Doh Se Bhale Teen....Gangtok,Pelling,Darjeeling

          

We are Bengalis, we belong to Bengal, but we have seen very little of our home state. Holidays were always restricted to visiting parents, in-laws, numerous relatives, gorging on sweets, relishing ‘Hilsa’ and ‘Pabda’, then pack your bags to come back again next year, next ‘summer holidays to our NATIVE place.

 Gujarat (our work place) Rajasthan, Maharashtra (neighboring states) Quite a bit   of Chennai (our place of college education), Karnataka (Asim’s first job happened to be there, Kerala (aunt’s place) U.P, M.P ……visited every visitable place but our own state somehow bypassed us.

As the saying goes, there is a time for everything, correction, there is a time for every place, and the time was thrown right into our lap when we needed to attend a wedding in Kolkata. The season too was right………what more?

It was going to be Gangtok, Pelling and Darjeeling for us. Now we can justify ourselves to be Bengalis from the bottom of our heart.

All three beautiful places. Green welcomes you everywhere, and you wonder why is the world screaming about the vanishing green cover of the earth. Then you wonder too, if it is such a concern then at what rate are we destroying to create so much of alarm.

Here the predominant color is green. Green greets you at every turn little. Hills near and distant are cool with their green foliage with little peeping houses, half hidden, half seen giving you the impression that you are watching a painting.

Pic1.Teesta River on the way to Gangtok and greenery with it

Standing on the bridge and looking down at Teesta gave rise to an unexplainable feeling. Teesta known for its ferocious nature in the rains, frightening, swelling unbelievably, causing destruction compared with the now tranquil Teesta was such a contrast, but that is nature, beautiful, friendly on one hand, infuriated and raging on the other.

 Shops are little thatches with hanging electric bulbs and sparse wares…. but they look so beautiful with dark green tall trees, short shrubs, wild creepers behind them. The sun plays hide and seek to tell you it is still day not dusk as it seems. Natural  environment  in  all  its  beauty is  around  you  ,for  your  body  to  feel the little  chill hilly  breeze , for  your  eyes  to  absorb the greenness and  fill your  lungs  with   fresh  air .Gangtok, Peling, Darjeeling has  its  share  of  concrete  jungle which  is  subdued  by the  splurge of  green  behind  them .The  best  part  is  ,you are  not  sweating,  not  panting, not  shading  yourself  from the  scorching  sun, you  walk  up  a  hill  or  down  a slope to  take  in  some  more  of  unpolluted nature  ,which  is  yours  for  a  few  days. But breathless you become, what with our urban habit of getting into a wheeled gadget at the first sight.

 

                                                 Our first halt GANGTOK

Ganghook was picturesque. Simple language --picture perfect. Whichever window you peered out from your hotel; scenic beauty greeted your eyes. It could be a cluster of houses (as you see in calendars),

Pic2. Gangtok town Approach Road.

Pic3.Gangtok town from top of hill.

or it could be clouds stuck on tree tops in the far-off hills

Pic 4. First view of Cloud on hills.

 

Pic 5. typical Sikkim Road with roadside shops and cloud topped hills.

 or it could be a bunch of blood red roses growing wild. Everything   was so serene and peaceful. As you walk the streets, the word called crowd is absent, there seems to be no hurry, tourists walking lazily, children trudging to school, shopkeepers waiting behind counters and the aroma of ‘thupka’ reaching your nostrils, one forgets everything and indulges in this luxury called Gangtok.

Pic 6. M.G road of Gangtok.

Streets in Gangtok are clean with a capital ‘C ‘. No use of plastics, no litter and most important everybody abides.

The drive to the Tsongmo lake, also known as the Chaanggu lake is a glacial lake   at height of 12,400 feet is an experience by itself.

Pic 7. The beautiful reflection of hill in Tsongmo Lake

Pic 8. Freezing cold by the lake side.

The local people hold it with great reverence.

 

Pic 9. Chaanggu Lake with snow covered mountains.

