Ladakh

At the very tip of northern India lives Ladakh. This primitive land of wind-swept plateaux and snow-scarred deserts is spread across the towering citadels of the Great Himalayan and Karakoram ranges. During the last fourteen years Purkayastha has journeyed endlessly through this wilderness, where time has ceased to march on. For, in this last bastion of ancient Tibetan culture, breathes a magical way of life in which little has changed through the centuries. And, it is this age-old tapestry that Purkayastha reverently reveals in his book ‘Ladakh’. Ladakh is a heart-stirring love story that lingers on long after the last page has been turned. Mystifying images woven together with mesmeric prose engulf you like sudden desert storms. They compel you to travel deep into the dark, and often disturbing, depths of hidden emotions. Purkayastha’s alluring words and powerful images, so passionately crafted, gently erase your sense of time and self, and you become one with this pilgrim as he travels through this enchanted land. With the turning of each page you journey farther into Ladakh, and soon discover yourself in a "place where mortal words have no meaning". ‘Ladakh’ – the first book of it’s kind ever to be published in India- is distinctly unique in it’s concept and design. Conceptually, ‘Ladakh’, ever so gently, juxtaposes our emotional depths alongside the visual vistas of that magical land – at an emotional plane the text explores the haunting landscape within us all, whereas, at the physical level the photographs explore the mystical land and her people. And, breathing life into this unique concept is an equally unique design – with black and white images, tinted in gold and printed on translucent Gateway paper, khaki Kraft paper dividers, Black and White pictures shot on specialized film, to look like charcoal paintings, and interspersed with muted colour images – all exquisitely printed on Italian matt paper. ‘Ladakh’ took almost a decade to photograph and write. Countless visits – throughout all the seasons – and endless days of traveling across the length and breath of the land covering thousands of kilometers on foot, jeeps, trucks and horsebacks to create the pictures.