Global Himalayan Expedition Day-3
“East, west, south, or north makes little difference. No matter what your destination, just be sure to make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, you’ll travel the whole wide world and beyond.”
I remember being moved to tears by the beauty of Antarctica in 2009. The same thing happened to me once again after more than 3.5 years in Ladakh. We were on our way to the Pangong Lake, which is about 200 kilometres/ 7 hours from Leh. Sixty minutes into the ride, there was a sharp bend in the road and up came the view of a valley that was absolutely stunning- just plain green grass, magnificent brown mountains and clear blue skies…almost surreal!! I could feel tears of joy run down my cheeks within seconds and it took a while for me to let the beauty of it all sink in. Once again, nature had touched me in an unimaginable way, filling me with love, happiness and pure bliss.
Ladakh is considered as the Last Shangrila on earth. With its pristine waters and unpolluted skies, I wonder if heaven looks just like this. It probably does! What makes this place even more special is its wonderful people and culture. The Ladakhi locals are more kind and hospitable than I have ever come across all of India. When those adorable Ladakhi kids come running to you saying Juley (‘Hello’ in Ladakhi language), shake hands with you and ask your name, you can’t help but jump along in excitement with them. Yet there is also a way of discipline- the kids always managed to form a straight line to wish each of our group members Good morning/evening/night, almost singing to us in a sweet rhythmic way. I couldn’t help but smile back, greet them joyfully and want to give them a tight hug in return! I never met a Ladakhi who didn’t greet me with a warm smile. The people of Ladakh always have the look of ‘gratitude’ and kindness on their faces. It amazes me how happy they are with the simple life they lead, welcoming all us tourists into their life with open arms.
I think the beauty of the Ladakhi people’s hearts is a direct reflection of their culture. People here are taught to respect every aspect of nature, and treasure it in all forms. Most of the population are either farmers or shepherds- with a deep commitment towards keeping the four elements- air, fire, water, earth – collectively known as JUNGWA, in a balanced and sustainable manner. People here have grown up learning to treat each of these four elements and environment with deep reverence.
It’s indeed an irony then, that these people consider some of OUR faults that are affecting THEM to be a cause of ‘bad karma’ from their past lives!!
Exactly three years ago, in the summer of 2010, there was a cloudburst in Ladakh which led to flash floods killing 255 people and rendering closet to 10,000 homeless. Anyone who knows about Climate Change will know what this is about!! Ladakh lies in the rain shadow region of the Himalayas and is often known as a 'high altitude cold desert'. It hardly rains here at any given time of the year. So when the floods happened, the Ladakhi people came to believe that the Weather/ Nature Gods were upset with them and that their families and friends were being punished for some bad past life karma (see video 1:30 to 1:45 ). Most of the people here don’t understand Climate Change or the fact that it could be a reason that they are not responsible for. They truly believe they have hurt the nature and deserve the disasters, despite the fact that Ladakhi people are the ones living in greatest harmony with nature, being off the grid in most places and depending on solar/wind for most of their energy needs.
When I watched the movie JUNGWA as part of the expedition, I learnt that the population of the entire region did a powerful Prayer ritual lasting 3 days called the ‘Gotchak’, forming a procession bowing down on road for several kilometers to go from the monastery to Leh.(see Video 1:45 onwards) They prayed not just for Peace and Harmony with nature in their region but for every form of life “under the blue sky”. To me, this was the greatest and most selfless thing I could ever imagine of human nature. It is sad, yet beautiful that these humble and kind Ladakhi prayed for 3 days non-stop, in cold weather, doing physical rituals, for the entire world. They performed the greatest gift of all for all us people- that of world peace. They did it for us! Its now time for us to give back to Ladakh.
If Ladakhi people can pray non-stop for us and help us overcome climate change in their way, I believe that we can also give back to nature in our own way- by using clean and renewable energy, by being sustainable, by being close to nature and respecting the 4 elements of nature!
Its only when we change our ways together that we can co-exist with the environment and fight against climate change. Each one of us can Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We can ensure that we are reducing our environmental impact everyday, every moment of our lives!
Yes we can do this. We are smart and intelligent people and we owe it to the people of Ladakh. Lets change our ways so that we can also be in harmony with nature. Lets give back to the world, lets give back to the region and people of Ladakh. We owe it to them! We owe it to the world.
We can all make a change and I hope we will.
