Ladakh-beautiful, bejewelled-of crytsal lakes, agate hills,and silence pure and deep.Its peopled sparsely by a robust race-people of abiding faith,peace,ready laughter-mongoloid features, creasy smiles, bad teeth-and chang breaths. People of endurance, patience, fortitude - in dark robes of deep maroon-to-mauve, turquoise beads, stringy braids-bobbing their heads to "Jule,Jule",a friendly greeting as they herd their yaks across barren, stunning hills and valleys.
They have plenty of time, a long pause to check out a stranger, sit in quiet rolling their prayer wheels, or counting their beads, and gossip in groups in front of a village gompa. They work in calm leisure, changing water patterns in their interconnected and complex irrigation systems, work their soil of gravel and rock, or churning yak butter for the salty tea that they enjoy. They seem to take the natural wonders around them, for granted - one sees incomprehension when one talks of the beauty of their land, unmeaningful ways of the big cities, savagery of the advanced and the urban. Are'nt the roads bigger, more cars, water on tap everywhere-they ask. Are'nt there big movie halls? electricity all times? big TVs in homes? True, true- but our skies are grey with dirt, our water non-potable, our soil killed by chemicals. They accept that the grace of Buddha is with them-but times are also changing.
And these changing times are starkly, ominously visible all over Leh. Leh has finally made it - its on the tourist map-firmly entrenched, exotic, mysterious, beautiful. Leh is now developed, prosperous, available-not an unreachable outpost for the most obstinate, but ready for bus loads,car loads, truck loads, flights full of tourists,and commodities-a supply of plastic mineral water bottles, biscuits, potato chips, Maggi noodles, tea, coffee, provision, catering facility, shopping diversity from Kashmir handicrafts to Rajasthan cottons to southern bronzes and brass. Restraunts, cafes, tea stalls, -chinese, punjabi, south indian, tibetan, kashmiri cuisines, pizza, pasta, western foods, bakeries-these are all ready to feed the ever hungry and large tourist population. There are hostels, homestays, hotels, resorts to cater to every budget. And then an exhaustive number of souvinier shops to carry the memories home. A drive out of Leh now shows garbage dumps on pristine pastures, near sparkling streams. Yes, Leh is now certainly prosperous - its youth cater to the foriegn tourists, available to provide anything-drugs, themselves. There is unemployment-old ways are no longer desirable, acceptable-there are euroes to be had, dollars to be earned-to buy a new wardrobe,flash a new vehicle. There is also conflict-between those of the plains and the people of the hills-most new businesses and licenses are given to those we come to Leh just for the tourist season and leave dumping their garbage behind. There is often a sentiment that the locals are losing out-on the lucrative trading, of their land, their culture and their ways.
And this development,progress is spreading. Will the silence remain? and the smiles? will Buddha always grace this land?
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