LADHAK DIARY
26.06.09
(FRIDAY)
Left home at 04.15hrs. Arrived Palam Airport 04.045hrs. Checked in. The plane took off around 06.00hrs. Arrived Leh 07.15hrs.Temp. at Leh is 15 degree Celsius. Its MSL height is 35005 meters (11,110 Ft. approximately) at city centre. Leh airport is named after Ladhak’s pre-eminent incarnate Lama, BAKULA RIN POCHAY who died in 2003. It is believed that he is reborn in a village of NUBRA VALLEY & is now about 3 year and a half old. Our accommodation is arranged by Ladhak sector DIG ITBP, Shri PK. DASHMANA in 16thBn. Headquarters at Leh. We reached it at about 08.00hrs. The name of the guest house is DEPSANGLA. It is the name of a pass in northern sector on India – China Border.
We are advised to stay in the guest house for 24hrs to get acclimatized to low oxygen levels. Generally people who come here feel breathless & headache. Fortunately we did not feel either. But we followed the advice. We also took one tablet each of DIAMOX, necessary to counter the effects of low oxygen levels.
Retired to sleep at 10pm after watching India – West Indies One Day international cricket match at Jamaica for sometime.
27.06.09
(SATURDAY)
THIKSE Monastery
Left for THIKSE monastery (GOMPA). It was founded in 1480 AD. Magnificent Maitrya is a beautiful clay statue of Buddha, completed in 1980. In the main prayer hall, you have the picture of Dalai Lama. Venita did some shopping in the only shop of the premises. There were a number of tourists visiting it, mostly from foreign countries.
Statue of Buddha at THIKSE
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After Thikse, we passed Shey monastery but did not go up. Then we went to the spot where Sindhu Darshan is celebrated every year. The ‘ghat’ was inaugurated by Shri L.K. Advani on 01.06.01. The Sindhu water was dirty due to melting of glaciers
Sindhu Darshan
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Thereafter we visited Stoke & Stoke Palace. It was built in 1820 by king Tsepal Nangyal. The first king of Ladhak was SKID-1 DE NYINAM from 0957 to 0990 AD & the present King is CHOSGYAL WANGCHUK NAMGYAL as per the genealogy of Ladhak Kings exhibited in the museum in the palace. There are 7 floors. The fourth & fifth floors constituted residence. On the sixth floor there is the throne room and a small temple. The study of palace required much more time. Lunch time had started and the caretaker was keen that we should vacate the premises.
Tsepal Nangyal
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The palace museum had dresses of kings & queens & also their pictures & photographs. Among them was a picture of Hieuntsang, the Chinese traveler who has written travelogues of journeys done by him. In one of the photographs I saw Late Indira Gandhi in trousers along with Late Jawahar Lal Nehru. I had not seen such a photograph earlier. I knew her she knew me and I respect her.
Leh Palace
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On way back to the guest house the guide told us that all cereals were grown in Leh except wheat which was grown in lesser quantity on Indus basin. The vegetables were also grown in the basin as water was in plenty. You see mostly two varieties of trees poplar & willow. These two are also seen along the Indus basin .Among the fruits you have small apples, apricot & berries in different seasons. The fauna is in upper reaches of Ladhak such as hoards of wild asses, deer, snow leopard etc. In the afternoon we had planned to go to Shanti Gompa (monastery) constructed by Japanese in 1983 and was inaugurated by Dalai Lama. It is chalk white. After the Shanti Gompa, we were to visit SAMKAR GOMPA which is Leh’s principal monastery. It was seat of KAUSHOK BAKULA, Ladhak’s senior most LAMA. We hope to visit it tomorrow.Retired to sleep at 10pm.
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KAUSHOK BAKULA
28.06.09
(SUNDAY)
Completed Vipassana meditation for one hour. In front of me, through the glasses of closed window, I see snow-clad and barren mountains. Due to absence of vegetation in mountain range, there is low oxygen as well as little or no rain. People here do not pray for rains. Instead they pray for melting of glaciers so that there is more water in rivers, which are the lifeline of the people of this place. First we visited ‘Sangam’,(confluence), of Zanskar & Indus rivers at Nimu. The confluence in the background of barren as well as snow clad mountains was heart rending. We spent sometime on the banks of the rivers, playing with their water. A team of army men had come down the Zanskar river over 5Kms, rafting to the confluence. I talked to one of them. They were about 7/8. They had packed up their rafting equipment & waiting for another batch coming down rafting on Zanskar river. Such adventurous activities which involve taking risk are necessary for army men as well as others who are engaged in jobs which call for taking risks for good results. They were from nearby army camp at Nimu. On way to confluence of Zanskar & Indus rivers, we saw a group of Tibetan gazelles. I took snaps. But later, I noticed that, I committed mistake while I clicked the camera. I was pressing the button for snaps whereas it was meant for closing the aperture. I felt quite bad when this revelation dawned on me. Quite a few snaps were so taken of Venita on the confluence of Zanskar & Indus river. All are gone down the drain.
