Ashraf's Adventure Travels in Ladakh

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Latah is popularly known as the moon land. The name has been given to this place because of its dramatic landscape resembling the lunar surface. In a number of places if a picture of an astronaut standing on a rock is taken, no one can say that it is not on the moon! There have been many other names given to this northern most region of the Indian sub-continent. In local language it is called the land of many passes. Some others have called it the Shangri La and still others have given it the name of land beyond the Himalaya. The land is so barren and desolate that according to a saying that only a dear friend or a serious enemy can come here! Population density is as low as one person in one square kilometer.

It had remained a forbidden land for ages and for the first time it was opened not only for Indians to travel freely there but also for all foreigners. Till that time even Kashmiris needed a special permit to cross the Sonamarg Bridge!

A lot has changed since Ladakh was thrown open for tourists about three decades back but the basic spirit and the magnetic attraction of the land and its people are still there.

Mohammad Ashraf was born on August 25, 1943 in a middle class family living in Amira Kadal near the famous locality of Maisuma in Srinagar. His grandfather was a technical teacher in local Polytechnic and a very well known foot ball player of those times. His father had joined Government Service as a Deputy Secretary. Ashraf received his schooling in half a service as a clerk but retired as a dozen institutions right from Islamia Middle School to Tyndale Biscoe School. He passed his matriculation exam from the S.P Higher Secondary School and secured second position in the entire combined University of Jammu & Kashmir in Intermediate Science from one the first ten, he was nominated S.P.College. Being among the first ten, he was nominated by the State Government to the prestigious Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. However, he preferred the locally started Regional Engineering College at Naseem Bagh in Srinagar itself and took admission in Civil Engineering course which he completed in 1965. However, he profession of engineering but comp line and went for did no not pursue the completely changed his tune and went for training in adventure sports like mountaineering and skiing at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling and in Gulmarg and completed a diploma in French language from the Alliance Française in New Delhi. In 1973 he gave a project to the State Tourism Department for setting up of an Adventure Tourism Wing for promotion of adventure tourism in J & K. The proposal was accepted and he was appointed I in charge of the wing. Starting his was Deputy Director he rose to head the same 1992 career as a esame Department in as its Director and was promoted as Director General in 1996 from which post he retired in 2003 after a total service of 30 years in Tourism. He has been associated with the Adventure Sports at National level and has been twice the Vice-President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, the apex body of adventure sports in India. To commend his efforts in introducing rescue measures in Kashmir Mountains, he was awarded "Merite-Alpin" by Swiss in a special function in Les Diablerets, Switzerland in 1993. He considers his greatest achievement the pioneering of Tourism in Ladakh. In 1974, Ladakh was opened for foreign tourists by the Government of India. Ashraf was extensively involved in developing tourism in this mysterious and enchanting land beyond the Himalaya. He considers Ladakh as his first love and is fondly remembered by its inhabitants for promoting tourism in this area. He has travelled to every part of the State. During his tenure in Tourism he had the opportunity to travel widely in Europe, America, and Middle East. Even after retirement he is involved in a free lance capacity with various Airlines and Tourism Organizations in promoting tourism to Kashmir. He is single as he never married. At present he is writing regular columns in a number of local English dailies. He has also been contributing articles to Khaleej Times, Dubai.

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