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We best remember the land of Siachen warriors for the
surround view of the imposing and colossal Karakorum mountainous range emitting
myriad shades of purple, green, brown, red and russet, Buddhist
monasteries and Stupas perched atop the most picturesque locales, snow covered
high altitude passes that makes one breathless both literally and figuratively
and its pristine lakes that have much more to offer than “All is well” selfies,
vegetarian friendly one pot (read bowl) meals of Skyu, Chhutagi, Thukpa and
Thenthuk and enriching and awe-inspiring experience at the Hall of Fame museum
of the Indian armed forces, and of course a fantastic opportunity to capture
the milky way in its night skies, provided one is ready brave the biting cold
in the dead of the night!
Ladakh offers a little bit of everything for everyone - a “push your limits” adventure for the brave-hearts, a meditatively calming experience at the monasteries for the spiritually inclined, scenic drives with breath taking views of the valleys and elevated ranges for the mountain bound, feeling the rush of ice cold waters from Pangong lake to Shey river, from Zanskar to Indus rivers for the water body, hopping from one Tibetian market to another on Leh’s market for the shopaholic, tasting the wide ranging array of local cuisine to feast on for the foodie, and not to forget the quiet starry nights for the astro-photography aficionado - the roof of the world truly has lots to offer apart from a much needed break from the sweaty summer of the South (so much so we forgot what it was like to perspire until we landed in Delhi on our way back to Bangalore!).
As always, none of our trips is complete without visiting a local book store, and we did manage to find one such place at Leh’s market called “Ladakh Book shop” However, I was a tad disappointed when we couldn’t lay our hands on any children’s books on Ladakh or any book on local children’s stories, and instead found many books on Tibetan tales for children.
But
considering that Ladakh is known for its monasteries spreading the message of
world peace, we picked up “Jataka Tales – birth stories of
Buddha” selected and retold by Ethel Beswisk, – a nice little
compilation of Buddha’s stories originally narrated in Pali, during the course
of his forty years after his enlightenment. Brought out in the form of
delightful stories revolving around mostly animal stories, with values and life
lessons to imbibe from, for children and adults alike. “Jataka Tales” will also
serve as a bibliographic souvenir reminding us our Ladakhi adventure!
