“Garam paani tayar hain!” room boy knocked the door as I was still inside my blanketJ.
After all, I wanted to be little cosy after 2 days of stressful ride. Got up lazily, washed my dirty cloths as laundry wasn’t availableL. It was around 9:30 AM when I was out for breakfast. After searching for a while, landed in North India Restaurant which had Dosa items in menuJ. As I placed my order, restaurant supervisor asked,
“Aap kaha ke ho??”
“Bangalore…”
That’s when a dark complexion long hair guy who was sitting in another table nearby asked me,
“You from Bangalore???”
“Yes! And you??”
“Actually I am from Kerala…”
A casual conversation continued for a while & he said,
“I am an artist & I have been travelling since 97…” What???
He continued saying about how he earns from paintings & how he travels & so on. I was quite amazed by his living style & he was actually doing what he wants to do. I mean this dude doesn’t have any boundaries in life.
“By the way, I am Sunil…”
“I am Krishna…” I said shaking hands.
He said he wants to get permits to visit Pangong Tso & he will stay there for a week as he has some plans of painting the landscape there.
I was spell bound when he said,
“I am planning to walk from Leh to Manali. There are beautiful sceneries on the way & I want to do some paintings of them…”
“How would you carry your luggage & manage your food???” I asked as I had hundreds of questions in pipeline.
“I will carry ration at least for a week & then buy again from next village. For luggage, I am planning to carry a mule along with me & then might sale it off in Manali!” Boy! This man in really incredible.
Then the topic got shifted to his family & he said how his wife manages the family being away from him. He also did share some of his past experiences. It was already 10:30 AM & we both decided to move on to DC office to get the permits first. So my bike took both of us to DC office straight.
“Abhi chutti hain! Saade do baje aa jao permit ke liye!” What??? How come suddenly there is a vacation??
As we had nothing else to do, went to Shanti Stupa & he said,
“You visit Stupa & come! I will be in lawn of Leh Chin hotel nearby. Once you are done, meet me. I want to draw your face…”
Ok I said & started to climb the steps. Man o man! It’s horrible. To climb around 500 odd steps, I took 5 breaks. After a long struggle, I was at Shanti Stupa & the climb was worth it. So peaceful the place was & I got complete view of Leh as well. Started to get some good clicks & to my luck, it started rainingL. With no other choice, went to another monastery nearby for shelter & got back to Shanti Stupa again after rain stopped. Along with me getting some good clicks, I also took over job of taking family photos of others. While handing over their camera, the family head got keen on my camera & again some details about my SLR flew to his head.
 |
| Shanti Stupa |
 |
| Budha Statue in Shanti Stupa! |
 |
| Another Statue... |
 |
| Close up... |
 |
| Leh Palace as seen from Shanti Stupa |
 |
| Nice tiny hills |
Once done with photos came down & met Sunil. He took a blank sheet, & pencil out & made me sit in a chair for 30 odd mins. After that he showed me what he had drawn & boy, there is a magic in his hands. It was so perfect as if he has taken BW photo of mine.
“Did you like it??” he asked smiling…
“This is simply spectacular….”
“Keep it! It’s my gift…”
I thanked him & made sure that I would be framing it once I reach Bangalore. He took my number & said he would call me at around 3:00 PM to get the updates on DC office & came back to lodge to keep the sketch carefully. Took some nice rest in room & post lunch, went to DC office for permits.
 |
| Sunil with my potrait... |
It was open by then & after enquiry, got to know that I can get application form, letter & photocopy of ID proof in Xerox shop behind DC office. After filling up the form & letter, came back to submit it & was confused if I am in DC office or in some reduction sale. It was all packed with tourists. With great difficulty, sneaked in myself & submitted my form. As the officer had bundles of forms to process before main, I came out & had casual chat with other tourists. Met a couple from Mysore who were in their TB & 2 guys from Delhi who had come through Manali. They told me how pathetic the route was & their plans ahead. As even I had plans to visit Pangong Tso 2 days later, took their number so that I can join them. The Delhi dudes told the problem they faced on their way & was little worried as they told climate in Baralach La & Tanglang La was horrible.
“So how was the journey from Bangalore???” Mysore lady asked curiously.
After explaining her journey in short, Sunil came to office & told he would wait till my permits are done. After a long wait, officer called my name & said,
“100 rupees!” as he wrote 5 days in receipt.
With confusion & disappointment at the same time since I wanted permits for 7 days, I told,
“I wanted permits for 7 days!”
“Permits are for 7 days but fee is only for 5 days! 2 days free for you…” Off! Relief..
After getting the sign from main officer & paying another 10 bux, the permits were in my handJ. Got 10 photocopies of it & again back to lodge to keep them. Next was to check the Leh Palace & I dint find anything interesting in it & it was dusty & smelling bad as well.
 |
| Leh Palace! |
 |
| Construction inside |
 |
| Leh City arial view... |
 |
| Hills all around |
 |
| What's it's name? |
 |
| Shanti Stupa at a distance! |
 |
| Chocolate with Vanilla topping |
 |
| House on hills |
After some clicks, got back to room & watched a movie with nothing else to do. It was around 8:45 PM when I set out for dinner & again there I met the same family whose photo I had taken in Shanti Stupa.
“I have been travelling alone in bike from Bangalore! Its more than 25 days now…” I said as the lady asked me curiously.
“Mujhe yeh samaj main nahi aa raha hain ki aapki parents kaise chod diya aapko akele…” He he! Good question it was & they walked out wishing me safe journey ahead.
Post grabbing a Dosa came to SBI ATM to check if my salary has credited & man! How amazing it is when your salary is credited & you are enjoying your vacationJ. Came back to lodge & crashed with bike being checked for journey ahead as high priority task for tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment