Juley - A Snowy Winter in Ladakh

© 2014, All Rights for content on this page are reserved, Mohit Gupta

As Andrew Harvey wrote, nothing I had read or imagined, prepared me for the splendour and majesty of Ladakh. 

Leh turned out to be a pretty quiet place. I was told it is an exact opposite during summers when the streets are bustling with life (read tourists), so many, that even parking becomes a problem in this small town. I spent a few days here to acclimatise, before we would head to the frozen lakes of Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri (Tso means lake).

Itinerary in Summary

Traveled in the last week of Jan.

Day One: Acclimatise! Acclimatise! Acclimatise! An easy day with visit to local monasteries – Thiksey and Stakna. 

Day Two: Drove to Pangong Lake – Brilliant winter landscapes, made pit stops, crossed world's third highest pass (Changla), had lunch at Tangste, stayed on the bank of Pangong Lake at a village called Spangmik. And yes managed to find a satellite phone to make a urgent call back home.

Day Three: Drove from Pangong toTso Moriri. Night halt at Chumathang hot springs.

Day Four: Visited Tso Moriri Lake and Korzok Village, driving through the ice-fields of Changthang, nomadic shepherd settlements near Puga. Night at Chumathang. Had a throbbing headache, the altitude got the better of me.

PS: We were traveling with Darter experts who helped us with all the permits and took care of all logistics.

I would consider this trip as more of a recce and i hope to return soon. As you would have guessed, it was indeed a photography focused trip.  Leh had been on my mind for ages but the plan kept postponing for one reason or the other. And now I can't wait to return…

This land of monasteries in the Changthang valley, was once a thriving center on the trading route. Bordering with Tibet, China and Pakistan, it now is an ideal place for people who want to experience Tibetan Buddhism or just want to be themselves. The place is beautiful in a harsh way, the winters are especially harsh with maximum temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius. The beauty lies in the snow covered rocky brown landscape, which is even more intriguing with the inter play of light.

Leh Town as seen from Shanti Stupa

Signature Ladakhi Windows

Stakna Monastery

Given its strategic location, the road network is pretty good. Indian army manages most of the roads.

On way to Pangong

Changla Pass

Pangong Tso, the long, narrow, enchanted lake, two thirds of which lies in China was all frozen, a textureless white sheet of ice. The spectacle was much different from the bluish waters of the summers, the ones you would have seen in the climax of 3 Idiots. Seemingly a couple of local boys had drowned a week back, while they were walking on a still not completely frozen lake.

Pangong Lake

The night was well spent, shooting a 50 minute exposure. At -25 degrees, the batteries couldn't hold further

A 50 minute exposure - Star Trails

I never thought an electric heater would be such a luxury, the homestay in Chumathang had one and we were ecstatic. Chumathang is a small village by the river Indus, famous for its hot geysers, a rare confluence of the icy cold glacial water and the sulphur powered steaming geysers.

Hot Geysers by the Indus at Chumathang

Frozen Tso Moriri 

A visit to the Changthang plateau is probably incomplete without Tso Moriri, one of the highest fresh water lakes in the world. Life in the region surely doesn't seem easy given the harsh living conditions, but you will surely give it a second thought once you get to spend time with the people in the region.


Puga Valley, a lesser known place in the Ladakh region lies in between Tso Moriri and Tso Kar. Known for hot springs, borax and sulphur deposits (mining is commercially unviable), this valley acts as a grass and wetland for Changpa nomads during these harsh winters. Changpas are known for herding the famous pashmina she eps.

Geysers near Puga

A week or even a month is less to explore this part of Himalayas. I hope to keep going back again and again. Hopefully this trip is just the start of a journey.

Meadows on way to Pangong

Acclimatization Tips:

High Altitude Sickness (HAS). Back side of the Hotel menu had a pretty good introduction. :)
Short summary is drink lots and lots of water, stay away from alcohol. Don't over exert yourself, you are the best judge of your body

Durga Pujo- Cultural heritage explorations in Delhi’s ‘Mini Bengal’

It was my 3rd walk with DelhiByFoot and indeed just as pleasant as the other ones. The previous walks I participated in were more of historical heritage events while this one was an experience of the rich cultural heritage of the melting pot that Delhi is.

 The event notice mentioned we will be witnessing the age-old traditions of the Bengali community as they prepare for their grandest festival, Durga Pujo in Chittaranjan Park (popularly called CR Park), which is home to the largest concentration of Bengali residents in Delhi NCR. The opportunity to experience the stories and shoot pictures of artisans making the Durga Pratima (Durga Idols), eating traditional foods and unique shopping as activities in our 3-hr walk was what had piqued my interest. So 8am on a Sunday morning, I hauled myself and my husband off for an exploration of ‘Mini Bengal,’ as most Delhizens refer to CR Park.

I must say that the preparations by DelhiByFoot (DBF) were no less than the preparations for the Durga Pujo celebrations. Although most of us, the participants were eager to go and check out the artistry of the ‘Kumhars’ (Idol Makers) right away, DBF began the morning with a small round of orientation of the locality and its history. A short walk later through the streets of CR Park where we saw many workmen busy in erecting mammoth ‘Pandals’ (Tents set up for the actual 5-day pujo) in big open grounds, we took a break. Here we were served with a scrumptious Bengali breakfast(RadhaBallavi (Puri with filling of Urad Daal), Aloo Dum and Bengali Sweets, the quintessential Sondesh and Kheerkodom ) in smartly packed boxes which I really enjoyed and the timing was perfect since by now all the participants were feeling the strong pangs of hunger! It was pure vegetarian bliss!

Over breakfast we were introduced to our ‘Story-teller’ of the day, Mrs. Indrani Gupta who herself is a Bengali and has lived in this area for many years and also has been part of one of Delhi’s oldest Bengali community Pujo celebrations at Kashmiri Gate. She carried with her intricate details about the festival, essentially the how, where, when and why of everything related to Durga Pujo. Having witnessed the preparations of this festival since her early childhood she was also able to share the deviations of how things have changed over time in the fast paced world, where people are hard pressed to take out time for all the rituals and traditions. She pointed out alterations that have now come about, be it the setting up of the pandals to the way the idols are created to how the 5 days celebrations are done inside the pandals.

Vegetable dye-based, water-soluble colours are applied using brushes and then a bit of glazing is enough to create the masterpieces of clay!

After breakfast was over we headed towards the Shiv Mandir (a large temple complex in the area) where the idol makers or the ‘Kumhars’ temporarily live for 3-4 months as they prepare the clay idols. The moment we stepped in the artisan’s compound, the buzz of activity was palpable.

 

Amidst the Gods, a Kumhar sipping tea

Indrani Didi, as we all addressed her, was truly engaging in her story telling technique and I thoroughly enjoyed her stories which were embellished with the different mythological and practical philosophies related to the origin of Durga Puja celebrations. One being of how Shri Ram prayed to Goddess Durga for her blessings before he began his attack against Ravana, which actually helped me figure out how closely the story of the legendary battle of Lord Rama and Ravana  ending on Dussehra, matches the culmination of Durga Pujo with ‘Visarjan’ (immersion) of the Durga Idol on the same day when rest of North Indians celebrate Dussehra. While the other one was that during this time of year, Goddess Durga killed the Mahishasur, the Buffalo Demon, who started to destroy the world after getting powers of invincibility from Lord Brahma. Hindus worship all forms of the Divine Goddess Shakti by observing fast during the 9 days of Navratra.

Beheaded ‘Mahisha’ (literally Buffalo in Sanskrit) the form in which the mighty ’Asura’ (Demon) changed into before he was finally killed by the Goddess. This I believe signifies the winning of battle by Good over Evil.

The idol makers do not use any fancy tools while making these idols. Bare hands create a base skeleton of bamboo, hay, hemp and clay. Multiple layers of fine clay is used to sculpt the features and painstaking effort goes in making these clay idols in separate stages over many weeks. The most primitive philosophy of making these idols of clay is that they come from and go back to the Earth after ‘Visarjan’ (Immersion of idol in water)

I was amazed with the details of the features of the idol, that too done on base coat of simple ‘mitti’ (clay). After the remaining layer of polishing clay is smeared, followed by painting, enameling and ornamentation, it will be a lovely sight!

Bengalis celebrate these 9 days as the arrival of Goddess Durga to visit her parental house from her heavenly abode of Kailash where Lord Shiva resides. She descends on Earth with her children, Goddess Saraswati and Lakshmi and the Gods Ganesh and Kartik to live amidst the people. Before these 9 days, devotees pray to her through songs that welcome her imminent arrival and on the 10th day, Dashami, they bid adieu to her with farewell prayers at the Visarjan ( idol is immersed in any water body).

 

O my friend Ganesha! -- This one is from Mohit :-)

DelhiByFoot ended the walk at the local CR Park bazaars which sell all things Bengali- from daily groceries to special things which are considered necessary for the Puja, for example traditional clothing attire and cotton sarees. Me and my husband had been enjoying listening and clicking pictures so much that we hardly realised how soon the 3 hours had elapsed! Some of us bade adieu while others stayed for a luncheon of Bengali delicacies. I left the place wondering how beautiful this area would soon be, as in the second week of October, thousands will come to worship the beautiful idols inside aesthetically themed and designed Durga Pujo Pandals and the people will all be enjoying the festive fervor.

"The Mother" and the son Ganesha during her visit to maternal house

I really like the concept of such walks where they have specialized people who can narrate you the stories with their experiences and references. I had a great experience, learning more about my countrymen of a different state and I will be back surely this year during the Durga Pujo to actually experience the festivities first hand! 

Dzongu- not trailed on Google Maps yet!

In the wilderness beauty of Sikkim, on the remote GPS coordinates, lies this virgin land, untouched and pristine. The aboriginal tribe - The Lepchas call this place by the name Dzongu. Dzongu is an officially demarcated reserve for Lepcha community. This Lepcha tribe has inherently protected this beautiful, virgin land to the utmost proximity with nature. One needs permission to legally enter this part of North Sikkim. Permission actually means that you need your passports and passport photos to enter this land.And believe me, as of today September 2013, you cannot search this place on Google maps. Nearby area Mangan is listed though, however searching by "Dzongu" or "Passingdang"(village name) results nothing on Google Maps(it says unable to find location!).

The inhabitant Lepchas here worship the nature and feel that disturbing any element of it would bring disaster to their land and may bring natural calamities like earthquakes, landslides etc. And hence they have preserved this land as their mother God, living harmoniously with it, respecting and worshiping the mountains, rivers, trees of this land. 

Once you reach Gangtok, Dzongu is 4 hours from there by road. We  took a halt of one day at Gangtok to visit the nearby Monasteries and some places around. We went to Rumtek monastery, Ranka monastery and a few others. We liked Ranka monastery as it was not much touristy and was peaceful during that time.

Next day, Mr. Gyatso, owner of Mayal Lyang Homestay at Dzongu, had come to receive us in his SUV to Gangtok and soon we realized that only SUVs could withstand those merely non-existing roads (not throughout though). Also we understood why the To/Fro travel budget to this place was high as compared to other places. Once you enter Dzongu, it will not take time for you to realize that the place is a land of waterfalls, butterflies, rivers, and mountains. Within few minutes of passing the main entry of Dzongu area, we experienced a natural and free car wash. That's true, there was a waterfall on the road itself, underneath which our car passed by. Watch this video if you want to have a glimpse of it as well.  

We were welcomed to Mayal Lyang (Which means hidden land) Homestay by his family which consists of Mr. Gyatso, his wife Samsay, his cute 2 year old kid Aadon, his mother, father, one dog and two cats. Believe me, beyond this time reaching there, we never felt out of their family. The whole family took care of us, their hospitality is off-limits. The Homestay is a clean and comfortable cottage, built in the traditional Lepcha way. 

Mayal Lyang Homestay, Dzongu, Sikkim

Homestay build in old Lepcha way over the wooden pillars

Place where we enjoyed sipping Sikkimese tea in homestay

However, I would expect one to understand that this is a homestay and not a hotel. So one should go there with an expectation to be at home instead of expecting lavish luxuries at the place.

Just to give you a glimpse of Dzongu from my eyes, things you can expect from this place:

What you hear? The gurgling of river, hymns of birds and chants from the monastery.

What you eat? The organic food that these people grow in their organic gardens around their homes. 

What you smell? The light smell of burning wood from the kitchen as you would experience the traditional cooking chullah* in their kitchen where they use wood for cooking. Hey not just that, these people do not use geysers for heating water but just have a pipe running underneath their chullah which heats the water which is used for taking bath. Interesting was there way of living.

What you enjoy? Small treks to local villages, sitting beside the river, passing by rickety bridges, serenity of monasteries, waterfalls, local traditional food etc If you are a butterfly enthusiast, then you MUST go to this place as there are more than 500 species of butterflies to spot. What not to expect? Restaurants, luxury hotels, shopping avenues etc

We stayed at the homestay on the day of our arrival, enjoying the local garden, butterflies, stories from Gyatso and Samsay about the Lepcha tribe and so on. Samsay cooked Sikkimese traditional delicacies for us, and in the most fascinating kitchen I had even seen- an old traditional Lepcha kitchen. She is imbibed with so much passion for cooking that she went extra mile to try out different things suiting our taste buds. I must say she is an amazing cook and a good kitchen organizer. 

Traditional Lepcha Kitchen

Next morning, we headed for Rongyung River which was just 10 minutes’ walk down the hill. Kalzang, Gyatso's cousin was our guide that day. He was sweet and cooperative. The fast flowing river had a wooden broken rickety bridge. It was an amazing experience to cross that. 

 

Rickety bridge we crossed over Rongyong river

The other side of the river was a forestry land with butterflies around. We suddenly felt in trap of Leeches and soon we found some of them already sticking to our feet and shoes and sucking blood. We removed our shoes, dragged them out of skin. Don't be scared! they do not cause any pain, but cause just skin itching that happens for a few days. For me, it was the first experience with Leeches. However, for my husband Mohit, it was a norm as he had been to western ghat rain forests multiple times and he had experienced bigger ones there. We crossed the rickety bridge again to find a place to sit down besides the river and enjoy the fast jumbling water. The place was so serene with just the sounds from the nature that you could easily spend hours there. 

Since we had come in rainy season, one could expect rain anytime. We trekked back uphill in the rain. On the way, we stopped by at one of the houses where one of the lepcha man was preparing alcohol out of Millet in a vessel set on fire. This local drink, also referred as Chi, is very popular there which most of the people prepare at their homes. It is a holy drink which is served in glasses made of Bamboo and is often taken as a Prasadam.In the evening, we trekked to a Monastery nearby. There were little monks giggling and smiling. I did not miss a picture with them. Later in the evening, we spent hours talking about the intimidation of hydro power projects planned in this area and how the Lepchas had been fighting against them to preserve their land. Gyatso was one of the ACT activist who had been working on the conservation of Dzongu area by standing against hydro electric projects that were mushrooming around River Teesta and river Rongyong.  

Next early morning, we were to trek to village Lingthem. It was a short trek uphill of around 2.5- 3 hours through the paddy fields and bamboo grooves. It was cloudy so we could not have a view of Mt. Kanchenjunga. Though the pictures at homestay  show a beautiful view. We were still hoping to get a glimpse during our stay in Dzongu. We could otherwise see the "Body Gaurds" as they are called of the peak. This was a beautiful trek with so much picturesque. We thoroughly enjoyed the shortcuts we took during the trek which passed through narrow steep climbs.In 3 hours, we reached our destination- The monastery which was closed. We had our packed lunch that Samsay cooked and having that, I was yearning for tea when a local villager came and asked us to join them for a local ceremony that was happening nearby. We were invited to a house where more than 50-70 people were gathered. In one room, some were enjoying millet beer, in another- Buddhist monks were chanting prayers. Some rooms were occupied by people chatting and eating and one room was filled with ladies praying hymns and rolling Manichakras. It was 21st day of the departure of the mother of the house. As per their tradition, people celebrate this day as they pray for the peace of the soul departed. We clicked some pictures, talked with the localities, enjoyed the local tea and trekked back.

 

Village people celebrating 21st day of departure

Later in the evening after getting back to homestay, we talked about the life of Lepcha tribe, their culture, their religion, their beliefs and their origin. This discussion lasted for hours with Gyatso and his family. Mohit and I were so much intrigued with the discussion of this tribe that we started reading more from their little library about Lepchas in Sikkim.  

Next day was planned for a visit to a holy lake called Hee Gyathang which a smaller sect of Lepcha people worship. This lake is famous for the silver fishes. The people who consider it holy believe that the day these fishes vanish, they would too. They come and tie prayer flags around this lake. it was serene and beautiful place. We went to this place on Car but were coming back on foot. Around 8-10 kms walk. On the way, we got down at the river and had a good time relaxing. We were tired in the evening. Just sat back and chatted with our new friends in the homestay.  

Next morning we went to Lingzya waterfalls. I had a great time enjoying my reading and Mohit with his camera. We sat there for hours just enjoying the simplicity of the place. Later in the evening, we headed for the hot water spring at Lingdem village. It was relaxing natural spa to have.  Next day, we did not want to leave this place but had to as we had our flight next day from Baghdogra. And guess what, the last day was a blessing on us as we had an awesome view of Mt. Kanchenjunga while we were leaving this beautiful land of butterflies!.


Oh did I miss something? We had almostttttt stopped an aircraft from taking off to get into it ;-) So one piece of advice if you plan this trip- Traffic to Baghdogra(part of Bengal) is unpredictable. Take a leap of two hours atleast than your travel time from Sikkim to Baghdogra.

<<More photos coming soon as they are on Mohit's HDD. It will take time for me to steal those :p
BTW the last one above is the one I stole already >>

Maha Kumbh 2013

"One single day of devotion is worth more than thousand years of Worldly life" - Anonymous

Maha Kumbh Mela, is the largest known human congregation in this universe. Kumbh happens every 3 years in either of these places- Allahabad(Prayag), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik while the Maha Kumbh happens once every 12 years. 2013 Maha Kumbh happened in the mela grounds of Allahabad, a city next to the holy confluence of the three sacred rivers: Ganga, Yamuna and mystified Saraswati (known to run underground these days). As per Hindu mythology, it is believed that taking a ceremonial dip in the confluence during the festival washes away all your sins, leading to Salvation or Moksha. 

