TWO VILLAGES BY THE INDUS

In Drass, a land that Herodotus wrote of, you find hospitality and healing solitude

In Drass, a land that Herodotus wrote of, you find hospitality and healing solitude
Dah and Hanu are two villages separated from each other by a distance of 13 km, linked by the Indus that flows along them and the solitude that surrounds them.
The villages are in Drokhpa region, situated in the north of Leh, towards the Drass sector of Kashmir, an area which has seen the meeting of many civilisations for more than 2,500 years. In contrast to the Mongoloid people of Ladakh, the Drokhpas have Indo-Aryan features—large, beautiful eyes and sharp aquiline noses. Tall, handsome and hospitable, Drokhpas are believed to have migrated to this area via Gilgit (now in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) around 1,000 years ago from Central Asia. They are also culturally distinct from the rest of the Ladakhis.

I hired a cab from Leh to reach Dah, a distance of around 90 kilometres. It takes three hours to reach there as you can drive only at a speed of around 25-30 kilometres per hour on mountain roads. The route follows the Indus down from Khalatse, past the villages of Domkhar, Skurbuchan and Achinathang, along a fairly good road. In a gorge split by the Indus, the sun’s heat is reflected off bare rocks and cliffs. The heat makes it possible for the natives to sow two crops every year, apart from apples and apricots.

I spent my first night at a small, dingy room in a guesthouse in the village. The rooster woke me up. From my window, I could see the morning take over; two women washed utensils in the running stream of freezing water. A small patch of land was being tilled for wheat. A teenaged girl was plucking tomatoes from another field.

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People here believe vehemently in spirits and magic spells are commonly chanted. I saw an old woman burning dried juniper leaves inside her house as I entered it. Later in the day, while drinking gurgur chai (a local tea served with salt), I came across a room in the guesthouse, which has copies of theses on the Drokhpa community done by scholars who stayed in Dah. One paper said they burnt junipers to drive away evil spirits.
In his chronicles of Alexander’s stay in India, Greek historian Herodotus (4th century B.C.) mentions a war-like people on the frontier of India. Writing much later, Strabo (64 B.C. to A.D. 23) and Pliny (A.D. 23 to A.D. 79) repeat Herodotus’ story and name the war-like people Dards that later came to be known as Drokhpas.

The next day, I take a walk along the Indus. I come across fields dotted with apricot trees. A group of monks pass by smiling at me. My cab driver-cum-guide, Norbu, takes me to a small Ladakhi eatery. Some broth, almost chocolate brown in colour, is brought in a large bowl with small chunks of pork and wheat floor dumplings in it. It is warm, not very spicy and soothing for my throat. I eat it with hard bread and boiled potatoes.
On my way back, I stop at Alchi Village, to visit the famous Buddhist monastery. With so many European tourists visiting these regions, many eateries serve European food. I get inside a German bakery and order black coffee and almond macaroons. That, coupled with the heavenly view, does make me think that perhaps mountains are closer to heaven after all.