Warmth of winter

-Sidak Kaur

Come winter, the lunar landscape of Ladakh returns to its most raw and naked form, with desolate stretches of nothingness invoking a powerful and sacred stillness. Yes, winter is harsh and formidable to the eye of an outsider with rivers freezing over and temperatures dropping deep into the sub-zeros… yet, under the veneer of ice is a raging warmth that makes winter the most vibrant season of all.

Bare and bright, winter is a season that brings with it renewal, a Lazarus spectacle if you will. It is a time of resurrection, when every leaf is shed, when the waters turn an alluring azure, the meadows burn a bright brown and the peaks all wear white crowns. Nature adorns her most dramatic tones and textures, the ones that she kept safe all year round. The willows radiate an auburn warmth, the shrubbery bursts into shades of gold and hints of rust are sprinkled in the valley like dust.

Soft and dulcet Himalayan hues paint the skies behind shape-shifting clouds, drowning the days in nostalgia. The warm tones of morning light serenade the jagged peaks, demanding reverential awe and rendering new meaning to the gravity of Ladakh’s landscape, compelling and consumate in its force.