Postcard from Korzok
India, Ladakh. Stupas in Korzok.
Tsomoriri
Tsomoriri situated at an altitude of about 4600 meters above sea level is one of the highest lakes in the world. This 20 kilometer long Himalayan lake lies between Ladakh in the north, Tibet in the east and Zanskar in the west.
Merry wives of Phyang
A man wearing a traditional hat is resting on one of the pillars of the monastery, three festively dressed grandmas are gossiping in one of the corners while young novices are playing with Chinese plastic guns. Hundreds of people are sitting around making the festival in the Phyang monastery very picturesque.
An old lady wearing a green hat, dark sunglasses and holding a cane in her hand seems to be the most friendly.
- Could I take a picture of you – I ask her*.
The old lady looks at me and with a mischievous smile, responds:
- No, no, I do not want to, but .. my friend likes pictures. Take a photo of her!**
I ask the mentioned old lady, but she seems to be even more amused than the previous grandma and she tells me:
- No, no, I do not want it either, but .. That friend of mine sitting on the right will want for sure! See how she has dressed herself up today!
Another friend points to another. I know that it will not be possible to take a picture this afternoon.
But surprisingly a few hours later I meet the grandmas again. They “known” me already and now the grandma in a green hat will let me take her picture. What an afternoon surprise! It was worth waiting!
*When I want to take a picture of someone, especially when I want to take someone’s portrait, I always try to ask for permission. I believe, that there is nothing worse than sneakily taking people’s pictures. Besides the lack of contact with the “model”, it usually makes the picture much worse than it could be, not to mention the fact that the person photographed in this way may feel like a monkey in a zoo. And probably nobody would want to feel this way. To sum up: I try to treat people as I would like to be treated by them.
**Of course, I do not understand what she says. I know only one word in the Ladakhi language. It is “jule” which means “good morning”, “goodbye”, “please” and “thank you “. So I do not understand exactly what she says, but I can read from her gestures;)
Pangong Tso’s grandfather
Grandfather Gongma lives in a tiny village situated by a Himalayan lake. The name of the village is Spangmik and it has barely a dozen houses. It is so small that it tis not worth to delivering post there – it needs to be collected from a few dozen kilometers away.
Most villagers earn money by selling their crops, however sometimes tourists rent rooms in their houses. Unfortunately not many tourists decide to stay overnight in Spangmik, many of them prefer only a one day trip to see the Pangong lake. Guests come only in summer, because winter at an altitude of over 4300 meters above the sea level is very severe.
Probably the oldest resident of Spangmik is grandfather Gongma and the years and months are passing quietly for him. He lives with his son and a daughter in law, but his two granddaughters live in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. They were sent to school there, because there’s no school in Spangmik.
Grandfather Gongma loves to sit on a bench in the front of his house and warm himself in the sun. He’s glad to see every passing day.
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