Layman in Leh: A Gateway
So the journey started on the morning of 16th July with my flight from New Delhi to Leh. It was a tiring day before meeting my clients and staying the night at the airport to do my healing. The flight was at 6.15 AM, got delayed by 45 minutes, and I finally boarded around 7 AM. The flight was comfortable; I slept until my breakfast arrived. I guess they brought it at the right time; I opened my eyes to see beautiful, snow-covered mountains. This was my first visit to Leh, and seeing snow-covered mountains felt surreal; my eyes went from sleepy to wide open.
After the good breakfast by Air India, I continued to gaze at the snow-covered mountains just like a small child who goes crazy when he gets candy ice cream. Well, I landed safe and sound. Considering travelling with Air India is a risk, I must say it was one of the best landings I had ever seen; considering the high altitude, it was a good landing.
Yes, as soon I landed and stepped out of the aircraft from hot sultry weather it was a cool pleasant winter morning. I was surprised to see my wife at the airport (waise surprise nahi tha kyunki a day prior I had busted her- well, a Taurus trait: looking for small observations and small things). I moved to the guest house where the mandatory acclimation was required, so the next 2 days I was in the guest house with bare minimum walking and drinking a lot of water; in spite of it being cold, I wasn't thirsty but had to.
Well, this didn’t stop me from doing my meditations, be it my Shambhavi or my healing meditation. So finally we made our plan to roam around Ladakh. The first place to visit was the Kargil War Memorial. I worked the entire night before my trip, and as always, I slept for most of the drive, but in between I managed to see that we were driving along the Sangam and Indus River. The drive one way was 6 hours; we slept for close to 4 hours, but it was a good drive. The good thing was I didn’t have any breathing issues.
We visited the memorial, and I must say it was heart-touching; seeing the names of our brave soldiers was very moving. We spent some time and had our lunch. The round trip started, and this time I was awake and able to see the drive back, following the Sangam. While the way back we stopped at tuck shop to have chai, the guy at tuck shop asked if we will have Maggie but I wanted something else and checked the menu to find bread butter. And trust me, I know most of you reading will disagree with me, but pahadon ki Maggi se better hai pahadon ka bread butter and when it’s with garam garam chai. I had that and moved back to see the steep cut, the river/ sangam cutting through the mountains and flowing as well as following us- yes, this was truly an amazing drive back.
We reached and decided to take a day's rest before we planned our next drive to Pangong Lake. The routine was the same; I worked the night before, but this time I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. The drive started; it headed east.
The drive was an interesting one, with no rivers following us but sharp turns. Yes, that doesn’t mean no tributaries followed, but after an hour's drive, the Indus River said hello to us and became our companion. After a 4-hour drive, we reached Pangong Lake; to my view, I was simply awestruck by the water, the mountains, and above all, the clean air. Only 40% of Pangong Lake is in India; the rest falls under China.
I found a quiet place near the statue of Buddha and meditated. The 20 min meditation was something really special, I felt so grounded and connected to my higher beings, people were coming and going but it didn’t matter to me, I was completely soaked in the energy. I just felt like sitting more in that energy presence, but I had to move back, as the next day we had to move to Turtuk.
I always heard and saw posts on social media of people posting that mountains are calling, and when seeing the kind of photos people click, I felt they just go to have fun and have drinks, nothing else. For me, mountains are where I actually connect with them, feel the warmth in their coldness, hear the voice of the cool breeze, and have it hit my face with freshness.
I feel, and I can be completely wrong, but mountains aren’t for Maggi or drinks; it’s to absorb the freshness and bring newness into your life, and to learn how to stay strong even when the world is against you.
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