Leh - the capital of the Union Territory of Ladakh, it’s palace set atop a hill overlooking the bazaar, and surrounding Indus Valley
I heard beating drums and chanting voices issuing forth from the city above, almost as if they came from within my own mind. Nearly losing myself in narrow alleyways, I stumbled my way up to the hilltop palace. I crouched through small thresholds in the dark corridors to find the source of the music. Traditional song and dance in a palace courtyard - men dancing while balancing metal lamps full of water on their heads, breaking into smiles as water splashed down from their burdens - all set against a vista of Himalayan peaks standing in their splendor in the far distance. I climbed up to the roof to take in the bird’s eye view of the city and then found my way into an inner chamber or shrine of sorts, monks chanting in a trance-like state, a terrifying seven-headed incarnation of the Buddha, and haunting frescoes hanging above the shrine.
Walking the palace grounds that day was like walking through time. Men in traditional dress were seated throwing dice lost in their game, and others were situated around a cauldron of boiling, salty Ladakhi tea on the slopes of the palace hill. Old women in woolen maroon robes and felt hats were working on handicrafts in the warm sun of that mid-October day.
Shot on a Fed 3 / Kodak 200
Religious tantric dance by the monks of Thiksey monastery. These rituals help to visualize the deities that one will encounter during the transition period between incarnations. The dances are also performed for the purpose of spiritual purification of body and mind.
The Polo match was nowhere close to what I had expected. The casual nature of the referees: leather jackets, a set of flags in one hand, scrolling their smartphone in the other. The buildup of horse dung in the goal zone - and one such turd actually causing a full stop of a struck ball. The presence of dogs, even a car on the playing field, and the dust being kicked up on the dirt field as retired players spurred their tiny mounts into the clouds of it. The stands were made of casual cement, and the teams rarely seemed to score, if at all.
Each evening, the festival focused on a concert of traditional song and dance at the eco park in Leh city. Various communities across the region were represented by troupes of performers in traditional dance. A drumline was seated at the back of the stage to provide accompaniment, but the performances varied, some drastically in theme and appearance, including some performers brandishing bows and arrows, or swords. Some groups performed over a backing track and lip-synced, some appearing to be just going through the motions. But other performances were sung live through microphones on stage. WIth the temperature below freezing, I’d often warm up over a chai at a stall at the back of the park.
Fed 3
-Delhi, December 16, 2022
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Thanks for reading,
M.