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Magnetic Hill
On way back we halted near magnetic hill which pulls your vehicle of any kind for quite a distance without ignition. For trucks it is a big struggle to cross it if it is going against the magnetic pull. We also visited Pathankot Gruduwara managed by army & paramilitary units. It has clean toilets. On Sunday there is big langar which is joined in by families of the forces. The day of our visit was Sunday. We got prasad. We tried to have a cold drink. But the shops were closed due to Sunday all along the Leh - Srinagar highway, well maintained by BRTF, which touches Kargil before reaching Srinagar. We took a number of snaps on way from view-points of the majestic barren-snow-clad mountains of Ladhak range travelling the highway along the INDUS RIVER. You see vegetation along the river wherever the human habitations are there, mainly consisting of army BRTF units & sometimes sparsely populated local villages.
Next stop was SPITOK GOMPA, "on a craggy hill overlooking LEH airport. A branch road from Srinagar highway ascends the GOMPA HILL". Leh has two main groups of GOMPAS. One of them is Spitok & the newer, Samkar Gompa. Leh’s another attraction is its ruined palace & its history. One group of Gompas are in the east on Leh-Manali Road. We visited Thiksey, Shey Gompas of this group & hope to visit Hemis Gompa which is about 60Kms from Leh. That will depend upon availability of time. The other group of Gompas are in the west of Leh, off Leh- Srinagar Road. We visited only Spitok of this group. The monastery prayer halls are like caves of ancient times where Rishis used to live and meditate. The mentioning of such caves comes in the writings of Swami Ram & Yoganand’s “Autobiography of an Yogi”. It is closed from all sides with an opening at the top for light and at entrance. In course of Vipassana we were told to meditate in a closed room. Light & air disturb concentration on breath.
Spitok Monastery (GOMPA) has 100 lamas in residence. It is the reformist GELUPA ORDER. The name Spitok means “effective Example” in Tibetan. It was established by RINCHEN ZANGPO, the great 10th century Tibetan scholar for a model community in the area that would be an example for rest of Ladhak. Spitok Gompa controls other Gompas in and around Leh including SAMKAR, STOK & SABOO Gompas. On the ridge top is a temple of the wrathful demoniacal protector deities. It is mistaken by Hindus, for a temple of KALI MAA. As it was high on the ridge, we did not climb up. As you enter the Gompa, there is big MANI LAQUAR, spiritual wheel. The spiritual wheels are seen at the entrance of all Gompas. These wheels are propitiated by Lamas after a long series of rituals & prayers. The pages of Buddhist scriptures containing mantras & other things are placed inside them. Kushak Bakula who controlled GELUPA order of Gompas, is said to be incarnation of one of the 16 ARAT (disciples) of LORD BUDDHA and was incarnate of Sitapatra ( one of 16 disciples). He is said to have taken birth in a village of Numbra Valley & is about 3 year 9 month old as stated above. As per plan, we had to visit ‘Hall of Fame’ exhibiting list of warriors of the Indian Army, weapons seized by them and everything about Ladhak. We could not go there as we felt tired. We came back to the guest house of ITBP. ITBP has 3 battalions in Ladhak sector, 24, 5 & 16. It is the guest house of 14th Bn., well maintained & served. We get food of our choice, at our time & on a ring to the mess. The Sector commander is DIG P.K.Dasmana whom I rang up from Delhi on advice of the office of the DG, ITBP. He arranged the accommodation and gave useful tips such as rest for 24hrs for acclimatization, clothing etc. Shri SB Sharma commands the 14th Bn. He is recently promoted to the rank of DIG.
In the afternoon, we visited Leh town and saw the ruined Leh palace. The new palace built by the then Leh king, is prototype of the ruined one. While in the town we heard AJAN from a local Mosque, the voice was sullen and lacked force as we notice in our part of the country. Venita again bought some stone jewelry. She forgets all kinds of pains in her body when she is engaged in window shopping. I have brought her round to agree to a Vipassana course which develops awareness of a unique kind & relieves you of physical pains & mental botherations. We have learned two local words/expressions: JULE (NAMASTE) & THUK JE CHHE (THANK YOU). I use these words in my dealings with local people.
