Why Ladakh Changed Everything - The Shadow in the clouds

Himalayan Range in the northern region of India is one of the best places to Visit in the whole world. One of my best decisions in life was to choose Ladakh as my first major solo adventure. The Views starting from Rohtang pass in Manali to Leh is breath taking and even the risks when you travel solo could be breath taking if you aren't careful enough. In spite of the risks at that point in my life it was a much needed trip.

There were so many views which I loved so much in the trip but I like to talk about this particular view seeing which I had this feeling of being lost and being found at the same moment. Even if the picture taken at the time wasn't clear enough the whole experience wasn't something that one could fully comprehend with any picture . 

I stood in the spot, with my head held high as if I had found the source of the beacon that guided me through the mountains. I still can go back to the exact moment. It was at the tip of Taglang-La Mountain Pass in Ladakh at the height of 5326 feet. The air rushing through the whole area was so pure and divine, that a typical resident of the polluted grounds like me, could not be aware of. The sound created by the rush reminded me of the flapping cleaned clothes hung outside on a windy day. That overwhelming view which could easily humble any man. I was witnessing a kind of beauty that can strip a person of his materialistic possessions and bring him to his knees. For someone who always had something to say, I was speechless for once.

   It was like an ocean of mountains were floating together, shielded by the sparkly white layer of snow. The clouds were not just in the sky, they were on the ground too as shadows. The clouds which playfully danced both in the sky and ground together seemed to be using the sun's rays as strings of a violin. Nature's violin was all tuned, staged at the time and the concert symphony of silence was in session.

   Maybe I never had encountered clarity of that extinct. Maybe it was too much of clarity, that made me doubt the brilliantly staged reality of the creator.  I was both breathless and was trying to inhale like I never did before. The true untainted oxygen of the mountains. It was the first time I realized my soul and body though so different, had been into the exact same experiences throughout my life till that point. Each breath I dragged into my mortal body I felt more alive.

   I stared as long as I can, at the clouds, the mountains, the sparkly white snow. But the theatrics by the movement of clouds was something which made the whole set-up sing and it had my uttermost attention. I felt content in comparing my travel with the moment of clouds shadow on landscapes. I also realized I had to move too. It was getting dark and my next destination in the midst of the mountains was waiting. With a heavy heart, I got on my Royal Enfield Himalayan and bid adieu to the beautiful place. I knew right there that the place had changed me somehow, changed for the greater good and my perception of the word "Travel" meant something much more now. Something that I will regard to be much holier than any god I will ever believe in. 

Pic taken in Pangong Tso(Pangong Lake). One of the many wonderful places to see in Ladakh. 

After the Ladakh trip I stopped working late nights, working on weekends or even being too much bothered about work after working hours. I had realized there are greater things in life to explore and experience, which were waiting for me. I changed my goals to have the kind of life where I can dedicate more time to travelling.