Mumbai-based entrepreneur and moto-enthusiast, Janak Mistry’s love for travels once took him on a 70-days trip to Ladakh, where he ended up documenting the daily lives and customs of the locals. It was a trip that gave him a lot of insight into himself and what he was capable of doing, personally. As someone who is a part of the travel community and runs a moto-expedition company, Janak started striving for something unique with his homegrown enterprise. The USP of his business lies in the fact that he is the single point of contact in it and serves as the planner, executioner, and facilitator for all trips conducted by the company. This drove him into planning and executing the first-ever trip with Triumph Motorcycles, which is an England-based moto expedition brand.
Going forward, he also ended up executing two trips for Ducati, one of which was the Dream Tour to Leh (a 15-days trip) in 2018. While on this trip, the team went to a place called Turtuk, which is the third last village of the country. At a school in that village, he had the chance to interact with the teachers and the headmaster who talked of the dearth of books, stationery and other items in the school. Janak arranged the entire stationery set for 90 students to be shifted from Jammu to Leh in a bus. Each of the sets consisted of 5 notebooks, pencils, erasers, sharpeners and a tennis ball for each student, along with pastel colours and a colouring book.
This is just one of the many difficulties faced by the people of Ladakh, a major other being the dire winters that strike the temperate region every year. This winter, especially, has been extreme, making life difficult for the people in this hilly area. Even though the local people as well as the lamas here help each other out during the harsh winters of Ladakh, it is sometimes not enough. At a height of around 11,500 feet, Leh (Ladakh’s capital city) experiences some of the lowest temperatures in India, making lives of people in the interiors more difficult than it already is. Cut off from the rest of the country, with most roads in Ladakh being shut off due to extreme temperatures and snowfall, the state remains isolated through most of the winter months. During these times, it becomes difficult for the people there to avail the basic amenities to sustain themselves. This is a widespread issue all over Ladakh and something that needs to be taken care of immediately.
So, we urge all Homegrown readers to jump in and help them in any way you can. You can donate winter essentials like blankets, woollen wear, hand gloves, leather shoes etc. for these people. However, time is of essence here, and we’d love for you to reach out to help them out as soon as you can.
If you want to help Janak or the thousands of other Ladakhis who are in the grip of one of the most intense winters in the region’s history, you can drop off your packages in person on a weekend on the addresses mentioned below:
DELHI
TSETAN DOLKAR, 7/96, E- block, Third floor, Malviya Nagar, Delhi-110017
BANGALORE
THINLES CHOSDUP, 318 B, SAIPOORNA PARADISE, SOMSUNDRA PALYA, HSR LAYOUT SECTOR -2, BANGALORE- 560102, KARNATAKA
Contact no: +91 8527016783
If you enjoyed reading this article, we suggest you also read: