“Adventure is a path. Real adventure, self-determined, self-motivated, often risky, forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world”
– Mark Jenkins
It was the summer of 2010; I and six others from my batch had secured an internship with Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) located in Leh, the capital of Ladakh district, Jammu and Kashmir. We were pumped. The week before we left, we had reruns of the movie ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ and were fantasizing about the culture, traditions, architecture and terrains we will be in.
We reached there in the morning and were escorted to the office located in the heart of the Town. Once the formalities were done, we were taken to the Hostel campus located at the foot of a hill whose top was perched with the Shanti stupa, the second most noticeable and visible landmark in entire Leh after the Palace; about two and half kilometers by road. Few first impressions were being created in my mind as the day was concluding. It was too good a place to be in; it was very cold, bright and dry at the same time. Mountainous terrain with its terraced fields and roads cut through its contours carrying a noble slope. Buildings mostly made from traditional materials having large traditional windows; few over a storey high. ‘Julay’ the friendly locals greeted welcoming us in to their land. I fell in love with the laid back life of the town. But come evening time, I take my words back. With temperatures dipping below zero, having no street lights, or any transport service; limited Electricity and yes, no mobile signals; we felt cut off from the world. No soul seen for distances, no technology to keep you connected with family or friends. It was a different experience. I still remember it took us one whole week to get a local sim registered before we could start calling our homes. Our options were very limited. If the phone at our accommodation had any issue, just to make a call, we had to literally trek all the way to a STD booth located in the market.
One of my many adventures happened during that week. It was my third day and by now we had our routines in place. The office usually gets over around five and half in the evening. We were done with the day but before we headed back, we wanted to explore the place as we were still new. Few colleagues suggested we go to the market which was about fifteen minute walk.
The market too had mostly single storey structures with the typical traditional windows. Could find few reinforced concrete buildings also but they too had the same traditional windows. The hustle bustle of the market was vibrant as the tourists had started pouring in from various places. In the market was a Buddhist Temple, Jo Khang. Being curious, I told my friends that while they explored the market, I would visit the Temple and join them at the STD booth in half an hour.
I went inside the temple only to find it closed for the day. Could have returned the next day but somehow I was convinced that tomorrow may never come and stayed within its premises observing people, places, its architecture and details. By the time I had my heart’s fill of observations I realized that the time was seven. I rushed to the phone booth to find it closed and my friends, not to be seen. I frantically started searching for them but they had already left. All shops were closed by now and only one or two buildings had light coming out of their window panes.
I was alone in the street but could see the night washed in the light from the sky making the roads and buildings visible. The moon and starts shone brightly in the clear night sky while the snow capped mountains in the far formed a perfect backdrop for the street I was in. I was a stranger, in a strange land; isolated from all, on my own; with no soul visible around me. A strange experience.
I reached the Office but it too was locked. I had to reach the hostel but did not know my way back. I started looking at my options; surroundings, streets in the immediate vicinity, any landmarks, anything I could remember. And then I realized… I had one of the most visible landmarks in the town to guide me back – The Shanti Stupa.
Daily during the night, a light is lit at the stupa which could be seen from far distances. I had to just walk towards it to reach my hostel. Easier said than done; I walked through the lanes and alleys of the town, making wrong turns but still all the time keeping an eye on the Stupa so as not to miss my direction.
Once out of the town, I started trekking through the terraced fields.
Walking through the fields, I realized that may be I was headed towards the wrong side of the hill. I had to do a course correction. A familiar looking building, a hotel, to my left at a distance of roughly 300 meters or so was visible. Had to cross three fields to reach and all were at different levels. The first one I had to climb while the remaining I had to descend. Had crossed two fields and as I started crossing the third field, I could see some sort of animal run towards me. Didn’t know what it was so I waited till it was visible enough and to my horror it turned out to be a Himalayan dog. The dogs here do get very large. Man I was out of my wits. I thought to run as fast as I could but then saw a belt on it and realized it was guarding the field. I was trespassing through it. Since I was near the edge of the field, I ran towards the second field and climbed on to it. The dog just came till the very edge of the field it was guarding and stood looking at me. I had to look for an alternate route. No more walking through the fields. I found storm water channels between the fields and used them to reach the building. From there I again started my march towards the Stupa.
Finally, I could see the hostel from the fields. What a sign of relief. I slowly walked through the channels and finally arrived. I kept knocking on the door till someone opened it. All surrounded me and were looking quite relieved. Looks like they were more scared about what happened to me than I was about myself. As there was no way to contact me, they were thinking of registering a missing complaint. You see… They had visited the temple but were unable to find me.
Am still confused as to how could they not see me at the temple, I was at the main entrance the whole time. To enter the premises they had to pass through me and yet they could not find me. Strange!
Sometimes when things are meant to happen, they are meant to happen. What can I say?
Julay!!!
P.C : Nidhi, 2010