The first time when I heard that my parents were planning to take us to Leh , I was thrilled , the fact that we were going by road made it all the more exciting. In my mind it was the perfect combination, an adventure with a dash of danger and trouble in the form on the tough road journey to behold the prize - the seldom seen beauty of Leh which has no equal.
The journey there by road wasn’t just like the usual means to an end, where you would plod along for hours to reach the destination, rather it was an adventure in itself. As we crossed the Tanglangla pass which is one of the highest passes on the earth, it snowed. The snow covered the road, the mountains, the car, everything. At that time, there were few travelers on that road. The snow seemed to amplify the profound silence around us, it was just us and the snow covered mountain. So thick was the snow that it seemed like the mountain wore an ornate white cloak.
Finally after seemingly endless hours of travel , we reached pangong tso lake. Simply put, it was one of the prettiest sights I’ve ever seen. The first thing that struck me was the array of different colors congregated in one place. The sheer variety of colors that my eyes could see made it an astounding sight. The blues and the greens of the lake merging together, it started from cyan to turquoise, then to blue, then to navy blue, then to light green and finally to dark green. The light played on the lake and it seemed that the lake had a life of its own and was constantly changing its color according to its moods.
Not to be outdone by the lake, the mountains had equal (if not more !) shades. It ranged from light purple to rust to deep green. Between the colors of the mountain and the lake, it was a study in contrast. The mountains seemed to be stoic, the lake seemed serene, a cool breeze blew lightly ruffling my hair and sending tingling sensations down my spine. This sight seemed almost fictitious. It looked like something dreamed up by Van Gogh or Monet. Yet I was there, I could see it with my own eyes, watch the light play on those lofty mountains and the placid lake. Feel the wind play with my hair. As far as I could see the lake met the mountains and with there was nothing else except the blue skies ahead flecked with clouds.
The sight was impeccable, and then I realized it was because civilization hadn’t reached here yet, there were no buildings, no cars, no people. I tried to imagine this beauty co-existing with people in harmony and I failed.
I was glad that we hadn’t marred this landscape and its beauty. I was glad that there still existed someplace like this. I was glad that we hadn’t subjugated this and turned it into something undesirable.
So I stared mesmerized and thought that god himself must have painted this as a testament to the beauty of the earth.
And the light kept on playing on the lake and the mountains giving them myriad colors, the wind kept on ruffling my hair.
The moment seemed perfect. So I sat back and let nature beguile me with its unblemished beauty.
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