Paradise Here: Kashmir Chronicles – Part VII

India is filled with places that are mystical and wield otherworldly powers. Even in the frozen desert landscape of Ladakh, there are stories of temples, monasteries and idols that will make you think twice.I planned my yoga retreat to Kargil and wanted my students to get a feel of the original culture of this land. You see most of the original J & K has been converted and stories like this have been long forgotten or forced out of memory. What am I talking about? The long-forgotten Buddha Chamba Rock sculpture.In a quaint village of Kargil where cars hardly stop, lies a 7.5 metre statue of Maitreya Buddha. It is a little hard to find but if you head to Mulbekh town and ask the locals about the sculpture, they will send one of the kids to direct you to the spot.The path to the sculpture is along a narrow trail accompanied by a small stream. The walk is an easy one and is about a kilometre long. Village life carries on in small shanty houses, along the path. So, you might see a chicken being butchered for lunch or an old Grandma taking her afternoon siesta—don’t be too surprised. As you walk along, suddenly out of nowhere, you will see this huge, chiselled sculpture of Buddha, standing since ages and against all odds..We looked at the kids and asked them to join us as we tried to clamber up closer to the sculpture. But they refused. On asking, one of the kids told me ‘Long back people of the village planned to destroy the sculpture and planted dynamites along the rock to destroy the same. Just a night before it was to explode, the whole village was suffering from some epidemic leaving everyone involved sick. Since then, no one ever attempted to destroy the sculpture. This place is special and scary, and we won’t come up.’I was both surprised and in awe as I listened to the story. As I looked up at the statue, I noticed that the idol was a unique blend of Saivite symbolism and early Buddhist artwork. In fact, if you didn’t look at the face, it could have easily passed for a statue from our South Indian temples. The art is a pointer to the fact that Buddhist missionaries who were instrumental in carving the statue, were from the east of the Himalayas vs the narrative that they came from Tibet.We climbed up and took some pictures and slowly made our way back to the bus. As we did, we noticed another hill nearby with a structure that looked like a dilapidated temple. Adventurous and curious, we decided to climb it. Like monkeys with no path, we hung on to old roots and stones and slowly made our way up. The view was spectacular, and we stood there smiling, taking tons of pictures.The local kids looked at us with curiosity and waved but did not join us. As we made our way down, I again asked one of the kids why they hadn’t come up. She looked up at me and said, ‘It is scary.’ Surprised, I asked for an explanation..She said the temple was built by a princess. A prince from a faraway land of a different religion had fallen in love with her and they would often meet at the temple to pray and ask for help. But one day, the prince’s family found out. They waited at the temple for the two lovers and when they arrived, they were both beaten up and the temple broken as a reminder for others who might choose to blur religious boundaries. Stories like this are plenty in Ladakh.As a first time visitor, I decided I needed to visit more often for people to know that outsiders are not always bad. If you are reading this, plan your visit ASAP. Go to Buddha Chamba and let the locals of that village know that not all ‘outsiders’ are bad.