Retired to sleep at 9:30pm .
29.06.09
(MONDAY)
In the morning we saw Black-billed magpie(Pica Pica), the only bird seen by us so far during our stay here. Although pictures of all kinds of birds are given in the book on fauna with us (courtesy : Shri SB Sharma) but we could hardly see any other bird except Pica Pica. Visited Shanti Stup, built by the Japanese Buddhists. Venita collected a lily plant, widely grown here and not so easily available in Delhi. She struck acquaintance with a family of Saket, Delhi. After taking a number of snaps we proceeded to Samkar Gompa. All images of the deities here were of over 178 years.
Samkar Gompa is Leh’s principal monastery, about 2Kms from Leh City Center. It was the seat of KUSHAK BAKULA, Ladhak’s senior most incarnate Lama. He is inline of incarnation of one of the 16 disciples ( AARATS) of Buddha, namely, SITAPATRA as stated above. It is situated on the plane & not on the crest of a hill. On the far left of the shrine is an 11 headed representation of AVLOKITESHWAR with 1000 feets, 1000 eyes & 1000 hands. Above the DUKHONG, prayer hall, is a gallery, on one side of which is a chapel with rare THANGAS, painted figures to ward off ghosts etc. & an image of DUKHAR, The lady of the white PARSOL, & avtar of TARA with 1000 arms, 1000 heads, 1000 feets, 1000 hands & 1 crore eyes.
In the afternoon we visited hall of fame on Leh Shrinagar road. It contains arms & ammunitions seized by army in wars with Pakistan & China apart from other articles. It has a scroll of honour of Indian warriors who fought bravely.
There is almost all information about flora, Fauna, customs & cultural heritage of Ladhak in beautiful photographs & paintings exhibited here. I wrote one full page on the visitor’s book.
We wished to visit PAN GONG Lake. It takes one full day to reach there & one has to return the same day. There is no accommodation there. We abandoned the idea to visit it as it would be quite strenuous. Then there are Nubra Region, Khrudung pass, Shyok Velley,Zanskar region (suru valley) these are quite far. Tracking does not suit our age. Ladhak is ideal for trekkers. Shri SB Sharma, DIG ITBP Leh, visited us. We had a long chat about the place. Later he presented me a book on fauna of Ladhak.
Retired to sleep at 10pm
30.06.09
(TUESDAY)
Visited the residence of Dalai Lama, Bhuddhists believe that he is incarnation of Lord Buddha. Pancham Lama who was second in line to Dalai Lama died in Tibet. Dalai Lama declared GEOHUN CHOEYI NYIMA as incarnation of Pancham Lama on may 14, 1994. He was born on April 25 1989 in Tibet. He is alleged to have been taken away by Chinese on May 17,1995 along with his parents. Nobody has heard anything about them since then. Dalai Lama says that he is the youngest political prisoner of the world. We saw all the rooms in the residence of Dalai Lama. As his birthday falls on 6th July,09, the house is being cleaned up & painted. Two girls were preparing pictures of 4 directions which have to be kept inside the spiritual wheel along with Mantras, written more than a crore times, some grains & other items. After propitiation these are given for installation by Dalai Lama, One has to churn them reciting, OM MANI PADHI HUNG. In the shrine we saw the statue of Avalokiteshwar, along with images of Tara & other deities, lamas. The manager of the residence is Shri LOBSANG TENZIM, an 85 year old Lama. Earlier he was principal of Buddhist school. Tachi, our guide, studied in the same school. We had ‘GUR-GUR BUTTER TEA’ which is salty and made of soda, butter, salt & spl. tea leaves. Then we witnessed the mercy of Dalai Lama ,on a wild ass & sheep which were brought by Dalai Lama when he came across them in disabled condition while he was coming back from his visit to mountains in high reaches. At the residence of Dalai Lama, one line from Dhammapad is printed in Tibetan, English & Hindi language:
“The mind is fickle, wavering it is difficult to guard and pacify. Just as a Fletcher (maker of an arrow) examines an arrow, the wise guards his mind”
We visited Leh City Center & had ‘Pakoras’ Tea & diet coke in Dreamland restaurant. Venita bought some stone jewelry.
