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

Half Baked Voices: Travel Guides in India

Thank you "Half baked beans" and Rohan Kalia for mentioning "You and India" on your blog.

Here is the blog on HBB written by Rohan Kalia:

Travel Guides in India

Travelling is fun but when you travel  in an alien land, you need a guide. No matter how much you read or hear about a place, you can’t become connoisseur without knowing the ground realities of a place. This is precisely where the role of a travel guide becomes of cardinal importance. In a country like India with a wide spectrum of cultures, the importance of travel guides is huge. Even in this era of digital technology, social networking and technological navigation; we cannot eschew the importance of travel guides. 

Specially, if you want to explore and feel the essence of a place, the guides play a crucial role. As they say, travelling is not about merely covering distances. To travel is to live!

In India you will find different sort of travel guides. You will find some really vocal and eloquent guides at places like “Lal Qila (Red Fort)” and “Taj Mahal”. At the same time, there are mild and soft-spoken guides near the great Himalayas. The essence of travelling becomes a lot more intense when you travel without any pre-planning. That is exactly when the role of a travel guide becomes all important; as you don’t have even an iota of idea and you almost completely hinge upon the guide! 

A guide who is local to the place is indeed a bliss and of immense utility. A local guide is well versed in the lingo of that particular place and this helps a lot. The guide has in-depth knowledge about the local trends and cultures. Furthermore, a guide who is local is a known figure in that particular place which just adds as an asset.

Well, credits must be given to the movie “Guide” for bringing the guide culture in trend in India. The movie starred the legendary actor Dev Anand who did full justice to the role of a travel guide. The plot of the movie is full of twists and turns and the concept is super classy! Raju (Dev Anand) was a freelance guide, who earned his living by taking tourists to places of cultural and historical importance. Whenever people hear the word “guide”, especially the ones who connect with bollywood- They think about the movie “Guide”. Truly, the movie deserves credit for bringing and promoting the guide trend in India.

People visiting India from foreign countries find these travel guides really useful source of information and convenience. India is a country with immense cultural heritage and there is a lot to be seen and explored! The food, the fashion, the local cultures, religions, wildlife; there are ample things to experience and explore. It is really great and refreshing to know that new models have been created to prepare a platform for travelers in India. These models not only provide fantastic hospitality but also help the foreigners to explore the “Real India”.

 A quintessential example of such a model is “You and India”, a model that strives to offer real Indian taste to the visitors. “You and India” strictly believes in the famous jargon- “Atithi Devo Bhavah (The guest is God)”. You and India has come up with innovative ideas like- food walks, village trips etc. to ensure real Indian experience to the core! We hope ideas like these keep coming, so that we can take our tourism to the highest level.  

Rohan Kalia

Repost from: Half Baked Voices: Travel Guides in India

A Date with the Past- The Elephanta Caves

                                           

On our short trip to Mumbai, we decided to visit the elephant cave, which is one of the biggest tourist attractions in India.

Situated on the Elephanta islands, just 10kms from the east Mumbai in the Arabian Sea, this place Is just as good as you have heard and believe me, you will not be disappointed. To get there, we took a ferry from the Gateway of India and it took us almost an hour to get there. The calmness of the sea and the light breeze made that journey a magical one, and ones ashore, we were quite mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the island.
 

The caves are at the distance of almost 2 km from the coast, and there is a facility of a toy train, however we preferred walking. The whole route is bustling with venders selling different food items, mostly fruits and corn. I specially loved the ‘kairi’ or raw mango, which I really recommend to anyone who visits the place. Don’t finish the tour without trying it. Then there are quite a number stairs to the caves and on the both sides of these stairs are small street shops with various traditional items and souvenirs, which is in fact a treat for those who love to shop.
 

The caves too are just as beautiful and amazing the rest of the place. These are the group of 7 caves, of which 5 are Hindu caves and 2 are dedicated to Buddhism. although it is still unknown, when and by whom these caves were built, the local belief credit these to the Mahabharata era, and say that these were not manmade. The main cave which is the first cave you see is a pillared hall with mesmerizing stone sculptures dedicated to various Hindu gods, especially Shiva and his incarnations. Most of these sculptures were however destroyed with the Portuguese invasion, but one can still see the brilliance of these medieval sculptures. Though one statue, a Trimurti (faces of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh sculpted together), stands out as completely untouched. Apparently this was the main statue of the caves and in order to protect it from the invaders, a wooden wall was constructed right in front of it, so that it is not directly visible to anyone who didn’t know about it. It was much later after the discovery of these caves that this Trimurti was discovered. Fascinating isn't it.
 

There are 6 more caves which are equally mesmerizing and one can see on them, the imprints of the rich culture and heritage of India. Even outside the surroundings are equally amazing with lush greenery and the vast ocean surrounding and keeping alive the medieval magic.
 

This journey from the bustling traffic, rush and noise of the city, to this calmness of the wilderness, is almost like a leap through time itself, and this touch with the past is a must do, if you are in India.

                                                                     The Trimurti

Yashaswini Sauda