A Beach Picnic at 11,000 ft!

Breakfast at Noon

 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Well, then you can understand why three newlywed “fauji wives” including yours truly, decided on a breakfast with a difference one fine December day.

Cooped up in sub-zero conditions in a temporary accomodation of a small room made of tin and asbestos sheeting was hardly the stuff of honeymoons, so why not make use of our heavenly surroundings in Ladakh, we thought!

We were there only for a couple of months at a stretch and the officer's mess saved us the drudgery of cooking. So there was plenty of time to appreciate the truly magnificent beauty of the Great Himalayas all around us.

Even our measly abode had a grand view: the Indus flowed just a few feet away, and further down it carved out a strategically placed sandy beach for us to picnic on! So one day we decided to pack a hot breakfast (aloo paranthas and cutlets with potatoes and roasted peanuts) and head for that beach, miles away from any ocean or sea!

“Breakfast” was a relative term since sunrise was around 10 am and sunset arrived at 3 pm! Blame it on the rarefied air or what you will, but we wives lazed around till sunrise, as the soldier-husbands headed out before “dawn” (9 am!) for duty. Little wonder then that breakfasts at noon were common!

As we neared the beach, down a winding track, its beauty took our breath away! It comprised unbelievably fine white sand (any beach resort would kill for access to this quality!) interspersed with rocks and pebbles smoothened to that characteristic roundness by the fast-flowing Indus.

And the stones had the most amazing hues, from dark purple to green, yellow and orange. There’s an entire industry in the west that survives on selling pieces of coloured rock and glass shaped by the seas. What would they make of these Indus stones?

Coming even closer, we saw that the river was half frozen. The water flowed with great speed only in the middle of the river. In the distance, we could see snow-clad mountains peeping behind the barren ones that surrounded us. We stood mesmerized for almost 20 minutes.

Finally we dragged our eyes away from the grand vista and sat down on the smooth rocks. The sun danced on the Indus waters and the sky was that typical high-altitude blue...Enchanted, I suddenly realised with a start that my feet were numb ensconced in two layers of socks but my face was warm. Simultaneous frostbite and sunburn aren’t unusual in this place!

Nor is hunger, and our breakfast disappeared pretty fast! Then it was time for girlish giggles, natter and impromptu “antakshari”. The latter proved good practice for a dinner party gig later in the week with the unit’s jazz band for company!

Our next task was more difficult — getting a photo of all three of us at our beachside breakfast. Unlike other beaches, there weren’t any other people around to oblige! We tried putting our cameras on the rocks and positioning ourselves to fit in, but to no avail.

Then we had the brilliant idea of putting our faces cheek-to-cheek and holding our respective cameras at a distance and just clicking! That breakfast by the Indus really made our day. And I highly recommend it if you happen to swing by the river one day!