Music in the high mountains

Instances of celebs visiting the Indian army and entertaining the soldiers in their base camps are not rare. Recently joining this dedicated band was  Bollywood singer Akriti Kakar who has chartbusters likeSaturday Saturday from Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Iski Uski from 2 States to her credit. What is noteworthy in her case is that she not only covered the entire treacherous terrain from Leh to Siachen up in the Himalayas but also braved inclement weather and battled health issues.

 “It was to attend the  Independence Day celebration alongbwith the Indian troops stationed in the lofty mountain range. The invitation came  from the Big FM channel while I was going

 through an interview session in their office,” Kakar  informs. 

“I grabbed it instantly as I thought this was going to be a lifetime opportunity for me. Given the sensitive nature of the area in the highly militarized zone I and my team were heading to, I knew it would be a never-before experience for us. Obviously people in general can hardly expect such an opportunity  to fulfill dream like this,” she  reminisces.

Diving into an incredible expedition could also be crazy, but Kakar never dithered on her resolve. By her own confession, this was the toughest trip she had ever taken.

“We first boarded a flight to Delhi from Mumbai and then from the capital took a transit plane to land at the Leh airport. We did a night-stay as the oxygen level was considerably low. We were initially served with water to quench our thirst and hydrate ourselves. Then we underwent a full-body medical assessment wherein our blood pressure, heart-rate and oxygen level were examined and noted down,” she remembers.

Despite a downward bumpy ride looming large, she and her musician-team travelled for a good five-six hours from Leh (situated at an altitude of 10500ft) to Partapur (a village in Leh Ladakh district) and then took another four-hour drive to the Siachen Base Camp (located in the glacier region of Jammu and Kashmir province).

“It was tough as the roads were not properly built and only a week before, a landslide had ripped through  the landscape and forced us to pass through a broken mountain path for three hours. We were now slowly inching towards the Khardung La Pass at a  height of 17,582 feet which is the world’s second highest motorable pass. We stopped at North Pullu base camp for lunch and I almost fainted with the  fatigue of  the journey . The army doctors immediately took me inside a tent, made me pop two tablets and administered an injection which finally aided in stabilizing my condition. The dizziness also disappeared magically. I had almost imagined that I would suffer a brain haemorrhage, literally!” she recalls. Matters worsened when her percussionist was sent back owing to his waning state of health.

It is true that when we regale in the beauty of nature, we seldom think about its fury and the harsh, raw aspects of the wilderness. But for Akriti, she witnessed both sides of the story. “Even in that weak health condition, I could feel the grace of nature in its pure form. The sky has a shade of blue that we can never experience in the plains. Albeit there was no sign of green vegetation but the barren mountains were covered with patches of brown, purple, grey limestone hues…as if we were watching a fascinating movie! In between, we came across some gigantic statues of Lord Buddha standing tall in staid silence and overlooking the mountain gorges. 

“Small freshwater lakes and saline lagoons were also seen scattered here and there, while a huge desert suddenly came up from nowhere to surprise us completely. The rare two-humped camel, snow-peaked mountains and local Ladakhis with sun-burnt skin and piercing eyes drew our attention, ” she  sums up.

Applauding the unique initiative of hosting a cultural concert to commemorate India’s 68th Independence Day at the highest battleground of the world, the 29-year old singer belted out popular track after track for the spirited soldiers . “The moment was special for me and I had specially written the lyrics of a single called Shukriya for the occasion,” she reveals smiling.

The high point of her stay in the Siachen region, Akriti admits, was the time when they were rehearsing for the programme around an open-air bonfire and jamming alongwith the musicians.

“Though our lung-power weakened, given the prevalent acute atmospheric condition, we gritted our teeth to carry on for the sake of our men in uniform who live on the edge daily for our defence, thus risking their lives at the altar of duty,” she concludes.

Images: Akriti performing in Siachen concert and a file photo of PM Modi visiting Siachen.