Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
Vast tracts of land cut up into squares - each filled with water... and sometimes, a white mound by the side.... These are the salt pans which line the highways leading into the city of Mumbai.....
At one time, this tiny island was only inhabited by fishermen, who caught the fish, which were then plentiful, made salt from the same water that gave them the fish, and stored the fish with the salt. They made their living from the sea, and considered it their God. That time has long gone. Mumbai evolved from a sleepy fishing island to the throbbing port city of the British, to the commercial capital of India.
These salt pans may not produce the bulk of the salt eaten by the country, but they still have their use. These salt pans, and the mangroves lining them are what keep our island afloat. Over the years, we have occupied land which had lain wild for centuries, reclaimed land from the sea, and even cut mangroves and filled in these salt pans, to build houses for our ever growing population. I wonder how much more the island can tolerate before finally allowing itself to be submerged into the sea once and for all.
The development in Mumbai (and India, in general) is highly unsustainable. I fear what will happen to Mumbai once sea level rises... no more Marine Drive. Can you imagine?
ReplyDeleteThe controversy and politicking over the salt pan lands is one more in the innumerable controversies surrounding the city. The only losers are the people who live off this land.
ReplyDelete