Fifty Shades of Yellow

Navigating at an altitude of around 12,000 feet above sea level, when you see stony yellow mountain changing its colour from yellow to dark grey right in front of you and that too within fraction of few seconds, you get mesmerized, you get goosebumps and If you don’t; you have got to be a robot!!! I certainly was no robot and I was literally bamboozled by what I was witnessing. 50 shades of yellow swept the floor beneath me!!!!!!

The blog post name might be similar but, nope; this post is not even distantly related to 50 Shades of Grey. This post is all about how I got laid…oops… I meant Leh'd or to be even more precise, how I got Ladakh’d. 

I was always fascinated with this amazing region and a visit to Leh was on my list for a long time!!! After an extensive research about the safest and most convenient way to reach Leh (without getting affected by the altitude changes), I realized that the road to Leh is via Srinagar and thus eventough it was not in the itinerary to begin with; Srinagar and Kashmir got drafted into the tour!!!!! Can you imagine Paradise on Earth, as Kashmir has often been referred to, as a tag along in the itinerary!!!!! That’s the extent to which I was fascinated by Ladakh, the land of high passes....

Kashmir tour began with stay in houseboat @ Dal Lake and then progressed through Gulmarg, Sonmarg and ended with Pahalgam. The beauty of Kashmir starts engulfing you slowly… Two colours dominate the entire landscape- Green and White..The sobriquet ‘Paradise on Earth’ is indeed well deserved…

Sunset at Dal Lake, Srinagar

Betaab Valley at Pahalgam

Lush green plane and snow clad mountain at Gulmarg

After this lush green and snowy white Kashmir; we began adventure filled journey to Leh via 434 KM long Srinagar- Leh Highway.. It also happens to be National Highway 1 (NH-1). 

Traversing through one of the most difficult passes; (this is my opinion) Zoji La (La = Pass) our first destination was Kargil!! Zoji La is about 9 Km from Sonmarg and is at an altitude of 11,575 ft. One of the most challenging part of this entire journey is road or lack of it!!!

However one must take into account the geographical conditions of the surrounding area before lamenting on the poor condition. The entire area is snow clad for almost 8-9 months and is completely inaccessible during this period. Border Roads Organization (BRO) an organization which operates and maintains roads in this region does a fantabulous job!!!    

I learnt that each year BRO loses few of their men while opening this road for travel!!! With officers and troops drawn from various outfits of Indian Army, BRO is the real force majeure, why we can connect to Ladakh…. Here’s my standing ovation to BRO. 

As we started to move away from Sonmarg; we began to notice the difference between Kashmir and Ladakh region… once ubiquitous lush green starts getting replaced by breathtaking stony yellow. After a first pit stop at Kargil, we began our move to Leh via, Namika La (12,198 ft) and Fotu La (13, 478 ft- Highest Point in Srinagar- Leh journey)…

 

We got used to the stony yellow colour surroundings, as we began to navigate through these ‘Passes’…

It's amazing to see, the geographical landscape change so very drastically within few hundred kilometers…. Whilst Kashmir is green, Ladakh is yellow, if Jammu/Kashmir is Beauty then Ladakh is an absolute Beast…. albeit a beautiful one!!!!!!!

Cloud shadows playing hide-n-seek

Cloud shadows playing hide-n-seek

This terrain is a completely different and this stark colour contrast, hit me even more since we were used to seeing lush green valley and hills while we were in Jammu-Kashmir region…..Ladakh terrain is absolutely raw, rugged and barren.. however there’s one thing common between Ladakh and Jammu Kashmir region and that is abundant natural beauty….the vast barren expanse of yellow mountains bowl you over with their shear ruggedness and beauty...  

one out of 50 shades of Yellow

Ladakh is not just about huge mountains, there is more to it… Can you imagine a desert at around 10000 feet with flowing river and snow capped mountains; well Ladakh has it!!! We witnessed Hunder Sand dunes at Nubra valley.. It has all the natural elements in one place… Water, sand, mountains, greenery… Serenity filled Nubra valley is a stunning place… To reach this natural wonder, one needs to crisscross through one of greatest tourist or should I say biker’s attractions- Khardung- La!!!!! The highest motorable road in world at an altitude of 18380 ft!!!! Travelling thorough pass Khardung- La was a real breath taking experience!!!     

