Walking on Water – The Zanskar Chadar

Come winter and the roads in the Himalayas are closed.

But, as a way of compensation, the rivers freeze and create a path for those who must travel.

Many villages are then accessible only through the Chadar routes or the the ‘frozen river’ routes.

A few glimpses of the Chadar:

And here’s us trying to break the ice by throwing stones in. Ambition keeps the world going….

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Walking on the Chadar!

Dread to think of the ‘what-ifs’ with the sun shining so brightly on the ice…..

But I am with people who know and I trust their judgement. They know the many types of ice and many types of snow and the many types of cold and the many types of clouds and the complex conclusions that can be correctly drawn from each of these observations! So there is no reason to stop enjoying this unique experience.

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The last place – Tschiling – as far as the road could take us – is imprinted on my soul forever.

It is a place filled with overpowering nothingness. Only Visuals. And Cold.

The nothingness is so dense that not even a thought finds its way into my mind. My companions went up the mountainside to visit the Gompa. And I went down to the river and waited (while the driver waited on the road watching over me lest I strayed into some mountain road and got lost). Time stood still like never before. I could have been there for hours without any need to do the next thing and the next … that urgent drive that desire for the next thing had been silenced. And I was just there. Seamlessly one with the nothingness.

THIS is my pilgrimage. This is my worship. This is my union with the universe.

…..

jaina mishra

April 2018

Photos from 2017