I lived a 'Friend's Dream'

Feroze always mentiones that Pranita would continuously talk about traveling. Today it could be Maldives, minutes later Alaska and yet seconds later it could be just about anything that caught her fancy. But, she mentioned to me once, that her dream was to go to "LADHAK".

One fine day in April 2009 this talk of going on a holiday to Ladhak started at home. Since we hadnt had a decent vacation for years Feroze suggested I accompany her. Once the seed was sown .... it was difficult to back out. Plans were made tickets booked and early August we were ready to leave. Sadly Pranita backed out at the last minuit and so did Feroze. May be it was only meant for me .

It was a safari from Manali to Leh and believe you me it was WONDERFUL. The joureny by road was amazing. The wild flowers growing by the sides of the road .. every hue and colour .. tiny flowers so exquisite .. you do start believing that there is a supernatural force -the Almighty.

Cannot put into words the beauty of the place. At the beginning we did see grass and flowers on the hill sides but gradually this gave to stark mountains. Mountains of different colours - Red, green, yellow, mauve and brown. Seemed like someone had really gone berserk with cans of paint. There was such beauty in the starkness of the landscape. Whether it was the natural formations at Sarchu - where the biting cold wind blew through our tents and ate into our bones; where initially even taking a breath was a big effort; or

Whether it was Nubra - at David's beautiful bungalow. I imagined Eden looking something like it - even a tree laden with 'the forbidden fruit' was there. Only one missing was 'Adam' :) Revelled in the peace and quiet over there. Relished the fresh apricots which went direct from tree into our already full stomachs. The peaceful night sky glowing with a million stars, brought to mind the nights we'd spend at camps looking up at the starry skies and singing 'Nights in white satin'. The thrill of seeing shooting stars every few minutes - Our wishes of a lifetime could have come true in one night. sigh !! it was just amazing seeing sooooooo many stars after years.

Thats one thing I miss in our 'developed world' - the simple pleasures in life - a bird sing, a flower in bloom, dew drops on the grass, a starry sky - the beautiful sounds of silence.

Then ofcourse there was the evening at Hunder - the one word that comes to mind when we think of desert is 'barren' but not with Hunder. The beautiful silver sand dunes surrounded by mountains - An awesome sight indeed. Never thought sand could look so lovely - the sun setting, casting its shadows on the mountains, the sands - ever changing colours. A feast for eyes - tired eyes. Refreshing to the mind !

The rivers of Ladhak - be it the Indus, the Nubra the Zanskar where I had my first experience of rafting - and boy ! did I enjoy it !! It was amazing.

Our final destination was Pangong Lake - undoubtedly the most beautiful place on earth. At the cost of sounding clichéd - it was a spiritual experience for me. The several shades of blue, green, mauve water - the mountains with their stories to tell.

When I was talking about Pangong to a friend - she said 'Naz you should be making love in a place like this' to which I disagreed. I was glad I was alone - I could let the beauty and the peacefulness of the place seep into my very being. Doing anything else would not be doing justice to Pangong - which holds a very special place in my heart.

Now after living her dream - I share Pranita's dream to go back one day to Ladahk - and more so to PANGONG.