Ladakh magic….
Posted by on October 15, 2009
I just came back from a soul changing experience – a trip to the magic land, Ladakh.
We went in a group. So it was not really an intentional soul searching pilgrimage. But that’s what I found myself doing when surrounded by the ultimate grandeur of nature. It has also built an inner irresistible urge to share my experiences with you.
I know there are other sites that give tourism related info on this and nearby places, so I’ll let them do that job. I want to share with you my journey into this land and also into my own inner being, into myself.
Every moment of my time in Ladakh is memorable. From surviving the long night @Pang at –7°C to taking the roads less traveled in Leh on our bikes, and exploring Tantric monastery by chance where we met students being taught the lessons of life. From sitting in the hotel room’s balcony at Sonamarg staring at breathtakingly beautiful mountains sipping in a hot cup of chai in the morning (Heaven-is-here experience!) to driving on risky routes always living on the edge.
The whole trip, each moment is something I won’t ever trade for other. Nine days, approx. 1600 kms. seemed to pass in a single moment. Yet the joy and the longing ache lives on…
The time we landed back at the Delhi airport, an air of unease surrounded me, as if I had left something precious behind. As I reached home, I called up friends, family and everyone I could to share the feeling , the mesmerizing experience. I had not had enough of the trip. Not yet.
And ever since, life has not been quite the same. Next day, I kept wondering how everyone around seemed to be in a rush, running after not so important things in life and missing out on so much. The traffic jams on Noida roads after the picturesque valleys of Ladakh was definitely not a pleasing sight. The pictures of peaceful mountains with their majestic solitude kept revolving in my mind as I made my way to office.
The workplace now seemed to be so different from what it was before. It was a mixed feeling of being back and being torn away from nature. When I told my friends how I longed to go back, how I missed the place, some called it the hangover and some said that the Ladakh air has got me. Earlier,I always preferred to follow the sleep late, wake up late regime but never knew how refreshing could it be to watch the sunrise, to listen to the birds chirping in the morning. Never did I realize how beautiful an early morning could be.
The trip has changed me and showed what I have been missing out on. People out there were so simple, so real, braving all the hardships yet being happy and contented. A stark contrast to people in the cities – always trying to be somebody else, chasing what they don’t have and not cherishing what they have.
Yes, I seem to have fallen in love… With Nature.. Maybe, my friends were right, when they said that the Ladakh air has got me. It has me bewitched. Its’ pure magic!
