Main Market Area – As per self-styled division of the town, the area bounded by the following points in the town, represent my version of Main Market

- Road junction where Changspa Road takes off from Circuit House Road. This is where World Cafe-German Bakery is located and lane towards Khan Manzil opens roughly opposite this bakery.

- Culvert over a fresh water nallah just ahead of Gesmo Restaurant. Lamayuru restaurant is also located next to this culvert.

- Main market, Zangtse Road, Library Road (J&K Bank and beyond), Moti Market and right till Leh Gate from where a road to the left goes to DC’s office, another goes straight ahead to Nubra and another one, to the right, goes down towards SNM Hospital and Petrol Pump at Manali Road Junction.

Well, a walk through this area reveals a different facet of the town, so much different from the hinter-areas of Changspa area. I would like to mention here that aim of the walks and this write up here is to share some hidden facts about the town. What is visible to routine tourists is not being emphasised upon. To start with, this area, despite being the heart of the town, both commercially and culturally, has a dark side to it. While the main roads and thoroughfares are kept clean through efforts like this, .......

......the lanes have a different story to tell......

Lanes are also cleaned on regular basis but the very profile of the populace/ settlements that run close to the main roads, slightly offset to the rear, mean that area is not clean at all. Ill effects of a densely populated area are obvious. Lanes, in general, are not so very narrow as seen in most parts of Changspa area and yet these are dirty. Despite a width that would allow a four wheeler to drive through comfortably, this major lane that starts right in front of the Jama Masjid (On the bend in the main market) and meanders towards Leh Palace, before turning right and again swinging left to finish at Polo Ground, is a typical example of a downtown locality. For example, look at this .....

This area is called Nowshera and it is sandwiched between Polo Ground and Main street.

One of the biggest Mane walls of the town is located here but it is partially hidden behind a commercial complex that is defunct as it is. But the issue here is the muck that is lying around here. While sweepers may clean it regularly, who would stop and educate the users against urinating in open places like this......

Unfortunately, the main Gurudwara is located right next to this dirty patch...

There is also a complex that houses two huge prayer wheels on the other side. In fact, view of the Mane walls is actually available from that point....

And this is how Leh Palace looks from here....

Anyways, there are some gestures that would help. The following one is an example though the area selected for the cause could have been this part of the city rather than main roads.....

Now, on to the brighter issues.....hidden in the lanes and by-lanes of this area are few very interesting things. First is this.....

....legacy of a Hollywood movie set. This is what was left behind in the lane next to Jama Masjid.
And then this....

DATUN SAHAB is the place where the first Sikh Guru, Sri Nanak Devji, during his second trip to this area, sometime in early 16th century, had left his datum (herbal toothbrush) at this spot. Popularly known as .......Lama ji, Guru ji had visited this land when no tree or plants grew here. But at this spot where the datum was left, grew out a small plant that grew into this tree. So, practically and as per the local belief, this is the first tree of Leh. A small signboard tells the history of the place....

And while many of us might not be aware of this tree/place, it is just about 75m from SBI.
Just in vicinity and roughly across the lane is the location of an upcoming museum......

It is still under construction and once complete, it will add heritage value to the place.
This very lane also houses numerous domestic bakeries being run by Kashmiris.

Bakeries like this one (Shabbir is on to the right), remind one of Kashmir. All these establishment get activated very early in the day and remain active throughout the year. Though this type of a breakfast and snacks are preferred by Muslims and that too Kashmiris, evolution has blurred the demarcations like this.
Next to the bakeries, spread in one lane and also on the main road next to Jama Masjid, are four –five milk outlets. The best out of these is the one located in the lane opposite Chokhang Vihara Gompa on SBI Road. ....

BTW, this the main gompa of this area. Here I would mention about an initiative taken by Deepika. In addition to the existing Tibetan markets, there were a few vendors of same origin who would sit anywhere and everywhere and run their business, obstructing the passage of pedestrians in the process. She was able to wind all of them up and place them in this lane that was lying vacant and was spacious enough to accommodate them as well as local passers-by.
The biggest sore point of this area is this business idea where ladies sit on already congested footpath near Shia Mosque, and sell vegetables and bottled milk. There is practically no room for pedestrians to walk. Road is, as it is, crowded with traffic. The justification is century old tradition but then century is a big time. .....and why these guys cannot be removed???? Well, that is a ‘million yaks’ question!!!

