Kashmir 50 years ago :: 7 :: Ladakh (Part 3)

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A Ladakhi couple

The landscape from the verandah of the Signals Mess in Leh was beautiful though it was stark and devoid of greenery. It was, after all, the Indus Valley; River Indus flows by its side The jagged peaks of distant mountains formed the background from where one could see some white valleys and occasionally a snow covered peak. It was September and at the rarified elevation of more than 11000 ft it was hot during the day and pretty cool at night. In the foreground was the huge open dust-laden space with a few occasional structures. The wind that was virtually devoid of moisture blew across it persistently making the body dry and my lips were so badly cracked that it became painful to even smile. The Army personnel used a kind of lip salve to prevent them from severe cracking.

 Despite this minor inconvenience Leh physically was a pretty site with its rugged landscape that appeared to me somewhat macho and its men and women in their colourful Ladakhi tunics with thier peculiar Ladakhi head gear. One cannot fail to mention the heavy ethnic jewelry that adorns almost every Ladakhi woman. Perhaps in the stark and somewhat dreary surroundings the colourful costumes and heavy ornaments break the monotony for the locals.

Next morning we were to leave for Srinagar but only after visiting Hemis Monastery. Hamis is about 20-odd miles away from Leh. On the way we stopped at a superstitious stop. It is said that an army convoy driver was asked to halt by somebody but he did not stop and later he met with an accident. Since then, it seems whichever army vehicle did not stop for a couple of minutes at that stop it met with an accident.  Hence, the superstitious stop.

Hemis is a mountain-side monastery and one has to climb up and down. What were striking were the huge images that were painted in bright colours. The monastery is of 17^th Century and one wondered whether the statues that were installed there were painted like they are now. Apart from the monks there were hardly any non-Buddhists around. Now, of course, it is different; Hemis has become a thriving tourist site, as indeed Leh is. Flights from major Indian cities have flights to Leh and there are some international destinations also that are served to and from Leh. Hemis has an eponymously named annual festival too.

From Hemis we drove down for sometime before we hit the road

Ladakhi women prparing for a dance

that was euphemistically called a highway for Srinagar. We were late and, it had become obvious we would have had to stop over at Kargil. We were at Fotula when the sun had already sunk behind the mountains and a chance glance gave me an opportunity to shoot a “picture of the year” had I had a camera. It was a captivating sight; the dazzling full moon rising over the mountains with a pyramidal peak just by its side and the silhouettes of mountains in the foreground. It was an amazing sight, like of which those who take the aerial route to Leh tend to miss.

Another drive of more than a couple of hours and we crossed Mulbek. Near Kargil we were at a higher elevation and its cantonment lay sprawled below us like a medieval army laying a siege. The bright moonlight gave away most of the features. We drove around a hill and descended to the cantonment and were lodged in the Signals Mess.

Next morning sitting out on the lawn with a captain for coffee after breakdast I happened to notice the mountain behind him which seemed to dominate the cantonment and the surrounding areas. The captain told me that it was known by its elevation that was 13620 ft and was in Pakistani occupation and hence the enemy was at an advantage. It could take pot shots on people down below, even us as we sipped our coffee. He said it was captured during the war of 1965 and the Pakistanis were dislodged from the peak but under the Tashkent Agreement Indians had to give it back to the Pakistanis.

 The captain continued and said that the officer who had won it during the operations shed copious tears for many of his friends and collegues he lost in capturing the peak. Strange are the ways of diplomacy. The India-Pakistan conflict has always been victim of Cold War politics and interference by Big Powers. In this case it was the now-defunct USSR which brokered the peace, insisted on status quo ante. The Indians had to withdraw from the areas they had won in the war that was not of their making and, more importantly, most of them legitimately belonged to India but illegally occupied by Pakistan. Such is the price that we had to pay for being weak and infirm and dependent on the help of others who were basically unscrupulous. Mercifully, Point 13620 was recaptured during the 1971 War with Pakistan and it has remained with India since then.

We left for Srinagar the next morning. I was somehat happy to get away from this arid vastness of Ladakh where people surprisingly have chosen to set up their homes. Though the landscape was spectacular with colours changing as the sun moved from horizon to horizon yet it was too dry for my comfort. Nonetheless, I felt that whatever views and images that I happened to decord in my “hard disk” would remain as parts of me right through my lifetime. I, therefore, feel that those who fly in and out of Leh miss so much of the country which by far is far too deserving of the long haul of a journey by road.

Soon we left the arid Ladakh behind and the green hills after Zojila came in view. As we descended down the mountain road the greens of the Baltal valley seemed to soothe my nerves.

(The 3- part write-up on Ladakh concluded)

*Photos from internet