On way back to Leh city center, I was amazed to see a 18 hole Golf course on barren dry sandy land. They have put up small lifted parts of land from where they club the golf ball to its purported location. There is a 9 hole golf course in the premises of 14 Bn. of ITBP and adjoining sector commander head quarters. Such is the craze for this game. Apart from visits to monasteries and Sindhu darshan, treks are the biggest attraction. Treks for days together are planned by foreign and Indian tourists apart from visit to lakes which are at quite high altitudes. Despite inhospitable weather/ climate, barren land, little vegetation & lack of oxygen, the tourists visit Ladhak in hoards for peace of mind in monasteries & long treks. For persons of our age, who could not undertake long treks to high altitudes, 5 day visit is enough. Venita bought a good white Pashmina Shawl hand woven from the wool of baby goats, reared at higher altitude with green pastures. The goats, reared at lower altitudes with less of green pastures do not give out good Pashmina wool. The Pashmina shawl from the wool of ‘Chiru’ is banned. An interesting aspect of visit to monasteries & stupas is the portrayal of ‘THANGAS’. These are meant to ward away evil spirits. We often see them used in plains, probably picked up from Buddhist architecture.
01.07.09
WEDNESDAY)
Thangas
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Left ITBP guest house at 8.45 am. I had to visit ATMs to draw some money to reward the men who had served us well. But none of the ATMs – SBI, PNB and J&K- were operational. We somehow managed rewarding about 8 men with available amount. We were left with just Rs. 50/-. We spent 40 Rs. F
for two cups of Nescafe coffee in the sterile lounge at the airport. We were worried for any taxes which may be required to be paid at the airport, for which a demand is made by the authorities all of a sudden. We were greatly relieved when we boarded the plane with just Rs 10/- in pocket and it took off. The flight was more than half empty, landed at Palam airport at 12:30 pm. After collecting luggage we left for home. During the day went through the newspapers of last 5 days as we could not lay hands on any at Leh.On 28th June in restaurant, Dreamland, we got TOI of 26th june and of 28th june too. While the newspaper of 26th had all the pages, that of 28th, only cover page was available. On enquiry we were told that the remaining pages of 28th June had been used in the kitchen. On further query as to why kitchen did not use newspaper pages of 26,th the restaurant staff had no answer. In fact all of them had no knowledge of English.
Due to the thin layer of oxygen in Leh, a visitor often faces breathlessness & headache. Very often blood clots are formed in the sinus which come out when we blow our nose for clean up. This phenomenon is common even among the local residents of the place. The staff of the guest house and the local guide also confirmed it. One has to take care & acclimatize for 12 to 24 hours, taking rest. 1 tablet of Diamox is recommended by the medical officer after dinner for 2 to 3 days to counter the adverse effects of the local climate. We took complete rest for 24 hours. May be because of this we did neither felt breathless nor headache. The whether of the place has bright sunshine, cool/cold air, barren mountains with some them snow clad at a distance, low level of oxygen and consequent thin air. Despite a hostile weather, if one is interested in TANTRIK Buddhism and trekking this is the place for a visit . Although we were not interested in any of these, but we decided to visit the area to feel the place. The sudden decision to visit Ladhak was also accentuated by failure to go on Kailash Mansarovar Yatra which had to be suspended due to inclement weather & a number of deaths of devotees during journey in China on advise by India embassy at Kathmandu. There are quite a few books on Ladhak. My son, Parikshit got me a book from his colleague from Finland, Ms. Anna Eakkila, the Mumbai Office head of Finpro, India on Ladhak. She has trekked a lot in the area. The book became our guide apart from assistance from a local guide, provided by ITBP. I also surfed and collected all that was available on the net. The office of Tourism Ministry of the Govt. of J&K located in the Janpath Hotel, New Delhi also provided me with materials available with them on Ladhak.
The temperature in Leh quite often went down to 5 degree Celsius in the evening. A good quilt or a thick blanket are necessary when you are inside the room whether it is day time or night. During the day you require a half sleeves sweater or light jacket. Sometime it is suddenly very cold due to snowfall in higher reaches. A cap to cover your head all the time is must when you are out for a walk/visit in the market. Tourism is the main source of income for the locals apart from a few agro products , Pashmina , other woolens, precious stones etc. The people are Buddhists. In Kargil area they are Muslims. There is communal harmony and good understanding among different communities. A number of foreign tourists, mostly from Europe & USA are Buddhists. You see them in good numbers in monasteries. The local economy is provided for in a big way by army & paramilitary forces all over the year including winters when it is very chilly & snowing & there are no tourists, local or foreign.
I have mentioned the above facts for the convenience of those of you who would decide to visit Ladhak.
