Letter from Leh

We have arrived in Leh, Ladakh. After a grueling 23 hour jeep ride through some of the highest passes in the world, we made our way into Jammu/Kashmir, known as the paradise of India. It is also one of the most troubled hotspots in the world.


Indian military bases abound in Ladakh on account of the tensions that have arisen in the past with China, the Pakistani military and the many Pakistani Kashmir based militant groups that sit on the other side of the line of control. Having said that, Ladakhis are a Tibetan people and Ladakh has been largely free from actual fighting as the Tibetans have never caused grief to either the Indians or Pakistanis. Indeed, Leh is a wonderful place. One feels free here. The people are warm, the environment genuinely clean, and we are surrounded by mountains. This stands in stark contrast to a place like Delhi, which I have thus far found to be abhorrent. The trips from Delhi to Dharamsala and Dharamsala to Manali and Manali to Leh, confirmed my sense that the move north from north central India would function as a purification process. In the same way that religious Jews arriving in congested and hyper-modern Tel Aviv respond to the aliyah (going up) trip up through the mountains to Jerusalem, I must say that the appeal of Shangri-La as a metaphor hasn't faded in my mind. The mountains that separated Dharamsala from Delhi tempered the cultural and spiritual vacuousness of Delhi. The difference between the two was like night and day. At the same time, most of the travelers we met were in transit to Delhi, or were recently come from Delhi. My sense was that Delhi still infected the experience of Dharamsala. The view is not entirely founded however, as Dharamsala is a small town with only a few real streets. There is no foul smell that plagues the traveler. There are many Tibetans, who seem to be making the most of exile, actively supporting their monastic community and of course, their Dalai Lama. Every Tibetan resturant, clothing store, and book store features are large-scale of His Holiness. And there is a profound frustration with the Chinese government for their ongoing oppression. At the same time, their frustration is expressed subtlely. One is attracted to their cause, in many ways, out of respect for the grace with which they negotiate life in exile. Dharamsala and the surrounding villages ring a 6000 meter mountain which overlooks a beautiful valley. The valley forms a "U" shape and the streets of Dharamsala conform to this shape. The three days we spent in Dharamsala were relatively hot and humid, but I came to appreciate its charms nevertheless. As we moved up to Manali, the air became even clearer and the moutains spectacular. With fewer Westerners and many more Indians than Tibetans, Manali felt more like a local resort town than a haven for outsiders.