When I was in college, we went on an educational trip for
two weeks, to Lucknow, Dehradun, Mussoorie and Delhi. During the course of the
trip, we were blissfully unaware of the days of the week. When one day Prof.
Lahkar told us that today was a Sunday, he received an excited murmur in
response… “Wow, today is a Sunday!”. Much water has flown under the bridge
since those days, but even during this trip, we were only aware of the dates
and days of the week were neglected completely. So when we realized that we
were getting ready for a trip to Leh on a Monday morning while our friends and
colleagues were getting ready for office, the feeling was orgasmic.
Leh is at a distance of 60 kms from Alchi, so the travel
was expected to be less hectic as compared to the last two days. After a
relatively leisurely breakfast, we started on our way to Leh. Our next
destination was the Nimmu village where the Zanskar river merges into Indus.
From here, Zanskar loses its identity and its Indus all the way from here.
Rafting is a major activity on Zanskar in the summers, between Chilling and
Nimmu, which are around 30 kms apart. Another major activity is the Chadar trek
on the frozen Zanskar during the winters. Chadar, in most of the Indian
languages, mean sheet, and the name aptly signifies that the trek involves
walking on the sheet of ice that was Zanskar river during the summers. But we
visited the river at a time when the river was still flowing, but the water was
too cold for rafting. But this lack of activity was a blessing, as we could get
the complete panoramic view of the two rivers. We clicked a few pictures, and
then started on our way to Leh.
On the way, our next destination was Gurudwara Pathar
Sahib. This Gurudwara is almost five hundred years old, built in 1517, to
commemorate Guru Nanak Dev’s visit to Ladakh. I later came to know that Guru
Nanak is revered among the Tibetan Buddhists as well, and has a place among the
Buddhist saints as Guru Gompka Maharaj.
Legend has it that this Gurudwara was discovered in the
seventies, when the Leh-Nimmu highway was being constructed. The engineering
team found a huge boulder which could not be removed by the bulldozer. It was
decided that the rock would be blown apart by dynamite the next day, but the
bulldozer driver had a strange dream that night where he heard a voice that
commanded that the stone should not be moved. After deciding to leave the
boulder intact, the story around the origin of the stone took form. It is said
that in this part of the world, there was a wicked demon, who terrorized the
villagers. When Guru Nanak visited this village, he blessed and pacified the
people, which enraged the demon further. One day when Guru Nanak was
meditating, the demon hurled a big rock at him. But the rock became soft like
molten wax when it touched Guru Nanak. The demon tried to kick the rock away,
but his foot also got trapped in the soft rock. Even today it is said, that the
rock contains the outlines of a human body, apparently of Guru Nanak, and a
footprint, presumably of the demon.
The maintenance of the Gurudwara is done completely by
the army men. The environment is serene and peaceful, and they were having the
kirtan going on when we visited the place. Part of the worship involves bowing
down before the huge rock that lends the Gurudwara its name. The halwa was very
good, just like the prasad in all other Gurudwaras. They also have a langar of
tea, along with a mixture of boondi and bhujiya. The good work done by the
Indian army all over Kashmir has been quite exemplary, and this Gurudwara was
no exception. Our next stop would have been the magnetic hill, where it is
claimed that cars can move uphill even with the engine stopped. Poor Firdaus,
however, could not locate the exact point, and we missed that experience.
Scientific research however proves that the movement of the cars and
motorcycles are mainly due to the gravitational pull, and the effect of
magnetic fields is minimal.
By now, Firdaus was receiving frantic calls from Karma,
the latter having arranged a group of passengers for him to take to Srinagar.
Not willing to let him miss the earning opportunity, we missed the last
attraction on the road, the Hall of Fame museum. This is another museum like
the Kargil war memorial, which showcases the trials and tribulations of the
Indian army in this hostile terrain. It was agreed that Karma would bring us
here some other day. Ever since we left Alchi, we have been reminding Firdaus
to stop at an ATM, as we did not have enough money on us to pay him. Hereafter,
came the most difficult part of the trip, that of finding a functional ATM in
Leh. After trying unsuccessfully in four or five ATMs, all of which had run out
of cash, finally we found one that listened to our prayers. By then, we were
chalking out alternate plans like selling off our kidneys to fulfill the
payment to Firdaus. Very soon, bidding farewell to Firdaus, we changed hands.
Firdaus had taken off on his way back to Srinagar, and now Karma would be
taking care of us.
We had earlier arranged with a homestay for our first
day’s stay in Leh. Meanwhile, we had also chalked out our travel plans for the
next three days. Today, after having lunch, we shall be visiting the Shanti
Stupa and the Hall of Fame. On subsequent days, we would undertake a trip to
Nubra Valley, to Pangong Lake, and also have a look around Leh. We were pretty
hungry by now, but the lunch at Gangba Homestay did not do much to lift our
spirits. Most of the homestays in Leh do not serve non-vegetarian fare, but
even the vegetarian fare could have been better. Anyway, we silently promised
ourselves of a better dinner experience and informed the guys at the homestay
that we would not need dinner tonight. We had also observed that the blanket in
the room was extremely rugged, and we also requested another one. By this time,
Karma was already on our doorsteps, and we were on the way to the Shanti Stupa.
This Stupa was built in 1914 by Buddhists from Ladkah who
offered voluntary labour, with the assistance of Japanese monks, who consider India
as sacred because Buddha was born here. The Stupa was inaugurated by His
Holiness the Dalai Lama in August 1991. The Stupa is a major tourist attraction
in Leh. It is situated on a hilltop and as a result, the sunset view is quite
wonderful. Our next stop was the Hall of Fame on the Leh-Srinagar Highway. Just
like the Dras War Memorial, this museum also showcases the bravery and exploits
of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pak wars in the region, and most
importantly, the Kargil war. Here, we could also watch a short documentary on
the military history of the region.
When we came out of the museum, we realized that Leh gets
quite cold after sundown. Karma kindly dropped us at the Lamayuru restaurant,
but perfect happiness continued to remain elusive to us. It was the night of
full moon, and keeping in line with the Buddhist customs, all restaurants in
Leh were serving only vegetarian fare. The food was good definitely, and we
caught a taxi on the way back to the homestay. Nubra Valley waits for us tomorrow.
