We had a fitful sleep and woke to the sight of the beautiful mountains peeping through our huge windows, the clouds appeared to be mocking at me for getting up so late.
We quickly freshened up and had breakfast, here let me mention that the high altitude kills our appetite and slows our metabolism rate, our eyes and palate may prompt us to eat more but our body refuses to digest what we eat ,we had this experience in Gangtok and Bhutan too .
Perhaps this is the reason why people who stay in mountain areas are slim and agile and can walk long distances and climb steep hills effortlessly
Our driver came promptly and we first went to Hall of Fame museum located on the Leh- Kargil Road, about 4 km from the city of Leh where we were put up
Hall of Fame is a museum constructed by the Indian Army in 1986 in memory of our brave soldiers who laid down their lives defending our motherland in the Indo-Pak wars and remains open from 9 A.M to 1 P.M. and from 2 P.M. to 7 P.M.
We went there at 10 am and found quite a long queue, we paid Rs 250 per person by credit card as cash was not being accepted and extra for our cell phones too as we would be taking snaps
An ex-service man can be hired as a guide by a group of five persons for an extra Rs 500 and he takes them around the museum and explains all the displays in detail
We saw the statue of a serene Lord Buddha sitting in front of the Hall of Fame with a message that read, "It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell." Yes I thought we have to learn to conquer ourselves of greed, of anger, of jealousy and so many other things
The Hall of Fame museum stands as a reminder of the great sacrifices made by our soldiers to ensure the safety and security of our country, in fact it is very true that we sleep soundly at night in our homes because our soldiers stand guard for us braving the extreme temperatures
The Hall of Fame museum was divided into various sections with multiple displays. There was a section called OP Vijay Gallery. Here, we could see the various weapons used in the Kargil war, along with the various arms and ammunition captured by the Indian Army during the war.
There was also a wall named "Lest We Forget" which displayed the photographs of those soldiers who laid down their lives defending our nation.
This was for me a very moving sight to come across ,it reminds one of the enormous sacrifices made by our soldiers to ensure that our country is safe and secure from foreign aggression at all times.
On the same ground floor, there was also a projection room where we can watch a documentary on "Operation Vijay". One particular touching sight on this floor was a frame on a wall named "The Last Post". This was the letter written by Captain Vijayant Thapar to his parents few days before he attained martyrdom. On reading the letter, I was moved by a profound sense of grief and pride in these young brave men and my eyes filled with tears involuntarily.
I always feel we should never forget the bravery and exemplary courage displayed by our soldiers while performing their service in the line of duty and be grateful forever for their sacrifices
There was a section which displayed the history, culture and other facts about Ladakh.
There was a souvenir shop selling several items including t-shirts, caps, coffee mugs and pashmina shawls famous in Ladakh and also a cafe selling hot beverages and noodles.
We were amused by the warning signs at the compounds near the gate which said "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT DEAD” and the army men indeed looked as if they really meant it!
We next proceeded to the Gurdwara Pathar Sahib which suddenly appeared as if from nowhere, it was about 25 miles away from Leh, on the Leh-Kargil road and it is open from 4.15 am to 8.30 pm
The Gurdwara was built in 1517 to commemorate the visit to the Ladakh region of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder Guru of the Sikh faith and is looked after by the army
In the late 1970s during the construction of the Leh-Nimu road, a large boulder was found in the middle of the future road covered with Buddhist prayer flags.
The bulldozer driver tried to push the huge stone to the side, but it refused to move, it remained intact resisting their efforts to blast it and in course of time the workers were visited by several Lamas and other Ladhakhis who told them the story of a Holy Saint called Nanak Lama and said that the unyielding boulder was a 'mould' that contained a hollow imprint of Guru Nanak’s shoulders, head and backside.
As the folk lore goes, during 1515-1518 when Guru Nanak was returning to Punjab through Srinagar, after travelling to Sikkim, Nepal and Tibet, he had rested at this place.
Incidentally there was a wicked demon living in that area who terrorized the local people, seeing Guru Nanak’s popularity the demon got into a rage and decided to kill Guru Nanak Dev.
One morning when the Guru was sitting in meditation in the river bed, the demon pushed a large boulder (pathar) from the hilltop to kill him. The boulder gained speed as it rumbled down the hillside, but when it touched the Guru's body, it softened like warm wax and came to a halt against Guru Nanak's back.
The Guru kept on meditating unhurt and undisturbed. Presuming that the Guru had been killed, the demon came down and was taken aback to see the Guru much alive and deep in meditation. As the stone was soft as wax the demon realized the spiritual power of the great Guru and begged for forgiveness
Guru Nanak thereafter continued his holy journey towards Srinagar via Kargil.
We entered the Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, I was very thrilled to visit it as it was a famous place
We found a small moat with water to clean our feet and locker facility to keep our footwear. Small orange scarves were offered to cover our heads as it is a compulsory practice in Sikh religion
We entered the darbar hall, the pathar pushed down by the demon, with the imprint of the body of Guru Nanak Dev was on display .
There were stone plaques in the walls of the temple and the portraits gifted to the temple by the various army units which had a tenure in Ladakh as a token of appreciation for protection offered to the army
We were offered delicious suji ka halwa ,I put forward my right hand which is a habit we have when taking Prasad in temples and the jawan gestured sternly to fold both my palms which I did feeling very chastened!
When we came out, our driver pointed out the opposite hill on which there was a small structure Nishan sahib signifying that this was the place from where the monster threw the stone at Guru Nanak ,some brave souls were climbing the steps there but we didn’t dare to thanks to our heightened oxygen level awareness ,L.O.L
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