Camera Model Name: Canon EOS 5D Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Tv (Shutter Speed): 1/500 Av (Aperture Value): 11.0 Metering: Evaluative Metering ISO Speed: 200 Focal Length: 400.0 mm Flash: Off --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAY 16 Distance & Time: By car - 86 km / 3 hrs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The area we are passing through does not have villages or settlement but small golden fields of ripened barley. Strong wind creating waves and ripples through crops with the mid noon sun directly over head. The light is not exactly suitable for photography but the temptation is intense. Request Ankur for a short break and spend several minutes on shooting the crops, which are in a beautiful warm hue. Ladakh constitutes the easternmost trans-Himalayan part of Jammu & Kashmir state of India, bordering Pakistan and Tibet. Truly described as cold arid desert, it covers an area of 59, 146 sq km / 22, 836 sq miles situated along the valleys of the Indus River. Intensive sunlight, high evaporation rate, strong winds, and fluctuating temperature characterize the general climate. With sparse vegetation, there is little moisture in the atmosphere. Because of high mountains all round and heavy snowfall during winter, the area remains inaccessible to the outside world for many months. Over the centuries, the people of Ladakh developed a farming uniquely adapted to this unusual environment. Farming is small scale traditionally. The principal crop is barley, the mainstay of traditional Ladakhi food. How and when was barley introduced in Ladakh and became the primary crop? According to legends, Ladakh was an uninhabited land where there were no villages or settlements. Three brothers from Gilgit (now in Pakistan) had traveled to Ladakh in search of hunting. As wildlife was abundant, they had a very successful hunt. When in the evening they had settled down to sleep, several grains of barley fell out of the straw stuffing in their shoes. Back in Gilgit when their meat supply was exhausted, they thought about the pasture area in Ladakh. On return to find, that the grains which had dropped off had flourished and bore ripe ears of grain. The fertility of the soil persuaded them to leave Gilgit and settle in Ladakh, build houses and cultivate the land. Soon people from other areas like Kashmir; Himalayan valleys in the south, Central Asia and Tibet followed their example to settle along the banks of river Indus. The land was named ‘Mang yul’ or ‘The Place of Many People’. During the harvest festival of the Brogpa, the hymns sung by the tribal state that their ancestors migrated from Gilgit via a place near Chortal Pass (India), a tiny village called Hon-brang-Min, meaning ‘ripened without cultivation’. The place according to them is the reminiscent of the pre-settlement phase of Ladakh. It is said that before selecting the valleys for permanent settlement, their ancestors came to look for a place for permanent inhabitation of their tribesmen, with some barley grains. They sowed these in Hon-brang-Min to test the fertility of the soil before going back to their ancestral land. Next year when they visited again, they found that the seeds had not only grown but had ripened ears. This convinced them that the place was worth living and later migrated with their tribesmen (so had the Brogpa tribe migrated from Gilgit much earlier than they are said to have done so?). The staple diet of the Ladakh region is husk less barley, or grim, which is roasted and ground for use of flour known as Namphey (Tsampa in Tibetan). The barley flour is used in making Tagi shamo (thin pan cake shaped bread), Khambit (thick bread), various soups like Thukpa, Ngamthuk and Jamthuk, Chhan-Thuk (barley grain balls used in soup), Kholak (flour mixed to any liquid to form a semi-liquid), Khura (sweet deep fried biscuits), Paba (mixed grain and flour pudding) and Tsap-Thuk (dessert),. Barley is used for making local beer brew known as Chhang and Arak (distilled Chhang) but these are only made in the Buddhist households of Ladakh. However, as an outcome of cosmopolitan culture resulted from the boost in tourism, better connectivity with the outside world and improving communication infrastructure, in the desire to appear modern people are rejecting their own culture. Thus, the traditional foods are no longer a source of pride and there has been a distinct change in food preference among the locals. =================================

(Excuse the scary, slightly shy pic) 1) I have a terrible terrible memory for most things important, useless info - I'm fine with. 2) When there is a story or fact I can remember or that excites me, I have a habit of telling people several times and not remembering I've told them before. 3) I'm studying Dance at university. 4) I wear glasses or contact lenses, mostly glasses now. 5) Sometimes it takes me a while to register what people say, if they speak quickly or are on the phone. 6) I also have a habit of replying to what I first think someone has said, only to register what they actually said straight after and making a fool of myself. 7) I worry about what others think all the time, no matter what I'm doing, no matter how I look. 8) The worry about what others think often affects what I do and how I act. 9) I'd love to go to Dubai, such a freakin' gorgeous place. 10) I have a fascination with fantasy, mythical beings and such. 11) Although I believe there is a greater being or something out there, for me religion is too corrupt, there are too many hypocrites. 12) I easily lose motivation and confidence, tend to need kicking sharply back into motion if this happens. 13) When I am motivated, I concentrate fully on what I'm doing, so as to avoid becoming unmotivated. 14) I am extremely loyal to my loved ones and friends - or as loyal as I possibly can be. 15) Music has a massive influence in my life, it can define my mood, change my mood or reflect my mood. I link nearly every song I listen to to an aspect of my life. 16) I am quite good at a lot of things, but am fully aware that I don't really excel in anything - something I want to work on. I tag... errm Lucien, Bailey Dazy, Bailey Longcloth (Don't know if you've already been tagged, sorry!)