Until a year back, I was clueless if an Indian Autumn can look so beautiful and actually give a tough time to the Autumn of the West. Again, the only place I know of in India was Kashmir, where the charming ‘Chinars’ and walnut groves turn bright amber, giving the landscape a surreal glow, and creating mesmerizing aisles to walk around. I had also read a thousand prose and poetries written about it. There is no comparison of course, but then, being me, I was clueless and I always wanted to witness Autumn in full glory. Probably the time was getting closer.
Cut to October 2021, I was on board a flight to Leh. And before that, a friend of mine specifically told me to look for the colors. Ironically, even after multiple visits to Leh or Ladakh as a whole, this was my first visit in October. I wasn’t disappointed, to say the least, and was actually enticed by the Autumn beauty Ladakh offerer. A place known for its extreme weather, brown hills, and pristine water was in a different beauty altogether. Rivers were blue and emerald, and every tree leaf bloomed up to a beautiful individual flower, some were still green, some were red, and most of them were yellow. The treeline, near Leh town, added a different glow to the otherwise dry environment as if the whole town is enveloped by some bunch of yellow flowers. Over the years, I have seen the mighty Indus in its full glory. Fiery, dark, and murky in Summer, Emerald green in winter. But the pastel blue and the calmness it offered in Autumn were so alluring. An Autumn experience to relish for a lifetime.
