Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Leh Festival- Sept 1st 2011

We had seen umpteen pictures of Leh Festival. On this hot bright day we set out at about 9 AM to reach the main market of Leh.


Everyone was set for the parade to begin. The parade began at around 10 AM, the colors and outfits were amazing!! Troups after troups came out in splendid outfits and walked the main street while also showcasing a bit of their act that was to come later at the Palace Grounds.





We followed the parade through the markets to the grounds, it was fun to see everyone having so much fun!! :) <Ok I know there are 2 funs in the statement here..!! > We also crept between the groups and took some close up pics thanks to Roopa's ability to lead us! :)

Once at the grounds we managed to sit right upfront, however other last minute entrants got to sit even ahead of us!! The events started with a speech by the J&K tourism minister. It was a pleasure to listen to his speech. He spoke about how Ladakh always welcomed suggestions for improvements, however in recent times people had suggested they bring cable cars and amusement parks to this region!!! He thought it was ridiculous to even suggest such things. He also spoke about how Ladakhi culture that was on display through this festival was a thriving one, not one from the past that could be showcased. He signed off by saying that wwe would best enjoy the culture if we participated in it as opposed to merely watching the show! Well done, I say!! :)

His speech was followed by class dance acts that were truly amazing and colorful!! The 7 directions dance and the bridegrooms dance were my favorites for the day.







The grounds itself was scorching hot and without shade of some sort we soon became very tired and moved out to the areas that had some shade. Once we moved out we walked through the markets again and did some shopping. For AJ and me this was our last chance to shop so we waded thru the markets shopping until almost 9 PM!! :) A great day, we changed things up a bit by having lunch at the German Bakery...the pizza was to die for and the Apple Pie simply superb!! :) Dinner was at Lamayuru as always! :) This time around they were so crowded they didn't have people who could take our order...so Giri came to the rescue and ensured the orders were all in line and delivered :) Another memorable day came to an end!