 

Sand dunes, patch of green at Hunder, Nubra Valley

The last hurrah of this Leh sojourn was the azure Pangong Tso (tso = lake), a saline water lake spread over 134 km…. 

.... Oh WOWWW!!!!!! was the only reaction of one and all when we got the first glimpse of Pangong… a blue spot visible amidst the stony yellow mountains… We were still faraway from the blue spectacle that is Pangong Tso… Showroom mein itana.. toh godaam mein kitna was my reaction; and it did not disappoint us one bit… The blue spot started to grow bigger and bigger as we moved towards the lake…

Blue spot of Pangong Tso peeping through the yellow mountains

Blue spot of Pangong Tso peeping through the yellow mountains

Colour changes is very much a normal event in Ladakh and this fantabulous lake is no exception…The hues that we saw from top i.e. en-route to Pangong and the colours that we saw when we were at ground level were vastly different… While we could notice the tinge of sea-green from top; it was all azure from ground level….. 

                                            

Various hues of blue, green en-route to Pangong Tso 

Various hues of blue, green en-route to Pangong Tso

The azure Pangong Tso

Feeling the cold saline water of Pangong- Tso on my feet, watching it change colour-was the fitting finale of this long journey. It was that 'AHA' moment, it was that 'epiphany moment' of the adventure called Ladakh...  

I feel at the loss of words to express this Ladakh experience.. the ever changing shades of stony yellow colour mesmerize you every time you see it. It's really mesmerizing to see the entire mountain changing it's colour right in front of your eyes. Sunlight and the area under the cloud cover lead to these sudden colour changes. I had not seen something like this ever before and that’s why I describe Ladakh as land of 50 shades of Yellow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Serenity, the ethereal feeling that you experience while at Pangong, at Nubra Valley is just beyond the realms of anything that you have experienced so far. Words/language is very mundane, inadequate way to communicate that feeling, that emotion… One has to undergo that surreal experience, one has to feel that moment...... 

Amir Khusro had famously said about Kashmir:

Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,

Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast

English Translation: 

If there is a paradise on earth,

It is this, it is this, it is this

I think Amir Khusro had not travelled to Ladakh, he had not seen 50 shades of Yellow.....

P.S: How can Amir Khusro travel to Ladakh, there was no BRO then; to connect Ladakh to beautiful Kashmir!!!!!!! 

New Year....New dawn...

Hey Folks,

The new year has already set-in, here's wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year...

How green was my valley....

Not long ago, in May 2015 I was traveling through the picturesque dense jungle of Kodaikanal. I was awestruck with the vast expanse of greenery.

Reading my facial expressions the tour guide started his conversation with me.  

"Sir, you should have been here 5 years ago. The jungle was even denser and greener”. 

“There were many migratory birds in this season. We locals can feel the difference now; there are not many birds now. Earlier even at 2 pm one used to feel lot cooler than it's now. We feel that after 20-25 years there will not be any jungle left".

I was reminded of this incidence while reading about the recently concluded Paris Climate Summit.

Ref: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20150126IPR15004/Climate-change-MEPs-discuss-roadmap-to-Paris-conference

There have been many instances of unseasonal rains and flood like situations in many states in India. The Paradise on the earth- Kashmir getting flooded and more recently Chennai getting wiped out are examples of natural catastrophes that we have seen and faced in this year. El Nino is certainly getting stronger day by day. 

That's why the participating countries joining forces and agreeing to sign the Paris agreement, to reduce the world temperature by 2°C and to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels is really a watershed moment of 2015.

