IN THE LAND OF HIGH PASSES

The trip to Leh in Ladakh was the greatest experience  I ever had and my best trip till date. I had packed up everything right from sunglasses,scarves,hats and few woollens and ready to board an early flight from Delhi on 2nd June 2014 with my family.Reaching Leh shortly, the pilot announced. I was thrilled as from my window seat I could view the mighty Himalayas and Mountains covered with snow and the Indus river.On reaching Leh I could feel the fresh Ladakhi cold breeze.I could see the clear sky and mountains all over and the sight of snow capped mountains really made my spirit soar .My friends advised me that to get acclimatised, one need complete rest for 36 hours as Leh is a high latitude location with an altitude of more than 11,000 feet above the mid sea level and to have vitamin C regularly....which I really hate to take,but I have to as i can't take risk of getting sick and spoil my vacation...!!!

  Leh ladakh is predominantly a Buddhist region and everywhere you can see old ruins of Buddhist  stupas and shrines which are supposed to be very religious.A walk through the Leh market reminds me of Shillong market..narrow lanes with tourists like us hanging around for souvenirs and local delicacies like momos and thupka...my favourite pastime hanging around in the market from one shop to another,bargaining.Happy to see the Sale tags(50% Discounts).Infact some shopkeepers really gets irritated with the way we females bargain things. 
confused what to buy and sometimes land up with a sulking face.  .The people out here are very simple and soft hearted.For our sight seeing we hired a vehicle and next day we visited the HEMIS MONASTERY which is a world heritage sight of India.It is one of the wealthiest and biggest Gompa of Ladakh which has few gold statues and stupas,decorated with precious stones and has superb collection of Tankhas.The route to Hemis Monastery was simply beautiful as you are surrounded by hills and mountains and far away one could view the lovely sight of snow clad mountains and the nearby hills were rocky and sandy which felt like a high altitude desert. The drive was even more memorable as we were driving all along the Indus river....Always wonder how the life would be in the mountains,for me I would barely survive.

HEMIS MONASTERY

Another finest example of Ladakhi architecture is the THIKSEY MONASTERY where the majestic two storey statue of Maitreye Buddha is there.Entering the premises I could hear the Buddhist chanting,young and old monks all were chanting together with peace and harmony .I myself too felt as a part of it.It was a great spiritual experience.No doubt Ladakh is also known as the Land of Lamas.

THIKSEY MONASTERY

STATUE OF BUDDHA AT THIKSEY MONASTERY

Ladakh is a place for adventure sports where tourists from all over the world come for rafting,trekking and mountaineering.I too experienced the thrilling adventure of white water rafting at Zanskar river,it was really a fantastic experience for me as we rafted all the way through  tough gorges and torrential waves.we almost covered 20 km.Felt like a teenager within my heart,screaming and shouting amongst the waves.Our team leader was a good looking guy who was witty and jolly enough to keep our mind diverted.The fear factor of being washed away...After being done...I was numb..my shoulders were stiff,I can feel a pang of pain in my body..  

Rafting at Zanskar river

Interesting and unbelievable phenomenon is the  MAGNETIC HILLS,located 30 km from leh on the leh-kargil-batalik highway .the hills suppose to have magnetic phenomenon.It sounds weird isnt it..but yes its weird and unnatural ...!!!Our vehicle  moved uphill defying the law of gravity  on its own when we switched off the engine.Seeing is believing so try out when you visit leh...!!!

ladakh trip won't be completed without visiting the Pangongtso lake and experiencing the zig-zag never ending road towards Changla pass which is at a height of 17458 feet.

Men at work

Changla Pass

Our drive through the CHANGLA PASS was breathtaking,Changla pass is covered with snow throughout the year and  is the third highest motor able road in the world.The pass is guarded by the Indian Army due to the proximity to Chinese border.wow....I am on the top of the world now..!!! The temperature is almost Zero degree,extremely freezing cold with chilly winds,due to high altitude  and lack of oxygen you really can't stay more than 10-20 mins.A thrilling experience for me...A girl like me from plains of mighty Brahmaputra is now at the top of the world at leh....freezed....!!!

CHANGLA PASS

After changla pass we viewd the most awaited location THE PANGONG TSO LAKE.
pangong Tso means"Enchanted lake".One of the most beautiful lake located in Ladakh at the hight of above 14270 feet above the sea level and known for the shooting of popular movie- 3 idiots.Stepping down I felt myself in a paradise.This beautiful lake with hues varying from emerald to turquoise in colours is simple breathtaking and mesmerising.A perfect place for painters and photographers.The lake is 134km long and extends all the way to china(more than 50% of the lake is within Chinese territory).The breeze,the lake,the mountains the beauty of the nature is breathtaking...!!!
     

Pangong Tso Lake

Soon after a good stay at Leh for a week,our holidays were almost over and we moved down to Srinagar by road.On the way we crossed MOONLAND AT LAMAYURU.Only place on earth with a surface like Moon.A beautiful and magnificent creation of nature. Moonland is apparently a meteorite impact crater.One can feel the essence of being in Moon because of the structure and formation of rocks.Feeling myself like a astronaut ..why need to be there on the moon...when the paradise is itself at Ladakh...??? 

Moonland,Lamayuru

we stayed over night at KARGIL because the traffic was not allowed during night at Zojila pass and will be open at the dawn hours so we got up at 2 pm and moved towards Zjila pass.One can see thousand of vehicles lined up.Around 3 am we got the clearance to move.

Driving through the zojila pass

 @Zojila Pass

Zojila pass is known to be one of the riskiest and dangerous passes of the ladakh region.one can see the steep gorges down and a single narrow road for the traffic to move.No over taking and besides enjoy the beauty and drive carrying beautitul memories of ladakh.

Love or Illusion

Was it a Love or was it an illusion?

That completely completed me with your love

Until I found you, or

Was it an illusion?

That completely shattered me with your love

Until I lost you.

Sitting near the sea shore, watching the sun go down

The answer lies within my soul, for my soul felt the love and pain

Was my love a love or an Illusion?

That gave me the strength to love, trust and get hurt

No matter whether it is a love or an Illusion

I am happy that my soul is happy now

Not because that I found or lost love

I am happy because I am what I am

Neither love nor illusion…

It’s just simple me…

"Mother Why am I so different"

I like to paint the world with my eyes,
I love to sing for the birds,
I like to swim as a mermaid,
I love to play with you.
But I am different mother
Different from the others.
I got my own world,
I got my own friends,
I got my own dreams,
I got my own life.
But I am different mother
Different from the others.
Am I God's Special Child,
Am I God's favourite,
Am I God's own creation,
Am I God's gift.

'Bor baidew'(Big didi)

Today I am very happy within and felt like a kid once again in this children's day.My visit to meet and celebrate the children's day with the Anganbari children's were really memorable that even words can't express my joy.Anganbari,a Government-sponsored child -care and mother care center in India.It caters to the children of 0-6 years of age.The word Anganbari means'courtyard shelter'in hindi started by Indian Government in 1975 as an Integrated child and development service program to combat hunger and malnutrition.Today I met Anganbari children's of satgoan at Satgoan puthibhoral(library).Dressed beautifully, each of them were looking bright and happy because it was their day.Children's day is celebrated on the birthday of pandit Jawarhalal Nehru,fondly known as chacha Nehru.One by one cute kids of Anganbari flocked around me....it was a great feeling when a small girl came and kissed me with a rose,I was touched.we all danced,laughed ,played games and had sweets together.Soon I became their favourite bor baidew(big Didi).

"BEAUTY"

Beauty lies in a mother's tender love
Beauty lies in the lover's nest
Beauty lies when sun sets in the western sky
Beauty lies when the earth is lightened with full moon.
who should we be thankful too ?
God or Man ?
Does it belongs to you or me ?
Beauty does not belong to anyone ?
It's Nature we should be thankful so..
Showering blessing to answer your call.

Beauty is within you,in your heart,in your soul.

Beauty is to feel..a treasure that resides within you.

"Bitter friendship"

I always believe the tag line"believe the best of everybody"..but last night my trust was completely broken when I saw a comment on my post in FB,a social networking site.A wonderful site of interacting far and near friends,relatives,old school buddies,uncles and aunties.Facebook is a ground for sharing joys,jokes,pictures,debates,videos etc...but never thought that some people can attack your friendship with rude comments on personal ground.I realy felt hurt when a friend of mine commented on me openly.Is networking site meant to pick up fights or grudges against each others,humiliate others in public after all there is no restrictions as such.For some people this kind of activity realy makes them proud,but hurting others is not something to be proud of,infact you lose friends.I dont think making personal comments or taking revenge through networking is a healthy way.It shows how much you value your friendship,your sincerity towards each other and your respect towards each other as a friend.It is rightly said that "wounds made by words are hard to heal".It will be unfair in my part to mention my friends name here because I respect the feelings of my friend.Time will heal my wounds but the scar will remain in my heart for ever.We make friends to share our happiness and sadness together no matter what the situation is.we promise,we look forward to stay beside our friends in time of problem,but how many of us realy do care for friends in reality.why do we make false promises if we cant keep our words.I never thought that my friendship with this friend of mine will be bitter.A small mistake,misundestanding can create havoc between friends.Forgive,if you have anythng against anyone,so that father in Heaven may forgive your trespasses-mark 11:25(bible)....I always believe this and maybe this is the reason of my strength and my confidence to move forward in life.Good memories of friendship will last forever and blossom like a flower in your heart;Bad memories of a friendship will also last forever but will feel like thorns.So friends respect the ethic of frienship in social networking site.

"A WRONG PAIR OF SHOES"

One's life is a quaint mixture of bitter and sweet memories,but certain experiences do leave an impact on us.These incidents are always remembered till the end and make us realise the real value of life.One such incident occurred in my life,which is supposed to be the most embrassing moment of my life.The picture is still clear in my mind. It was last year in the month of June . One fine morning I had a big fight with my best friend,whom I love and trust a lot.It was over a simple matter which created a fight and whole day my mood was simply off,restless and upset.I was cranky,irritated and was confused.... And to get rid of my anger I thought of going to the market for shopping,having an ice-cream or lassi which is always my favourite.So dressed up quickly and put on my favourite shoes which I bought from Kolkata..took out my car and went straight to Big-Bazar to pick up few edibles,coolers and my long list of grocceries.I was happy for myself because I am a shopaholic and love to shop for long hours.To my surprise I found that few people,rather girls were looking at me,and each time I passed them they would giggle..... for a moment I thought that maybe its not me.Suddenly my eyes felt on my dress and on my shoes..."oh no I am wearing wrong pairs of shoes"I paused for a minute and again dared to look down to my shoes...yes I am wearing wrong pairs of shoes..one was a black shoe and another a printed one with floral designs...both of them fitted so nicely that I hardly missed the difference.I went pink and pale,feeling like a stupid fool and ran hurriedly to the shoe department,pretending that nothing has happened with me.I simply dumped my wrong pair of shoes in a corner and looked for a new pair of shoes on the shelves,giving a sweet excuse to the shopkeeper that my shoe is damaged .Realy I was so embrassed with myself for being so careless and absent-minded over a small fight with my friend that I came wearing a wrong pair of shoes to the mall...Thank God I was in the mall and not anywere else.Just imagine what would be my pathetic condition...I learned a lesson in my life-be patient in life,not to do anything in a hasty way when you are angry,not to take any quick decision suddenly...mood swings I must say.It's over and I happily returned to my home with a new pair of shoes.Whenever I put on my shoes now, I look four times at my feet,making sure that I am dressed up appropriately,nicely and smartly without any default.. !!!!