A short breathless hike, up a small mountain trail through snow; the spectacular Zanskar mountain range, brown and white – like cake with vanilla icing; a frozen lake fringed with willow and poplar trees; prayer flags – red, yellow, white and green – fluttering in the chilly breeze; stacks of engraved Mani stones heaped haphazardly all around the village in pious affection; and the striped step fields enclosed in walls of neatly stacked rugged stones – that is Nako on the white Christmas morning.
Bikash and I are on the mountain trail, above the Nako lake. We are about 200 metres or so above the lake. We’re searching for a way to the top of the hill, but all paths seem to lead around it, but none to it. We can take the shortcut through the snow, but it’s nearly three feet deep and neither of us willing to risk the possibility of getting our feet wet if the snow manages to get inside our boots. So, we take the path around, pausing every few minutes to take photos and then continue searching for a way up.
At around 11 am, Puneet sends a message that we need to regroup at the parking for today’s briefing. At 11:15, he requests me and Bikash, the photographer, to join everyone in the parking asap. At 11:30, he issues a stern command to both of us. At 11:45, there is a veiled threat. At 12:00, he threatens to leave us behind. In our defence we are going as fast as two awestruck photographers can go. But to us the village feels like Hotel California – easy to come to, but very hard to leave. We finally reach the parking lot at 12:15. Puneet gets on top of the bumper of his Thar and the briefing for today’s journey begins.