 

Pic10.- Varied beauty of Songmo Lake

With the change of season, the lake reflects different colors. The cold, the far-off snow-clad mountains, the winding roads, fluffy snow on either side

PIc11. Snow on sides and slippery icy roads

 and people running into the snow, some standing with hands folded in fists under their chin, some lifting fistful of   snow and others like us watching.

Pic 11A. tourist enjoying fluffy snow on slopes of mountain.

 When we saw the lake, it was 25 % frozen.

Pic12. Lake from distance.

Pic 13. Everything covered with ice.

 The other visits can be to    -----the Nathu la pass, we went half way to it wherein we saw the Chinese watch tower and camp.

Pic 14. Chinese post near Nathula pass road

The Banjhakri falls, the seven sisters water fall, Phurchachu hot springs (known for its sulphur springs) and guru dongmar lake.

Pic15. waterfall on way to Nathula pass

Pic 16. Superb view of stream flowing in the valley.

The Sang market here is visited by the Chinese people accompanied by the ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police) sell jackets, clothes, in exchange buy Parle G biscuits, sugar, vegetable oil. The Border Road Organization takes charge of the maintenance of roads. The historic trade route 1600 km long known as the silk route is here.

Pic17.Typical Sikkim roadside market selling woolens and fast food

The Baba mandir or the Harbhajan Singh mandir is in the memory of a sentry of Punjab regiment. He lost his life by drowning but reappeared in the dreams of one of the sentries requesting him to build a temple in his memory.

Pic 18.  Baba the ghost sentry

Pic 19. Baba mandir maintained by the Indian army.

The sentries still believe his spirit is there to protect them. The Chinese soldiers across the border also talk of seeing a turbaned soldier patrolling at night. Indian sentries believe he still uses the bed in the camp as it is crumpled and looks slept-in in the morning. The belief that he is still around he has been promoted to the rank of captain. He still receives a salary and his uniform goes for a holiday every year. The original Baba mandir was inaccessible to people because of the difficult terrain so this new Baba mandir was built in 1982.

Visit the Namgoyal institute of Tibetology. The whole of Buddhist History, Gods and Goddesses Spread of Buddhism under different kings is depicted through paintings, statues, panels and pictures.

Pic 20. Namgoyal Institute

Any itinerary should include Khechiodpalri lake. Khachapuri means ‘Mountain of Blissful Heaven’. The legend is that a Lepcha couple saw two conch shells entering the ground after which large spring   of water emerged and engulfed the whole area like a lake.

Pic 21. Khechiodpalri Lake

Pic 22.  Lakes close up view

  

Pic 23. Beautiful walkway to the lake laced with flags placed by the pilgrims

 

This lake is like a foot print, according to local belief it is the foot print blessing of Goddess Tara.

Pic 24. Tara the presiding deity of Khechiodpalri Lake

 Flat stones, seven in number are arranged one over the other like a pillar and you wish, which is fulfilled.  As you walk on either side you can see hundreds of these stone piles, done by visitors for the fulfillment of their wishes. Not to be left behind I too didn’t miss this opportunity and arranged my stone pile, must be there somewhere among those numerous arrangements.

Pic 25. seven wish stones.

Pic26.  Line of wish stones arrangement.

 The lake was full of fish, multiplying happily as fishing in that lake is considered a sin.

Pic 27. Abundant fish in the Khechiodpalri Lake

The handicrafts museum satisfies you’re shopping crave. A good place to carry home gifts …small and big. Cushion covers, clutch purses, side bags, furniture –small stools, tables typical Gangtok style. The place is big so keep an hour in hand. Bamboo baskets, trays, woolen carpets, silver ware and many more. Mention over here of Yak tail hair is a must. Wands of Yak tail costs as much as Rs five thousand and more, which are used in temples, gurdwaras   and pujas.

Pic 28. Yak tale.

Embroideries depicting different Gods and Goddesses, mats made of sheep wool and THIGH BONES …. For beating the drums. Both machine weaving and hand weaving is there, huge copper drums are used for dyeing.

Wooden carvings   done with teak as well as walnut   wood are on sale. Clocks, masks, wall pieces bearing typical Nepali characteristics are for you to buy. In one room young boys----apprentices can be seen learning to carve intricate and beautiful designs.

                                         Second halt PELLING

Another endless green landscape spread before your eyes. Once again…. Green hills, green trees with tops reaching the sky, green foliage.

Pic 29. Pelling with magnificent green foliage

Pic30. Tall trees a beauty to behold

 Lightly built houses, cottages with roses all over, climbing creepers or shrubs, what you have in front of you is a picture post card presented by nature.

Pic31. Picture postcard from Pelling 

Pelling is a small town in the north eastern part of Sikkim, at the foot hills of mount Kanchen jungha.  Rich heritage, culture, monasteries and trekking is for you to savour.

At the Pelling helipad you get an all-encompassing view of the majestic Kanchen jungha and the mountain ranges.

Pic 32. Kanchen junga before sunrise

Pic33. Short glimpse of golden hue Kanchan junga Hill range at sunrise  before cloud engulfs the view.

The Kanchen junga falls is a favorite place for tourists. The source of the water fall comes from the glaciers of Kanchenjunga. Cars wait by the side while enthusiastic ones brave the cold water and weather get down to dip their legs and some stand under the fall.

Pic34. Kanchen junga falls 

Tourists in large numbers visit the oldest monastery in Sikkim, The Pema yangtse monastery, which was built in 1705. Walk to the monastery is another attraction. It is a seven-story wooden structure which shows in detail religious facts, figures, statues, scriptures.

The Sangachoeling monastery is another old monastery. The Rodents ruins is of national importance is worth a visit (we did not due to lack of time)

We got to visit the Darap village. Home stays over here are popular with tourists in return you get a glimpse of Sikkimese culture and tradition. This village also holds a special place because it is exclusively populated by Nepalese of limbu caste who concentrate in cardamom cultivation.

The Rimbi river shows you the Rimbi water falls

Pic35. Rimbi falls.

With its orange orchard.

Pic36. Sole orange of the orchard

It is quite a climb down but not difficult as steps are cut out. There are tea shops where you park, so a cup of hot tea before or after is welcome. One can go up to the river hear the gurgling water and feel one with nature.

Pic37. Lovely bridge on Rimbi River.

There is calm, there is solitude and there is beauty of course.

Pic38. Rimbi River bed a visitor’s favorite spot near the orange orchard

Pic39.Peling with its blue mountains. 

Go for a shopping spree to the small shops and pick traditional Buddhist handicrafts, hand woven carpets, colorful shawls, prayer flags, lepcha weave shawls AND Walnuts and organic tea.

Losong is a Buddhist festival which ushers the new year, the Kanchen jungha festival is celebrated with gusto with lot of fun filled activities and sports. Zaxro is a special type of biscuit, rice and non- veg are consumed during festivals. Like Leh and Ladakh you see the Round Drum Mane and the Chorten.

Pic40.  One of the big Chorten of Pelling.

                                      Third halt Darjeeling

From Peling Avinash (our driver) took a short cut to reach Darjeeling through interior villages. Got to see these places on the off beaten track, or else we are restricted to the main city, places of tourist interest and the usual frequented streets, malls and Bazaars.

The villages were drowned in darkness, blinking lights in small houses gave the indication of life and living beings. City dwellers like us are left wondering about the type of life there. Houses were mostly built of wood, once in a while a house of brick and cement stood proudly. It was like driving through no man’s land. Once in a while a solo shop, few playing children, onlookers, women carrying their children stared at the car and us inside, their eyes  questioning ‘Why here?’  