Retired to sleep at 10:30pm.
26.06.09
(FRIDAY)
Left home at 04.15hrs. Arrived Palam Airport 04.045hrs. Checked in. The plane took off around 06.00hrs. Arrived Leh 07.15hrs.Temp. at Leh is 15 degree Celsius. Its MSL height is 35005 meters (11,110 Ft. approximately) at city centre. Leh airport is named after Ladhak’s pre-eminent incarnate Lama, BAKULA RIN POCHAY who died in 2003. It is believed that he is reborn in a village of NUBRA VALLEY & is now about 3 year and a half old. Our accommodation is arranged by Ladhak sector DIG ITBP, Shri PK. DASHMANA in 16thBn. Headquarters at Leh. We reached it at about 08.00hrs. The name of the guest house is DEPSANGLA. It is the name of a pass in northern sector on India – China Border.
We are advised to stay in the guest house for 24hrs to get acclimatized to low oxygen levels. Generally people who come here feel breathless & headache. Fortunately we did not feel either. But we followed the advice. We also took one tablet each of DIAMOX, necessary to counter the effects of low oxygen levels.
Retired to sleep at 10pm after watching India – West Indies One Day international cricket match at Jamaica for sometime.
27.06.09
(SATURDAY)
THIKSE Monastery
Left for THIKSE monastery (GOMPA). It was founded in 1480 AD. Magnificent Maitrya is a beautiful clay statue of Buddha, completed in 1980. In the main prayer hall, you have the picture of Dalai Lama. Venita did some shopping in the only shop of the premises. There were a number of tourists visiting it, mostly from foreign countries.
Statue of Buddha at THIKSE
After Thikse, we passed Shey monastery but did not go up. Then we went to the spot where Sindhu Darshan is celebrated every year. The ‘ghat’ was inaugurated by Shri L.K. Advani on 01.06.01. The Sindhu water was dirty due to melting of glaciers
Sindhu Darshan
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Thereafter we visited Stoke & Stoke Palace. It was built in 1820 by king Tsepal Nangyal. The first king of Ladhak was SKID-1 DE NYINAM from 0957 to 0990 AD & the present King is CHOSGYAL WANGCHUK NAMGYAL as per the genealogy of Ladhak Kings exhibited in the museum in the palace. There are 7 floors. The fourth & fifth floors constituted residence. On the sixth floor there is the throne room and a small temple. The study of palace required much more time. Lunch time had started and the caretaker was keen that we should vacate the premises. Tsepal Nangyal
The palace museum had dresses of kings & queens & also their pictures & photographs. Among them was a picture of Hieuntsang, the Chinese traveler who has written travelogues of journeys done by him. In one of the photographs I saw Late Indira Gandhi in trousers along with Late Jawahar Lal Nehru. I had not seen such a photograph earlier. I knew her she knew me and I respect her.Leh Palace
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On way back to the guest house the guide told us that all cereals were grown in Leh except wheat which was grown in lesser quantity on Indus basin. The vegetables were also grown in the basin as water was in plenty. You see mostly two varieties of trees poplar & willow. These two are also seen along the Indus basin .Among the fruits you have small apples, apricot & berries in different seasons. The fauna is in upper reaches of Ladhak such as hoards of wild asses, deer, snow leopard etc. In the afternoon we had planned to go to Shanti Gompa (monastery) constructed by Japanese in 1983 and was inaugurated by Dalai Lama. It is chalk white. After the Shanti Gompa, we were to visit SAMKAR GOMPA which is Leh’s principal monastery. It was seat of KAUSHOK BAKULA, Ladhak’s senior most LAMA. We hope to visit it tomorrow.Retired to sleep at 10pm.KAUSHOK BAKULA
28.06.09
(SUNDAY)
Completed Vipassana meditation for one hour. In front of me, through the glasses of closed window, I see snow-clad and barren mountains. Due to absence of vegetation in mountain range, there is low oxygen as well as little or no rain. People here do not pray for rains. Instead they pray for melting of glaciers so that there is more water in rivers, which are the lifeline of the people of this place. First we visited ‘Sangam’,(confluence), of Zanskar & Indus rivers at Nimu. The confluence in the background of barren as well as snow clad mountains was heart rending. We spent sometime on the banks of the rivers, playing with their water. A team of army men had come down the Zanskar river over 5Kms, rafting to the confluence. I talked to one of them. They were about 7/8. They had packed up their rafting equipment & waiting for another batch coming down rafting on Zanskar river. Such adventurous activities which involve taking risk are necessary for army men as well as others who are engaged in jobs which call for taking risks for good results. They were from nearby army camp at Nimu. On way to confluence of Zanskar & Indus rivers, we saw a group of Tibetan gazelles. I took snaps. But later, I noticed that, I committed mistake while I clicked the camera. I was pressing the button for snaps whereas it was meant for closing the aperture. I felt quite bad when this revelation dawned on me. Quite a few snaps were so taken of Venita on the confluence of Zanskar & Indus river. All are gone down the drain.
