By Madan Mantoo

As the temperatures dipped in Jammu and Kashmir suddenly last week and heavy rains and snowfall lashed the entire region thus bringing the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi to a halt, blocking the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and Srinagar city experiencing its first snowfall of the season, the City of Temples Jammu could not remain untouched by it.

However, the heavy downpour and the sudden decline in the temperature in the city could not discourage hundreds of Jammuites to throng Kala Kendra Art Gallery for the inaugural function of a photo exhibition on Ladakh-the moonland of the world.

And for the next seven days, the gallery was swarming with people, especially youngsters from Jammu and Ladakh to see the beautiful pictures showcased in the exhibition entitled "Ladakh Through My Lens" was inaugurated by the J&K Governor Lt.

General (retd) S.K.Sinha in the Kala Kendra.

Like hundreds of travelers and nature lovers, Ladakh, the land of monks and monasteries has become a favourite destination for Dr.

Kavita Suri, The Statesman's Jammu-based Special Correspondent who displayed a total of 105 photographs of Ladakh clicked by her in this exhibition organized in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.

This was her second photo exhibition on Ladakh entitled "Ladakh through my lens".

Prior to this, her first photo exhibition on the same theme-Ladakh Chhaya (Reflections of Ladakh), was inaugurated by the then state chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in 2004.

Divided into three segments - Ladakh: Land, People and Places, Siachen-the highest battlefield of the world and the Aryan Drogpas community, Kavita's photographs are a vivid pictorial description of Ladakh.

Be it the pure Aryan race of Drogpas or Siachen or the eastern part of Ladakh, Chushul which was the scene of bloody battle in 1962; she has captured it all.

Suri has beautifully captured the icy peaks of the western Himalayas in sub zero temperature.

The tough and rugged Siachen Glacier on which Indian soldiers have scripted tales of heroism form a main section of her exhibition.

The beauty of the Moonland, the frozen landscapes and the gallant armed forces have all been clicked bit by bit The J&K Governor General Sinha who has served in Ladakh sector as an army officer could not help complimenting Kavita for having undertaken rigorous journey of the desert region to capture moods and reflections of nature's beauty and bounty.

'So far I had known her as wielding a powerful pen but today I find that she is equally good with the camera', said General Sinha supporting the suggestion of state Power Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora who hails from Ladakh.

Jora was also present for the inaugural function, for showcasing various facets of Ladakh on the international level and compiling the pictures of Dr Kavita Suri in the form of a coffee table book with description about customs, geography and terrain of this wonder land.

What is more interesting is the fact that almost all parts of Ladakh-Siachen, Kargil ,Dras, Chushul, Turtuk, Batalik, etc have been captured and displayed in her second exhibition.

Perhaps this is the reason that her exhibition generated such a good response, especially from the young Ladakh students who are studying in Jammu.

Hundreds of Ladakhis who spend thronged the photo exhibition to see their motherland portrayed beautifully by a non-Ladakh.

And the efforts were appreciated by one and all.

Said Dr P.Angmo, a young doctor from Ladakhi who is also the daughter of famous Colonel Rinchen who was awarded Maha Vir Chakra twice: "Kavita has put so much of effort which even a local person would not be able to do.

No words are enough to describe the hard work she has put in." Similar sentiments were expressed by other Ladakhis who visited the gallery and saw those areas which even they have not visited in Ladakh.

"I am a Ladakhi but I have not visited the whole of Ladakh but through her lens, it was possible to see whole of my motherland," said Jigmet, a Ladakhi student who is doing his master's from Jammu University.

Kavita has been going to Ladakh for her journalistic assignments and in the process she clicks pictures which she uses with her articles and stories.

Around 60 per cent of the pictures have been taken by Suri during her visit to Ladakh in October last year while the remaining are those ones which she took during the past couple of visits.

Kavita also considers herself lucky to have spent days and nights together in the splendid solitude of icy mountains.

"Ladakh lies against a geographical background that is stark and barren.

But there is so much to see and appreciate in this mystic land.

I really enjoy its wilderness...

it is too captivating," said Suri.

"You have to feel the icy, cold wind against your face, the icicles along the river, the beautiful barren snow-clad mountains, the desolate villages to understand what the place is like." Batalik and Turtuk which created headlines during the Kargil war have also been extensively photographed.

The peace-loving Drogpas, the only pure Aryan tribe in the world, are shown engrossed in their routine chores.

The grand confluence of river Indus and Zanskar at Nimmu on Leh-Kargil highway is simply spectacular, as are the monasteries of Ladakh.

The magnificent Lamayuru monastery, the masked dances in Hemis monastery, monks standing in the market, the Drogpa ladies in crowded Leh Bazar, innocent Turtuk children, frozen waterfalls, double-humped Bactrian camel, mesmerizing sand dunes of Hunder etc.

make this a fascinating viewing experience.

The segment on cultural heritage also carries pictures of festivities at the main Gompa in Leh, flower bedecked Drogpa ladies, Shanti Stupa, Buddha image at Thiksey monastery and many others.

As she puts it herself, "the splendid solitude of the icy mountains in Ladakh is simply amazing...the beautiful barren snow-clad mountains- the desolation and the isolation- the magnificent majestic mountains so much in communion with the soul- Yes, this is the God- there is the Supreme---white, majestic white- so beautiful and mesmerizing that it makes your heart skip a beat.

The fresh mountain air hits you so hard...And the mood so prominently reflected upon all these .........within the Soul.....

It is so beautiful.

Ladakh is such a place which I would love to visit again and again.

It won't be an exaggeration to say that Ladakh takes my breath away .." About her photographs, Sati Sahni, former Director General, Information, J&K who is a veteran journalist & photographer says: "What Kavita has captured is the essence of Ladakh and moods of its wonderful friendly people.

For a person who has just started taking photographs, this is a commendable effort.

Ladakh seems to be photographers' paradise but it is as a whole difficult subject.

And a few photographs do not do justice to its beauty, variety, colours and moods but Kavita has achieved it substantially." "I don't have the skills of a photojournalist.

The beauty of this place where I love to go at any time of the year, be it the biting cold or the scorching sun rays, just forces me to open the shutter of the camera and click a few shots and capture this place to its fullest glory," says Dr.

One feels like going to Ladakh at an earliest after seeing the stunningly beautiful Ladakh region in her pictures.