History of Leh and Ladakh

History of Leh and Ladakh

India is blessed with places of tremendous cultural importance and aesthetic value.  Ladakh has received unprecedented fame and attention of the tourists over the last decade or so. Ladakh is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is really good to see that Ladakh is getting the attention that it actually deserves. We often hear youngsters visiting Ladakh on bikes in groups.

The major cities of Ladakh are Leh and Kargil. Kargil has received a lot of attention due to the “Kargil War” between India and Pakistan. Thus, Kargil became the “talk of the town” in most places in India due to the war. Ostensibly, Leh has higher aesthetic value. The principal language of Ladakh is Ladakhi, a Tibetan language. Albeit, most people know and understand Hindi, Urdu and English as well! Though, Ladakh is situated in the State of Jammu and Kashmir it has a unique culture of its own! So, if you are visiting India you just can’t eschew visiting Ladakh.

The culture in Ladakh is highly influenced by the Tibetan culture. The Tibetan culture is overt in the region. Apparently, a reason for this is because Ladakh borders Tibet to the east. So, the geographical proximity can be a reason. The majority of Ladakhis are Tibetan Buddhists and the rest are mostly Shia Muslims. You get to see traditional Tibetan dresses, ornaments and other stuff in Ladakh.

They are not just beautiful but carry tremendous historical and cultural importance as well! Another great thing about the place is that women here are highly respected and have a high status in the society. The sex ratio is also almost equal, which itself is a testimonial of the equality in the society. Ladakhi food has much in common with Tibetan food. The special tea of Ladakh isworth trying for sure. It has better as one of the ingredients. The tea which is locally called “gurgur cha” contains green tea, butter, and salt.

 Another amazing thing about the place is the simplicity of the people. Most of them are ardent peace lovers and full of hospitality. The quintessential Tibetan culture is all about simplicity and benevolence. They keep things simple and don’t complicate them. There is a saying in Tibet: "If a problem can be solved there is no use worrying about it. If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good”. The religion of the place is predominantly Buddhism. The main city Leh is highly analogous to Lhasa in terms of culture and tradition.

It is good to see that Ladakh is getting the tourist attention it deserves. The bollywood has also contributed to bring fame to the place. We saw the place in big budget movies like “Jab Tak Hain Jaan”, “Waqt”, “Dil Se” and “3 Idiots”. The “Pangong Tso” Lake that has featured in most of the movies is really an eye capturing place. It is really nice to see the bollywood fraternity coming forward to help boost tourism in the place.

Yes, special thanks to “Mr. Perfectionist- Aamir Khan” for coming forward to help the people in Leh when they really needed it! There is still scope of improvement; better facilities can be arranged in the place. Tourism can be boosted more; a few more attempts can be made to advertise the place. The place deserves it all; after all it’s a part and parcel of the Great Himalayas! 

 

Re-blog from: http://halfbakedvoices.blogspot.in/2013/09/history-of-ladakh.html

 

Written by: Rohan Kalia