But it's just the beginning... for we really need to work hard for its implementation.... 

The role of developed countries is going to be very crucial.  Putting the entire onus of reduction of carbon emissions on the developing and semi developed countries is like politician preaching someone about how bad it is to enter in politics. Developed countries should help with the technology transfer to developing or under developing countries to help set up the greener and cleaner ways of energy production. In my earlier posts I had written few alternative energy sources, such newer ways of renewable, recyclable energy sources need to be evaluated, developed and deployed very soon. Limiting greenhouse gases and containing the temperature rise below 2°C is a responsibility of all the habitants of planet earth. 

The latest 'Odd-Even Formula' by Delhi Government to control the vehicular traffic and improve air quality index needs to be applauded. In order to comply to this 'Odd-Even Formula' Delhiites have already started to evaluate the option of car pooling!! In addition to improving the air quality, it may also turn out to be a great community-building exercise!!!!!!!!   

Let's take a pledge of contributing our bit in maintenance of planet earth. Such small steps of every human being, will lead to giant steps for the man kind.

Frames of Reference, Eyes of the beholder… E= mc2

Hey folks, let’s play a little visualization game. 

Here are the rules of the game, a la Transporter style:

1. Read the short sentences
2. Without blinking, try to visualize first image/ picture that comes to your mind

A crater brimming with water….

OR.....

S1, S2, S3...

OR....

I am sure every phrase will evoke many visuals among the readers and the reason for that, is our mental set-up. The ‘Frames of Reference’ that are associated with each individual; create the images/ visuals in our mind.

Taking the visualization game forward, name Albert Einstein has a strong visual recall of his famous hairdo and E=mc². 

Source: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9810.Albert_Einstein 

Just like an actor is known by the roles/characters he plays, a man is known by the company he keeps; scientist is generally known by the Nobel award winning invention/work. However our man is clearly an aberration to this assumption. Such is a strong association of E=mc² to Einstein that we have almost forgotten that in 1921 The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Albert Einstein "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect and not for his work on relativity”!!!!!! 

Some two years ago, I wrote about what is E= mc² ,whereas today, I am writing on E=mc² from another perspective. Cursory Googling indicates that E=mc² is very popular scientific equation. Here’s my take on understanding the secret of popularity of the equation, and as always I stand to be corrected, corroborated…..   

Unlike the other scientific equations it’s very easy on mind and simple to remember, making it ‘relatively’ easy for the most adored species of R K Laxman, a common man, to understand one of the complex concepts in the science arena. Somebody might counter argue and say “Yeah it’s simple, but so is ‘F= ma’ or ‘V – E + F = 2 (Euler’s Equation)”.  

Agreed, but E=mc² is not just about energy and mass equilibrium. As aptly writ by Encyclopedia Britannica blog; “E = mc² is the world’s most famous equation—a mathematical formula with the power to transcend the barriers of language and culture. Matching its popularity is its deceiving complexity. Its symbols, although easily recognized, embody concepts contrary to the way things seem to be.” 

In my opinion, this seemingly simple scientific equation connects with human psyche, human nature.

Said Plato, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” and thus indicated subjective/ relative’ nature of human behavior. The origin of E= mc² i.e. ‘relativity (special relativity)’, gives every human being a chance to think that he/she is right even when he is not!!!!   

Philosophers always preach, ‘starve the ego, feed the soul’ however the equation is very easily able to feed both ego and soul at the same time and in my opinion that’s the ‘causa fundamental’ for such popularity.

For commoners like us, the equation has other uses too……one would find the equation pretty useful even in daily life. One can also use this equation as a way to resolve conflicts. Since relativity, subjectivity gives everyone a chance to be right/correct, anytime you have a conflict, rather than using crass language/ foul words, wear a smile and just say E= mc². The baffled expression on the other person’s face could soothe you!!!!!!