What a shortcut! I had not imagined how serious the whole affair was until I stepped in Allahabad. We found something even more interesting - we were at a special Maha Kumbh, a Kumbh that comes every 144 years, after twelve Purna Kumbhs. So one thing was clear, none in my next generation is going to witness this again!

We were travelling with a­­­ group of photographers. Though Mohit and I, both were set with our cameras to capture the moments, our main purpose was to just go with the flow. Our itinerary included one of the royal or shahi snan(Basant Panchmi Snan) days, a day when more than 30 million were expected. It was the last of the three shahi snans (15^th Feb). After hearing the news of the stampede that happened a couple of days before, I had imagined myself amidst a sea of people pushing and pulling taking you with their flow.  Indeed it was a huge mass of humanity but it was peaceful, devotees chanting and walking, mostly barefoot, towards the confluence.

We reached Kumbh mela grounds on 14^th Feb morning, a day before the royal snan. On reaching the mela grounds, we found that it was a huge ground converted to a temporary encampment with all kinds of tents, in clusters, pitched by different religious groups. There were hotels outside mela grounds as well, however one must live in the mela ground to witness and soak in the atmosphere. There was a limit to what tents could accommodate. So there were people cooking and residing at every corner. 

People cooking in mela grounds

 

People people everywhere...

ISKON Campus in mela grounds

There were 13 Akharas congregated to take a dip. Akharas generally refer to the religious sects. The royal snans are meant to be initiated by the Akharas before being opened for general public. We were putting up in ISKON campus tents, probably the most comfortable ones. They were hygienic and the food at the bhandaras was really nice. The space was at a premium, and hence we were 5 people putting up in a tent. It had an attached open roof bathroom and a toilet. It was an experience in itself, especially if it rained J

­­­After lunch, we headed towards the confluence, the main bathing area where there were around 30 million people expected the next day. We wanted to see the place and make a plan for the next day. 

Ghat a day before the royal snan

Devotees taking ceremonial dips in the ghat before the main snan day

We went to prayag during the sunset and experienced the charm of being in the crowd with so much happening around. There was security all around. The most enticing thing was the unending announcements happening on lost and found. The announcements varied from loss of wallet, car keys to family members. 



Women drying their sarees after the dip

Women drying clothes in nearly empty mela grounds a day before

Devotees entering grounds a day before

Next day we woke up at 4 and headed towards the confluence at around 4:30. As we stepped out of the ISKON campus, we witnessed something unbelievable. There were countless people, all walking in the same direction, some with their luggage on their head. With time, the crowd just swelled. 

Soon, the various Naga Sadhus Akharas started lining up for the royal snan. Naga Sadhus are followers of the Shiva sect. With their distinguishable features - long knotted hair and naked body smeared with ashes - you just can't miss them. Naga Sadhus are categorized into Akharas,  some of the prominent being Sanyasi, Bajrangi, Juna. With the Chants of Har Har Mahadev, the atmosphere was electric and the energy levels high

 These huge Akhara groups were given bathing slots and they were moving in that order towards the confluence. Photography by general public was prohibited in the main snan area. We managed to get into the press lane and moved amidst these Akharas.

One of the devotees

The excitement towards the ghats

Sadhus running towards the ghat to perform the ceremonial dip

Royal snan ghat area filled with Sadhus

Ghat area

On the other end of this royal snan areas was general public snan area which was separated with fencing and police from the royal snan area. Once the royal snan was done by the sadhus, it was also opened for general public. We had never ever witnessed such exhilaration amongst such masses. It was filled with faith, hope and believe in God.

The religious group marching towards the ghats

General public waiting around the royal snan area

Despites some 30 million people in one ground, everything was so well managed. We had never seen such massive crowd management done so well. There were continuous lost and found announcements still going on. Next day, we were amazed to see the mela grounds empty again. One couldn't believe that on the previous day, millions landed here.

Nearly empty grounds on the next day of the royal snan

Though I am not a believer of taking snan to wash sins. However seeing such massive faith, something dragged me to the banks of the river where I took a dip as well (despite the fact that it was raining heavily). I still do not know what kind of satisfaction it was. 

This trip was a lifetime experience. I am not too sure if I would go to Kumbh again, but I must say, if one wants to see faith, one must go and experience it.