comparision between
Scenic beauty of
West Bengal and ladakh
Answers
Explanation:
Over the years, writers and travelers have been unable to resist employing the term Shangri La to describe the remote land of Ladakh, in northern India. Yet, at a glance, this region of the Tibetan Plateau seems an unlikely paradise. The soaring Himalayas, which define Ladakh on the south, prevent all but about four inches of annual precipitation from reaching the area. The base elevation is around 11,000 feet, with the mountains reaching 20,000 feet and higher. During the seven-month winter, it is not uncommon for temperatures to drop to -40°F. In summer, the high altitude sun beats down mercilessly. Scarcely any vegetation softens the lines of the jagged mountains.
But tucked in the valleys among these barren mountains are villages which testify to a life of abundance rather than scarcity. Startlingly green terraced fields of barley, wheat and vegetables surround large, elegant houses of adobe and hand-carved wood. Like their beautiful communities, the friendly faces and the tolerant, generous manner of the Ladakhi people radiate a sense of plenty and satisfaction.
Through their intimate understanding and ingenious use of scarce natural resources, these people have for centuries succeeded in providing for all their basic needs. And they have done so without undermining the integrity of their natural environment, without treating nature as an adversary to be conquered. Nor do the Ladakhis interact competitively with each other. Their way of life is characterized by cooperation - within the extended family and throughout the village. The young learn from and help the old, and there is little rigidity in the division between the work and privileges of women and men. Life in Ladakh is infused with great stability and peacefulness. Crime and poverty are virtually unknown.
While there is no denying that life in Ladakh involves hard work, the people enjoy a substantial amount of leisure, highlighted by lengthy and elaborate weddings, funerals and religious celebrations. Their culture is rich and colorful, centering around the beliefs and practices of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism, the predominant religion.
Ladakh and the tiny kingdom of Bhutan, east of India, are perhaps the purest remaining examples of traditional Tibetan societies since China's subjugation of Tibet in the 1950s. For centuries, Ladakh's culture was preserved by geographic isolation. But in 1960, the Indian government built a road from the Kashmir valley into Ladakh to defend its borders with China and Pakistan. Since 1974, when foreigners were permitted to begin visiting this strategically sensitive area, there has been an increasing influx of tourists - now some 15,000 annually.