Soon it was dark, in that unknown land surrounded by mountains and forests, trees tall and straight. Only the headlights on the narrow uneven road telling we were proceeding somewhere. It was Avinash’s back, his expert driving and thorough knowledge of the roads was comforting but still kept us on the edge of our seats. We felt we were the only living beings on earth. It was lonely to the point of being eerie. The dim lights from shops assured us we were not lost in wilderness. I realized only on reaching Darjeeling did I leave my held breath, So much for adventure!

We often heard Darjeeling was not the best of place if you are a cleanliness freak, but to our surprise we didn’t find anything so awful and objectionable, on the face of it, on the contrary there were cities in our country that could be described as very unclean. We were put up in a hotel on the main road,

Pic41. Darjeeling hotel view

 we visited markets, shopping places, eateries, so maybe we didn’t get to see the ‘Not so good parts.

The woollen market offered shawls, sweaters, jackets, scarves at enviable prices, provided, yes provided you are one of those who can sit tight and keep on asking for better deals……in simple language bargain.   

As you walk down   it is the main market with its collection of shops selling local stuff and things you need daily. Grocery, umbrellas, shoes and slippers, sweaters and cardigans, scarves and caps, noodles and biscuits, fruits and vegetables…. you name it and its yours for a price.

 Road parallel to it at a higher height satisfies your taste buds. Noodles, Thupka and of course the mouth watering, famous all over, MOMOS ……Veg and non-veg, CCD, KFC are ready to welcome you with open arms if there also you are craving for some Fast food.

Pic42.Mall Road of Darjeeling

This road has the Sikkim and West Bengal state emporiums. You get genuine local arts and handicrafts. Safe to buy. Shops also display local artifacts, precious and semi precious stones. Knowledge is a must if you are interested in them. Faces of Buddha, Tara, and many more, the shop owner will give you information about each, which makes it interesting.

Expect the rains at any time. People, tourists included are ready with their umbrellas. cold, chilly winds make you reach out for the chai served by the numerous chaiwallahs making the rounds with their thermos of hot chai.

 

Pic43. British Era Shops adorn the mall road

 Chilly wind and   hot chai, bakery biscuits, Children on horses, aimless tourists   strolling with umbrellas, ideal to sit around and wile away time. It is a luxury city people don’t get it often. Make the best of it.

Pic44. Horse ride for children is major entertainment in evening.

Pic45. Mahakal Temple of Darjeeling.

Darjeeling and Kanchen junga, meaningless one without the other. But all are not lucky to have a view of the third highest mountain of the world. Kanchenjunga range and its snow peaks is one of the primary attractions of tourists. We rushed as early as 4.30 AM to Tiger hill to have a glance of this majestic mountain. what a crowd there was, we parked kilometers away ready to walk the distance, but this pleasure was not ours to be. You need a clear sky and that’s something which is difficult to get. You get to see a white blanket of cloud or mist. Even though this was expected, we were disappointed.  Holidays are also synonymous with rather should be synonymous with doing what you always wanted, sleep late, sip your tea without office, maid, worries entering even the farthest corner of your mind. If with hubby enjoy the much-wanted space, if with friends leave throw ‘need space’ to the winds. Don’t your weight mar your happiness of few days, indulge with your friends in foodie delights of all kinds. No holiday is worth calling a holiday if you are not bindaas.

Pic46. Sunset view at Darjeeling.

Please do not forget to notice and admire the driving skills of the drivers. Hills on one side, with a valley on your other side, traffic in front and cars behind, what can be a nightmare is so easily negotiated by the drivers here with a smile on their faces and some interesting information on their lips. The ease with which they negotiate curves, steep and sloping roads, drive up and come down smoothly reminds one of the Hindi phrases ‘baaye haath ka khel’. Houses are left with bare minimum parking space but the vehicles are skillfully parked, how they performed this circus trick left me wondering.

While most of us admire and keep in mind the dignity of the place and what is expected from us, among us are the callous and insensitive too. There was a half an hour halt due to a land slide.

Pic47. Roadblock clearance after Landslide.

