The Height Of Beauty SIKKIM
When you’re a first-time visitor to Sikkim, the only way to go is up
– and to stay warm!
“Nothing is enough, be content with
what you have”
WHENEVER I think of Sikkim, I think
of prayer flags against an azure sky. The state (the second-smallest after Goa
and the least populous in India) – seems relatively uncorrupted by tourism.
That also means getting there is
hard if you don’t have money for jet fuel (see box: Getting There). A friend
and I took small tempo, which squeezed four people into a back seat meant for
two. Four hours later, when we reached Sikkim’s capital, Gangtok, we were only
glad that our backs and legs had survived. Note: It’s worth paying for an extra
seat in the tempo just for the space.
FIRST LOOK
Once you’ve reached however, the fun
begins. We made an unconventional first stop: the Directorate of Handicrafts
and Handlooms. It puts on a curious little display – a typewriter-cumcalculator,
another typewriter with just numbers, a beehive from 1936, the Buddha painted
using fruit and vegetable dyes. There’s a new addition to the artefacts.
Narendra Modi visited the place recently. His comments in the visitor’s diary
have been turned into a huge poster and displayed prominently.
IN HIGH SPIRITS
We were quite lucky to catch a
Nepali rock show, part of an ongoing music festival, on our first day there,
because the rest of our trip was as rustic as it gets. We headed to Lachung in
colder North Sikkim on Day Two, spotting the Kangchenjunga, the world’s third
highest peak, on our way there. For this part of the world, it’s best to get a
guide. There are several tours, ranging from two to four days, that most
firsttimers opt for, and we did too. The tour operators also organise the
permits required for Indians and foreigners, so carry your identification.
But despite local aid, you might be
at the mercy of the elements. Our itinerary included the Yumthang Valley and
Lake Gurudongmar, but heavy snowfall had blocked the roads to the lake. Sikkim,
it turns out, is a nice place to be thankful for what you to manage to see. Be
especially thankful for the woollies you packed when you left your hot city. By
the time we reached Lachen, a town almost on the border of Tibet, it was too
cold to focus on anything but keeping warm. It was near sub zero and we had to
rent gloves – funny looking pink ones – and gumboots in order to survive
Yumthang Valley the next day. I looked like a cross between a forensic expert
and a polar bear. But I certainly was warmer.
Tourism types describe Yumthang as a
‘grazing pasture’. Don’t listen to them. It’s anything but a pasture, unless
the animals had taken to the taste of snow. But it’s beautiful. The entire area
was dusted in white, we could have been in the Alps. It was the fluttering
prayer flags that reminded us that we were still in Sikkim.
ONWARD BOUND
What’s a trip to Sikkim without a
visit to a monastery or five? The serenity of Rumtek will make you wonder why
it was so recently a hotbed of sectarian tension. Pigeons flutter around the
main compound, little students amble to their lessons, and the sight of the
monastery against the quiet mountainside is spellbinding.
At the beautiful Ranka monastery just
outside Gangtok, it appears the gods wanted to make up for us missing
Gurudongmar. By a stroke of luck, the Lama dance – which happens once a year –
was in progress. The huge compound in the middle of the monastery was turned
into a stage, with several monks (their faces masked, their arms brandishing
swords and other paraphernalia), dancing on.
When I asked a woman what it
signified, she said that it was believed that if you saw the Lama dance, it
would take away the fear of death. My slightly frightened self couldn’t agree
more.
We also got talking to a Bhutanese
monk, who was the best person for a quick understanding of Buddhism. “We all
want something or the other,” he said. “Nothing is enough. We should learn to
be content with what we have.”
The words had a lovely ring to them,
coming from a monk. Those would be the perfect last words on which we left
Sikkim with a smile on our faces.
GETTING THERE
The nearest airport is Bagdogra,
only 124km from Gangtok. Several domestic carriers operate from Kolkata, Delhi
and other cities.
If the weather and your budget
permits, there are daily helicopter flights from Bagdogra to Gangtok.
Or take the road. NH31A from
Siliguri to Gangtok is a slow but picturesque two-hour ride.
TOP SHOTS!
Find serenity atop a yak at the
Tsongmo lake in East Sikkim, or drop into one of the monasteries in Gangtok and
beyond to find peace in the mountains
HTBR14JUN15
No comments:
Post a Comment