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Magnetic HillOn way back we halted near magnetic hill which pulls your vehicle of any kind for quite a distance without ignition. For trucks it is a big struggle to cross it if it is going against the magnetic pull. We also visited Pathankot Gruduwara managed by army & paramilitary units. It has clean toilets. On Sunday there is big langar which is joined in by families of the forces. The day of our visit was Sunday. We got prasad. We tried to have a cold drink. But the shops were closed due to Sunday all along the Leh - Srinagar highway, well maintained by BRTF, which touches Kargil before reaching Srinagar. We took a number of snaps on way from view-points of the majestic barren-snow-clad mountains of Ladhak range travelling the highway along the INDUS RIVER. You see vegetation along the river wherever the human habitations are there, mainly consisting of army BRTF units & sometimes sparsely populated local villages.
Next stop was SPITOK GOMPA, "on a craggy hill overlooking LEH airport. A branch road from Srinagar highway ascends the GOMPA HILL". Leh has two main groups of GOMPAS. One of them is Spitok & the newer, Samkar Gompa. Leh’s another attraction is its ruined palace & its history. One group of Gompas are in the east on Leh-Manali Road. We visited Thiksey, Shey Gompas of this group & hope to visit Hemis Gompa which is about 60Kms from Leh. That will depend upon availability of time. The other group of Gompas are in the west of Leh, off Leh- Srinagar Road. We visited only Spitok of this group. The monastery prayer halls are like caves of ancient times where Rishis used to live and meditate. The mentioning of such caves comes in the writings of Swami Ram & Yoganand’s “Autobiography of an Yogi”. It is closed from all sides with an opening at the top for light and at entrance. In course of Vipassana we were told to meditate in a closed room. Light & air disturb concentration on breath.
Spitok Monastery (GOMPA) has 100 lamas in residence. It is the reformist GELUPA ORDER. The name Spitok means “effective Example” in Tibetan. It was established by RINCHEN ZANGPO, the great 10th century Tibetan scholar for a model community in the area that would be an example for rest of Ladhak. Spitok Gompa controls other Gompas in and around Leh including SAMKAR, STOK & SABOO Gompas. On the ridge top is a temple of the wrathful demoniacal protector deities. It is mistaken by Hindus, for a temple of KALI MAA. As it was high on the ridge, we did not climb up. As you enter the Gompa, there is big MANI LAQUAR, spiritual wheel. The spiritual wheels are seen at the entrance of all Gompas. These wheels are propitiated by Lamas after a long series of rituals & prayers. The pages of Buddhist scriptures containing mantras & other things are placed inside them. Kushak Bakula who controlled GELUPA order of Gompas, is said to be incarnation of one of the 16 ARAT (disciples) of LORD BUDDHA and was incarnate of Sitapatra ( one of 16 disciples). He is said to have taken birth in a village of Numbra Valley & is about 3 year 9 month old as stated above. As per plan, we had to visit ‘Hall of Fame’ exhibiting list of warriors of the Indian Army, weapons seized by them and everything about Ladhak. We could not go there as we felt tired. We came back to the guest house of ITBP. ITBP has 3 battalions in Ladhak sector, 24, 5 & 16. It is the guest house of 14th Bn., well maintained & served. We get food of our choice, at our time & on a ring to the mess. The Sector commander is DIG P.K.Dasmana whom I rang up from Delhi on advice of the office of the DG, ITBP. He arranged the accommodation and gave useful tips such as rest for 24hrs for acclimatization, clothing etc. Shri SB Sharma commands the 14th Bn. He is recently promoted to the rank of DIG.
In the afternoon, we visited Leh town and saw the ruined Leh palace. The new palace built by the then Leh king, is prototype of the ruined one. While in the town we heard AJAN from a local Mosque, the voice was sullen and lacked force as we notice in our part of the country. Venita again bought some stone jewelry. She forgets all kinds of pains in her body when she is engaged in window shopping. I have brought her round to agree to a Vipassana course which develops awareness of a unique kind & relieves you of physical pains & mental botherations. We have learned two local words/expressions: JULE (NAMASTE) & THUK JE CHHE (THANK YOU). I use these words in my dealings with local people.