 It was welcome. People got out to stretch and admire the scenic beauty around. We were lucky to halt and experience the flowing stream 40 to 50 feet below, by the side the hills with their tall trees or else we would have just driven through minus the land slide.

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Pic48. Traffic holds up due to land slide and our scene of spoiling the environment

Suddenly TANGG, the jarring sound of a coke can thrown down and its rattling sound till it vanished into the deep valley. Most of us standing at the edge were stunned and furious for such blasphemy but the boy walked back   to his family after chivalrously disposing of the coke can. Only one community has this “chalse” attitude who can behave like this and say “Chalse” ----Chalta hai. You are silenced, what can be said, one cannot be taught, sensitivity should come from within.

We were having tea in a small road side shack, suddenly there is a far-off roar. we, the citybreds immediately almost instantly jumped to our feet with panic and anxiety writ large on our faces.

‘Landslide hai, Sir’ Avinash declared,’ Bahut door hai, chintaki baat nahi ‘(very far off not to worry). If far off is this, what is near then? In the silence of the dark night, with the dim bulb of the tea shop, we sat on plastic tools and listened to the hurtling down of stones and boulders, falling of huge quantities of earth, saw at a distance rising cloud of mud and dust. Realized this is nature in the raw.

If I didn’t talk about Avinash my travelogue would be incomplete. Nepali looks, but not fully Nepali, black stud in one ear, cropped hair, in jeans, shirt and jacket.

So respectful, always ready to listen and answer our numerous queries. Expert in his profession, the steering was like ‘Butter’ in his hands, winded up and down, in and out, knew every road, every short cut every turn, every nook and corner. Always smiling always pleasant.

Avinash lived in a village 40 kms away with his uncle, aunt and cousin. Father, he doesn’t remember, lost his mother a few years back. So, all alone, felt sad for this boy. Had   passed the 10th, cleared the written exam as well as the physical fitness test for the Indian Army, but the interview didn’t work in his favor. People who paid a lakh of rupees landed the job, he had neither the cash nor any relative to support him by lending him this amount of cash. I couldn’t believe this; he didn’t seem to be lying but according to him it not only happened but it was quite rampant.

Actually, I should call him Dr.  Avinash. While we halted for tea he rushed down and came up with leaves, like marigold, smelt also the same. He crushed it in his palms and said it was applied on cuts and wounds which helped to heal soon. I remember this was also a part of wound care in our villages. He showed us a variety of herbs, to control diabetes, increase   the RBC, cure your joint pains and aches   and some more. Another place he brought jungle berries as sweet as sugar, I tasted it willingly, by now I fully believed his knowledge of herbs and plants. He showed us green stems, “Khatta hai na” he enquired after I bit it on his insistence. They used it in daals (lentils) and pickled it too.

Pic49. Botany Doctor aka Driver Avinash explaining the plant available around this hill.

Pic50. Avinash as seen before we departed.

Next day we were leaving Asim and I wanted to gift him a   jacket, decided to give him the cash for it when he would come to drop us to Bagdogra airport. Our lovely holiday was to have a sad end we never knew.

There was another chauffeur at the wheels and not Avinash. We were informed by the present driver that he lost his cousin in a motorcycle accident.

Could he meet us?  No, he was far away in the village. Was bad luck haunting him? Father, mother now cousin, only son of his mama maami with whom he lived. I prayed God should bestow him with everything good. Today also I remember him and wish him a lot of happiness in those lovely hills that is his home.

Pic51. MAKAIBARI Tea garden---One of the world-famous brands.

Have you got the overwhelming whiff of tea on a cold, cold morning –yes   it is the Makaibari tea gardens. The world famous, much appreciated tea drinker’s top preference and demand. There is an organized   trek through the tea gardens. It is worth your time.

The hills became smaller, greenery became lesser, beauty freshness of the hills was replaced by dry, long stretches of land and strong sun.

Pic52. Team effort to clear road of fallen tree.

Agreed all good things come to an end BUT all GOOD MEMORIES live on.