From stars to clouds

by Satyam Aggarwal (India)

I didn't expect to find India

On a chilly winter night, with all these strangers, I was laying down under the night sky on the sand dunes of Nubra Valley in Ladakh. Totally exhausted from all the fun we had that day, me with four other people who were total strangers, decided to go to bed that night. A little late after the midnight, suddenly the door knocks, we see the property owner with a key in his hand. We went outside and saw a small truck on the road, he asked us to hop on. Without any questions, with all the adrenaline rush, we all hoped on. He drove us through the jungles for at least an hour, while were appreciating the clear night sky, as we don't usually see the stars in the city pollution. He stopped at the sand dunes, we all hoped out and laid our heads on the cold sand. It was mesmerizing and astonishing at the same time. It wasn't something new, but to stop for a while, taking a deep breathe and appreciating the small things we take for granted, it all started to make sense. The stars were always there, just like everything other thing that this nature has to offer, but we don't appreciate them enough while we run the rat race. After a starry night, we headed towards the last stop of our Ladakh circuit, a beautiful village in the valley of Kashmir, Sonamarg. The weather was rainy and the roads were muddy, we skidded our way to the home stay. What we saw next was no less than magical. The green mountains with the blooming trees peaking outside the cloud cover was unbelievable, to say the least. We trekked our way up through the clouds and found ourselves on the cloud 9, quite literally. From the shining stars in the night sky to the trees peaking out of the clouds on the mountains, I didn't expect this, this trip to be so life changing. Changing my perspective towards life, appreciating the things that actually matter, when I returned back to my monotonous city life.