One narrow lane running parallel to the main street has a drain that carries muck, unlike any other drain in the area. ....

However, this very lane also houses the maximum number of hair cutting saloons, gold smiths and ladies tailor outlets.

A few other shops selling household goods complete the picture. Problem with such lanes is that unlike the narrow lanes of Idgh-Changspa area, these remain commercially very active even during peak winters. Vehicles cannot drudge though these lanes and thus, snow keeps getting accumulating here. It turns into ice and then black ice.

Excreta of stray animals remains fresh due to refrigeration and it gets dirtier with each passing day. Now, during fair weather period, this lane is alive with activity during business hours and offers a different perspective to an on-looker. This also falls in Nowshera locality. This lane starts near Jama Masjid and opens up at broadish road bend (near traffic police post in the main market) as we come out of the main market to go towards Leh Gate/DC Office.

Coming out of this lane, we find another lane to the left of the road. The opening of this lane is marked by a butcher’s shop next to a domestic bakery. Now, a walk through this lane (again, not very clean), would remind you of downtown localities of Egypt. Over a few metres, one comes across numerous small tea stalls. I would rather call it Chai Gali though its official name is Balkhang.....

BTW, it is here in this lane that you find many shops selling utensils and plastic stuff (bikers who cannot manage empty 2 ltrs bottles, may pick up small Jerricans from here). These are located at a place where this lane opens again, after making a U around Gompa Complex. Where it opens, on the main road, starts a line of municipal shacks that sell all kind of Chinese stuff. On the other side of this little market, lie ITBP complex (both sides of the road)andMoti Market (left of the road). All of us who have been to Moti Market, would remember the place for a few things. Firstly, this structure that houses numerous metallic prayer wheels.....

Next is this area (looks so silent now) which is hub of the activity here......

Household goods, used Chinese army uniforms, gift shops, beauty parlours, tea stalls, vegetable shops, hardware stores, watch repairer, music stores, crockery stores, spices outlets, blacksmiths, precious stone sellers, woollen garment stores....you name a thing and you will find it in this small area that is roughly 100mx200m. But what remains hidden during the business hours and is partially hidden at 0600h in the morning also, is this Mane inside the complex. Complete with small chortens, this symbol of faith rubs shoulders with guys deeply involved with money matters......

As one comes out of the other end, on the Polo Ground Road, one sees a glimpse of Leh Gate. It looks so very mundane from a distance though it actually dominates the area around it.....

This Mane on the road from Leh Gate back to Main Market, is again a huge one (smaller than one in Nowshera, though) but it is not really continuous....

Though it is early morning, there is still a considerable amount of traffic. Adding to this pollution is the dust being kicked up by sweepers who are at work at this moment. Over all, not a very pleasant stretch to walk on.

There are many Tibetan markets in Leh. This one claims to be the biggest of all and is located on the Library Road (there are two such markets- one on either end of this road that connects Traffic police post in the main street with the J&K Bank at Zangtse). More interesting is the writing on the wall (at least someone acknowledges the fact)........

Ladakh Music School is located on the one-way road that takes off from Fort Road just in front of Lamayuru Restaurant (that same culvert ahead of Gesmo) and goes up to open in front of Ledegs, the shop that sells organic products near SBI. ....

As said before, this area does not have as many and as narrow lanes as those found in Idgh-Changspa Area. And yet, here is the one with a twist. It is just about three feet wide (may be a couple of inches less) and even then someone had the mind, courage and audacity to have a row of shops on to one side of the passage......

It is one thing to walk through a narrow lane but quite another to traverse a narrow lane with shops in it. This ‘shopping complex’ is located just behind the Pumpernickel German Bakery on Zangtse Road. So, obviously, the rationale is dictated by sheer commercial sense than anything else). Thankfully, these shops are not operational yet!!

And mention of German Bakery leads us to another fascinating fact about the area. Pumpernickel German Bakery is of 1992 vintage, started by Mr Ranjit Singh, a Sikh from Kargil, with collaboration with a German friend. But now, we have numerous German Bakeries in close vicinity of one another. Just have a look....

......and believe me, there are many more!!

At the end of it all, having walked every inch (well, almost) of two localities, I would rate Changspa Area much higher that this part of the city. Given an option (...and I have the option), I would rather walk through former once I am through with other areas!!