I left my permanent job as a creative director, my life in Berlin, and parted ways with my incredible partner of eight years this past July. It was one of the hardest and most beautiful decisions I've ever made. For years, I had a life that looked perfect on paper, but it wasn't so.
So, I traded meetings for mountains, cityscapes for breathtaking landscapes, and a comfortable life for the beautiful unknown. My journey led me to Cannes, Portugal, Bombay, and finally Ladakh, India, where I've been volunteering with the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust. This experience has been more transformative than I could have ever imagined, teaching me about resilience, patience, and the incredible beauty of the wild. What's next? I'll be off to Chennai next week and then to Potsdam.
This new chapter is less certain, but it's filled with a kind of richness I've never known. This is my new adventure, and it's just the beginning.
Had a surprisingly beautiful meal in a random village in Spain couple of weeks ago. My friend @shashankh and i were driving around near Frigliana and found a tiny restaurant and bar called Bar El Acebuchal that served fresh, local ingredients made with love. Of course the two of us ended up ordering for four people and overate while we were there. We had the stunningly simple orange and tomato salad, a loaf of freshly baked bread with local olives in them and some exquisite olive oil to mop it all up, a special starter with musk melon, bacon, panzanella, oranges, and peppers, a main course of fallow deer with a fig and pine nuts reduction and another main of wild boar in dark chocolate sauce and baby potatoes. Would definitely visit this sleepy little village again just for that food. *Chef's kiss*
Uncover the past with your hands!
Join the Sharma Center for Heritage Education's interactive workshops and bring history to life through creating, connecting, and communicating.
Perfect for curious minds of all ages!
https://www.sharmaheritage.in
This wonderful reel was created by @joygomad
The majestic mountains of Ladakh are weeping today. Having spent a few weeks in Ladakh recently with its kind and hardy people living in a stunning background, I was heart-broken to wake up to the news today that the current protests have claimed the lives of five people and many many more are wounded.
They weren't just numbers; they were sons, daughters, friends, and vital members of their community. Their lives, cut short, leave a profound void that echoes across the region.
It's also shocking to see the response to the issue at the administrative level. But I'm trying to refrain from making this a political post and simply saying that my heart is heavy with the unbearable news of the five souls lost yesterday. Rest in Peace. May your spirits find solace in the very mountains you are trying to protect.
Reflecting on my time with Angmo and Jamyang while conducting a workshop with the young monks from Spituk Monastery in the Rumbak Valley, I realize that during my first week in Ladakh, I learned far more from the kids than I was able to teach them in return.
It was also the moment when I had my first sighting of Blue Sheep, with a herd of around 30 females and lambs grazing just 300 meters away. The ungulates appeared relatively calm and comfortable in their environment. Angmo pointed out that a herd of this size would definitely be under the watchful eye of an imperceptible snow leopard somewhere in the valley. Remarkably, the little kids we were teaching about the biodiversity of Ladakh were the first to spot the animals, without the aid of scopes or binoculars. Thanks to their keen eyes, I was able to enjoy my first of many sightings as well.
Indus, Sindhu, Sengge Khababs—this ancient river has many names. It is older than the mighty Himalayas that surround it and has nurtured some of the world's largest empires throughout history. Although it has been dammed and divided by the countries it flows through, we must strive to conserve it for our own sake. Walking alongside it and hearing its roar was a privilege and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I feel fortunate to have spent some time by its banks in Ladakh.
Unseasonal or excessive rains in an otherwise arid region like Ladakh can be both captivating and deadly. Rivers and streams swell up and become angry, raging torrents. Narrow alleyways become tributaries, causing untold damage. Flash floods create precarious and often lethal situations for humans and animals in the area, due to the absence of weather-proof architecture and the lack of generational knowledge on how to deal with climate forces. Living in this peri-climate-change world, we'll have to learn to mend and adapt quickly. Or not.
Going on the Indus river walk to Shara, Shang, and Igoo with Padma, Jamyang, Tsewang, Jigmet, Stanzin, and other members of the Snow Leopard Conservancy along with a bunch of bright, young university students, earnest members Kalpavriksh, and three young smart people from Tar village was a great learning experience.
Got to learn from the Shara villagers about their history and mythologies related to Indus. Climbed Tuna valley, and went on a eye-opening hike through Shang with Jigmet. Danced and sang with the team and listened to what they had to say. Not a bad way to spend a couple of days.
With the weather gods wreaking havoc, causing flash floods in different parts of the region, we had to cancel our journey to Hanle. Crestfallen, sitting in the office, Jigmet decided to take me and a few others to Stok valley as the weather cleared-up a tiny bit. We didn't see any snow leopards there but plenty of Ladakhi urial, Blue sheep or Bharal, a Lammergeier and some signs of snow leopards passing through the valley. Lovely way to spend the day hiking and scoping for wildlife.
Got to spend a day with a group of Japanese volunteers in Teri-phoo as they helped build predator-proof corrals for the villagers to protect their livestock from snow leopards in the mountains.
This was also one of the places I came very close to spotting a snow leopard. With the naturalists from the Snow Leopard Conservancy pointing out markings, scat, and scratch-marks of the elusive cats.
During my time in Ladakh, I spent an incredible day at the Rumbak Valley with Angmo Tsering & Jamyang from the Snow Leopard Conservancy, as they taught the little monks from the Spituk monastery about nature, the biodiversity of Ladakh, and its importance to our future.