Retired to sleep at 9:30pm .
29.06.09
(MONDAY)
In the morning we saw Black-billed magpie(Pica Pica), the only bird seen by us so far during our stay here. Although pictures of all kinds of birds are given in the book on fauna with us (courtesy : Shri SB Sharma) but we could hardly see any other bird except Pica Pica. Visited Shanti Stup, built by the Japanese Buddhists. Venita collected a lily plant, widely grown here and not so easily available in Delhi. She struck acquaintance with a family of Saket, Delhi. After taking a number of snaps we proceeded to Samkar Gompa. All images of the deities here were of over 178 years.
Samkar Gompa is Leh’s principal monastery, about 2Kms from Leh City Center. It was the seat of KUSHAK BAKULA, Ladhak’s senior most incarnate Lama. He is inline of incarnation of one of the 16 disciples ( AARATS) of Buddha, namely, SITAPATRA as stated above. It is situated on the plane & not on the crest of a hill. On the far left of the shrine is an 11 headed representation of AVLOKITESHWAR with 1000 feets, 1000 eyes & 1000 hands. Above the DUKHONG, prayer hall, is a gallery, on one side of which is a chapel with rare THANGAS, painted figures to ward off ghosts etc. & an image of DUKHAR, The lady of the white PARSOL, & avtar of TARA with 1000 arms, 1000 heads, 1000 feets, 1000 hands & 1 crore eyes.
In the afternoon we visited hall of fame on Leh Shrinagar road. It contains arms & ammunitions seized by army in wars with Pakistan & China apart from other articles. It has a scroll of honour of Indian warriors who fought bravely.
There is almost all information about flora, Fauna, customs & cultural heritage of Ladhak in beautiful photographs & paintings exhibited here. I wrote one full page on the visitor’s book.
We wished to visit PAN GONG Lake. It takes one full day to reach there & one has to return the same day. There is no accommodation there. We abandoned the idea to visit it as it would be quite strenuous. Then there are Nubra Region, Khrudung pass, Shyok Velley,Zanskar region (suru valley) these are quite far. Tracking does not suit our age. Ladhak is ideal for trekkers. Shri SB Sharma, DIG ITBP Leh, visited us. We had a long chat about the place. Later he presented me a book on fauna of Ladhak.
Retired to sleep at 10pm
30.06.09
(TUESDAY)
Visited the residence of Dalai Lama, Bhuddhists believe that he is incarnation of Lord Buddha. Pancham Lama who was second in line to Dalai Lama died in Tibet. Dalai Lama declared GEOHUN CHOEYI NYIMA as incarnation of Pancham Lama on may 14, 1994. He was born on April 25 1989 in Tibet. He is alleged to have been taken away by Chinese on May 17,1995 along with his parents. Nobody has heard anything about them since then. Dalai Lama says that he is the youngest political prisoner of the world. We saw all the rooms in the residence of Dalai Lama. As his birthday falls on 6th July,09, the house is being cleaned up & painted. Two girls were preparing pictures of 4 directions which have to be kept inside the spiritual wheel along with Mantras, written more than a crore times, some grains & other items. After propitiation these are given for installation by Dalai Lama, One has to churn them reciting, OM MANI PADHI HUNG. In the shrine we saw the statue of Avalokiteshwar, along with images of Tara & other deities, lamas. The manager of the residence is Shri LOBSANG TENZIM, an 85 year old Lama. Earlier he was principal of Buddhist school. Tachi, our guide, studied in the same school. We had ‘GUR-GUR BUTTER TEA’ which is salty and made of soda, butter, salt & spl. tea leaves. Then we witnessed the mercy of Dalai Lama ,on a wild ass & sheep which were brought by Dalai Lama when he came across them in disabled condition while he was coming back from his visit to mountains in high reaches. At the residence of Dalai Lama, one line from Dhammapad is printed in Tibetan, English & Hindi language:
“The mind is fickle, wavering it is difficult to guard and pacify. Just as a Fletcher (maker of an arrow) examines an arrow, the wise guards his mind”
We visited Leh City Center & had ‘Pakoras’ Tea & diet coke in Dreamland restaurant. Venita bought some stone jewelry.
