremely harsh and it was becoming extremely difficult to stand besides the lake. So, we decided to head back to the camp for a nice cup of hot coffee. The camp we stayed was "Pangong Resort Camp" which was beautiful and extremely cozy and well equipped to give us enough protection from the harsh weather outside. The restaurant had and added attraction with old Hindi songs being played continuously. 

After sometime, we went back to enjoy the beauty of the lake and the its crystal clear water. Once you see this lake, you'll know that you would go back, just to get a glimpse of this mesmerizing sight again...and again...and yet again. It is the most beautiful sight, I had ever seen.. And it seemed to me like a picture come alive from one of the dreams or some of the Hollywood fantasy movie.. Seriously, this is amazing!! 

Next morning, we returned to the lake just after dawn to watch the sun rise behind the mountains. The sky was slightly overcast and hence deprived us of the beauty. But what we saw was equally amazing. A rim of orange appears in the eastern ridges and rest of the landscape breaks into a dull dawn. The lake is dull grey, but slowly acquires its blue as the sun comes up. Clouds begin forming slowly and settle comfortably on the peaks to the east.

Soon it was time for us to leave. But before leaving, we decided to make one last stop at the starting point of the lake. The beauty of the place made me emotional and I stood there alone for some time - completely at peace. However, I definitely missed the absence of a loved one to share this amazing experience. We ambled around the lake for sometime photographing the brilliant blue lagoon. The cold winds from the lake made us shiver and dried our lips to crack, yet it was pleasure to promenade on the banks watching the waves of crystal clear water. I expected to see few aquatic birds but there were absolutely no fauna, probably due to cold. We continued on the road for few more kilometers in the direction of Sino-Indian border, clicked few photographs and started our return journey.

One notable mention of our return journey was a stop to see the marmots which are generally large ground squirrels. These cute looking animals were a treat to watch. They normally hide out in their burrows but in this route, you could see them as they know visitors would provide them with goodies. We spent some time with them clicking pictures and wishing we could take one home as a pet - to cuddle around!!

Overall this trip was memorable in every way - etched in my memory forever!!

Srinagar - The Paradise on Earth

I cannot imagine someone in my generation who has not heard about the beauty of Kashmir and did not long to see it. Political tensions prevented a trip to this beautiful place during our growing up years. However, movies made in the 70s always mesmerized us with the paradise on earth. All girls wanted one chance to be the "Kashmir ki Kali". Though on this occasion I did not get to explore of the entire state, however, I still did get an opportunity to spend a day in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir. Indulgent houseboats, historic gardens, distinctive Kashmiri wooden mosques and a mild summer climate combine to make Srinagar one of India’s top domestic tourist attractions. 

Our photography group reached Srinagar in the afternoon and we took a car to reach our destination - Morning Star Houseboat in Dal Lake. The surrounding to the airport is congested, however, once we crossed the main market area, we saw the beauty of Srinagar city. It was interesting to see the cone shaped roofs of all the houses - the driver told us it was done to ensure so that snow does not get accumulated in the rooftops. After driving for around 30 minutes, we reached the city’s greatest attraction - the mesmerizing placid Dal Lake. The Dal Lake is Srinagar's jewel, a vast, mirror-flat sheet of water reflecting the carved wooden balconies of the houseboats and the misty peaks of the Pir Panjal mountains. 

On the shore there were flotillas of gaily painted shikaras (gondola-like taxi boats) which skiff around the lake, transporting goods to market, children to school and travellers from houseboat to shore.  I was told there are about 1200 houseboats at the Dal Lake and another 600 or so at Nagin Lake. Each houseboat has their own shikharas and we got into one for a jolly ride in the lake to reach our houseboat Morning Star. The houseboat is an architectural miracle blended with hospitality. The room of the Morning Star Houseboat is adorned with exquisite pieces of walnut wood and with time they have been rendered more or less as artefacts. You need to enter the houseboat through  narrow balcony into a drawing room, after which there is the dining room and finally the bed rooms (2 or 3) with attached bath.

 
We quickly freshened up and had Kahwa (Kashmiri tea) which is extremely refreshing. The tea is made by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark, cardamom pods and occasionally Kashmiri roses to add a great aroma. Generally, it is served with sugar or honey and crushed nuts, usually almonds or walnuts. After that we went for sight seeing. Since it was Ramzan month, we decided to visit the old city and see the beautiful mosques of that area. First we went to the Hazratbal mosque. This 20th-century building enshrines Kashmir’s holiest relic, the Moi-e-Muqqadas, supposedly a beard hair of the Prophet Mohammed. However, we were not allowed inside the mosque and hence decided to spend some time looking at the surrounding market.

The puris that we saw in the market are the biggest we had ever seen. It was extremely tasty to eat along with halwa. We also tasted lotus team fry which is a very common street food here.

Next we went to the Jama Masjid. The mosque forms a quadrangle around a large fountain garden courtyard with monumental brick gatehouses marking each of the four cardinal directions. There’s room for thousands of devotees between 378 roof-support columns, each fashioned from the trunk of a single deodar tree. We reached around evening and had to cover our heads before entering the mosque. Since it was time to break the fast, lot of people had assembled for their evening prayers. It was interesting to see people from different age groups assembled together to offer their prayers and then break their fast together. Also, this is one mosque, we were allowed to go around freely, click photographs without any trouble. 

One interesting thing about Kashmir is that daylight is available till 8 pm and you don't realize it is late evening because of that. 

Next we went to see Khanqah Shah-i-Hamadan. This distinctively spired 1730s Muslim meeting hall is one of Srinagar’s most beautiful, with both frontage and interiors covered in papier-mâché reliefs and elaborately coloured khatamband (faceted wood panelling). Non-Muslim visitors can peek through the door but may not enter.

Next morning, we decided to visit the floating market. The floating market is another interesting aspect of Srinagar. This is not a retail market; vegetable growers come with shikaras laden with leafy greens, water chestnuts, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and more, to sell to agents of the shops on land. Given tourist interest in this, the market now also has a plethora of shikaras selling flowers, saffron, wood carvings, etc. This is a very old market where the sale and the purchase of vegetables take place between 5 am and to 7 am everyday. Most of the vegetables are grown on the lakeside and retrieved from the lake before being sold in just 2 hours. Any vegetables left over are taken to street markets. 

We got up around 4.45 am to get ready. We started cruising on the lake early in the morning in darkness as dawn was breaking out. The stillness of water, the tranquility of surroundings broken only by the calls for prayers from distant mosques in the city provided for a thrilling experience. Fortunately it wasn't raining though the sky was overcast. The cruise on Dal lake is slow and manual. Thank heavens for that. The manual rowing of the boat ensure that tranquility of the lake is not disturbed.

We must have reached there around 6.00 am. The market was not very big, that is the first thing I could register. The second thing I noticed that there were other tourist boats, maybe 3-4 more. By Indian definitions that was not crowded or touristy at all. This is a local vegetable market where wholesale vendors sell to retail vendors. Because of the tourists a few boats sell flowers and snacks too. Shikaras jostle with each-other in the local market. They make way by pushing and nudging the boats. Having noticed that we are outsiders and tourists, few hawkers came closer to us asking us to buy different products - flowers, saffron, jewellery. The buyers had come in their own boats and we could see them bargaining with the wholesalers for the best price. Soon after an hour, we could see all the vegetables/flowers transferred from wholesalers to retailers and boats moving away slowly. 

 

It was a beautiful and unforgettable experience - something to be cherished forever. 

I wish I could spend some more time in Srinagar. However, I know I would definitely come back!!