On way back to Leh city center, I was amazed to see a 18 hole Golf course on barren dry sandy land. They have put up small lifted parts of land from where they club the golf ball to its purported location. There is a 9 hole golf course in the premises of 14 Bn. of ITBP and adjoining sector commander head quarters. Such is the craze for this game. Apart from visits to monasteries and Sindhu darshan, treks are the biggest attraction. Treks for days together are planned by foreign and Indian tourists apart from visit to lakes which are at quite high altitudes. Despite inhospitable weather/ climate, barren land, little vegetation & lack of oxygen, the tourists visit Ladhak in hoards for peace of mind in monasteries & long treks. For persons of our age, who could not undertake long treks to high altitudes, 5 day visit is enough. Venita bought a good white Pashmina Shawl hand woven from the wool of baby goats, reared at higher altitude with green pastures. The goats, reared at lower altitudes with less of green pastures do not give out good Pashmina wool. The Pashmina shawl from the wool of ‘Chiru’ is banned. An interesting aspect of visit to monasteries & stupas is the portrayal of ‘THANGAS’. These are meant to ward away evil spirits. We often see them used in plains, probably picked up from Buddhist architecture.
01.07.09
WEDNESDAY)
Thangas
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Left ITBP guest house at 8.45 am. I had to visit ATMs to draw some money to reward the men who had served us well. But none of the ATMs – SBI, PNB and J&K- were operational. We somehow managed rewarding about 8 men with available amount. We were left with just Rs. 50/-. We spent 40 Rs. Ffor two cups of Nescafe coffee in the sterile lounge at the airport. We were worried for any taxes which may be required to be paid at the airport, for which a demand is made by the authorities all of a sudden. We were greatly relieved when we boarded the plane with just Rs 10/- in pocket and it took off. The flight was more than half empty, landed at Palam airport at 12:30 pm. After collecting luggage we left for home. During the day went through the newspapers of last 5 days as we could not lay hands on any at Leh.On 28th June in restaurant, Dreamland, we got TOI of 26th june and of 28th june too. While the newspaper of 26th had all the pages, that of 28th, only cover page was available. On enquiry we were told that the remaining pages of 28th June had been used in the kitchen. On further query as to why kitchen did not use newspaper pages of 26,th the restaurant staff had no answer. In fact all of them had no knowledge of English.
Due to the thin layer of oxygen in Leh, a visitor often faces breathlessness & headache. Very often blood clots are formed in the sinus which come out when we blow our nose for clean up. This phenomenon is common even among the local residents of the place. The staff of the guest house and the local guide also confirmed it. One has to take care & acclimatize for 12 to 24 hours, taking rest. 1 tablet of Diamox is recommended by the medical officer after dinner for 2 to 3 days to counter the adverse effects of the local climate. We took complete rest for 24 hours. May be because of this we did neither felt breathless nor headache. The whether of the place has bright sunshine, cool/cold air, barren mountains with some them snow clad at a distance, low level of oxygen and consequent thin air. Despite a hostile weather, if one is interested in TANTRIK Buddhism and trekking this is the place for a visit . Although we were not interested in any of these, but we decided to visit the area to feel the place. The sudden decision to visit Ladhak was also accentuated by failure to go on Kailash Mansarovar Yatra which had to be suspended due to inclement weather & a number of deaths of devotees during journey in China on advise by India embassy at Kathmandu. There are quite a few books on Ladhak. My son, Parikshit got me a book from his colleague from Finland, Ms. Anna Eakkila, the Mumbai Office head of Finpro, India on Ladhak. She has trekked a lot in the area. The book became our guide apart from assistance from a local guide, provided by ITBP. I also surfed and collected all that was available on the net. The office of Tourism Ministry of the Govt. of J&K located in the Janpath Hotel, New Delhi also provided me with materials available with them on Ladhak.
The temperature in Leh quite often went down to 5 degree Celsius in the evening. A good quilt or a thick blanket are necessary when you are inside the room whether it is day time or night. During the day you require a half sleeves sweater or light jacket. Sometime it is suddenly very cold due to snowfall in higher reaches. A cap to cover your head all the time is must when you are out for a walk/visit in the market. Tourism is the main source of income for the locals apart from a few agro products , Pashmina , other woolens, precious stones etc. The people are Buddhists. In Kargil area they are Muslims. There is communal harmony and good understanding among different communities. A number of foreign tourists, mostly from Europe & USA are Buddhists. You see them in good numbers in monasteries. The local economy is provided for in a big way by army & paramilitary forces all over the year including winters when it is very chilly & snowing & there are no tourists, local or foreign.
I have mentioned the above facts for the convenience of those of you who would decide to visit Ladhak.
Retired to sleep at 10:30pm.
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