A Ghostly Legend
In East of Gangtok is Nathu La Pass which ushers into China occupied Tibet. Needless to say its location is very strategic for India's national security thus you see as many army personnel as civilians. There is a Baba Mandir in Nathula , a martyr of Indian Army, Harbhajan Singh is bestowed with the honour of being a saint and the temple has been erected for him.The temple is a room which has Late Harbhajan's photos and all his belongings from his bed to shoes, his books to his comb. He died during the 1965 battle at the feisty age of 26. The story given to us by the local driver and some other people including the guide is that Harbhajan Singh's body was found only after three days of his death and he himself lead the search. He came in the dream of his peer and asked for a temple to be made for him. It is believed that after his death his uniform and shoes would be used every single day and in the night the dirty clothes and soiled shoes returned back at his cabin. As a practise a fresh uniform and shoes are kept each morning for him. We were told that he helped all who respected and prayed him and those who did not were cursed with bad luck.
Nathula PassOnly Indians are given a permit to enter here (same day as travel means long ques) You can put one foot in China occupied Tibet and one foot in India. At 14500 feet, the air was very thin and the wind so strong that ascending was daunting At the top you can shake hands with Chinese soldiers (Phew! after you have finished greeting the Indian guerrillas) This region can turn into a blanket of snow thus shutting down for 3 or more months in a year. My sense of achievement at the top was no smaller than the magnanimous snow-covered mountain range all around us, an informative photo gallery displaying popular monuments of India was set up where we spend some time with watering eyes and masked faces (with mufflers as the cold wind blew) At the base, there is an army shop selling Chinese artefacts and China ware and a centre where certificates are issued for visiting Nathula, no certificates come without hardship, right! | Tsongo LakeAfter completing mission Nathula we stopped at Tsongo Lake.The drive from Nathula to the lake was a cloud 9 experience literally. As the car descended downslope we were above the clouds and it felt the car was a boat floating on sea of clouds. The partly frozen lake was large and green and ice at the banks cracked with the pressure of our feet. My son got ecstatic with the idea of playing on a frozen lake ( Like the penguins in the Cartoon Network) The lake was surrounded by mountains that looked like Oreo biscuits with little snow here and there. We went around on Yak backs and froze ourselves digging into the snow. After all, we came this far to be in snow and it would be a loss for our family if we did not erect a super snow man with charcoal eyes and a carrot nose. A small market place near the lake with little stalls with sloping roofs selling hot coffee and sizzling hot Dimsums was perfect to keep the body temperature intact. Thank God! we are warm blooded animals. |
LachungIn September 2011 the Earth shook The Himalayan abodes in North- East Sikkim, Tibet, Nepal and its tremors were felt far away in Delhi and other neighbouring places. Alas! it was an Earthquake that devastated life and property of thousands, in 2012 when we drove from the capital city of Gangtok to Lachung we witnessed the after- effect of the earthquake that happened 14 months back. The houses looked bitten by a giant concrete- eating Ogre and the winding roads hardly looked like roads as large pieces of rocks blocked, broke and chipped away parts of it. Lachung is a small town with a population of few thousands. We stayed a night at Yarlam Resorts and I feel like a lioness when I say that out of 100 odd rooms in that resort we were the only occupant that night. Due to harsh weather conditions and bad roads most people avoid coming to Lachung. Needles to say that we were thoroughly pampered by the staff, and I must mention that I was touched when two local women in their native attire came to our room in the night with hot water bags and replacing words with smiles made sure that we were utmost comfortable. | Yumthang ValleyYumthang Valley is 11800 feet above sea level and this Himalayan valley has more than 24 species of rhododendron flowers adding to its glory. A tributary of river Teesta flows through it making the valley picture-perfect. No words are sufficient to describe the beauty of Yumthang Valley so I leave it on the pictures to do so! |
Gangtok- The Capital of Sikkim
The Sikkim Culture
The alcohol shops outnumber any other kind of shops in Sikkim including tea shops, this does not mean you will find people involved in road side brawls, the people are polite, shy and have a connoisseur kind of liking for music. Some of the drivers that we had were very young ( wont deny that we had butterflies in our stomach and they drove fabulously over-coming the wicked terrain. In some of the places that we stayed the staff performed dance and music shows demonstrating stupendous Bollywood influence. All along the journey one can enjoy hot momos and dumplings and at 10000 feet there are shops selling them sizzling hot along with whiskey sold in pegs (no crystal glasses please)
There are many monasteries in Sikkim from large ones to very large ones. We visited many of them, it was intriguing to see monks display high standards of discipline during prayers and work. The monasteries are very colourful and they look different from each other( one reason could be Buddhism has various sects) The monks were friendly and let us peep into their lives. The World- famous Rumtek Monastery is like a fortress as the Indian Army is deployed there in large number. I am no less than curious Tom so I questioned some of them, while some of them acted peppery and remained noiseless (mind you I approached only the frail ones, I didn't want to get shot) one or two in hushed voices said that as Dalai Lama has fled from Tibet to India they fear an attack from Tibet. He also hissed something like the monks sometimes turn violent which I didn't digest well.
There are many monasteries in Sikkim from large ones to very large ones. We visited many of them, it was intriguing to see monks display high standards of discipline during prayers and work. The monasteries are very colourful and they look different from each other( one reason could be Buddhism has various sects) The monks were friendly and let us peep into their lives. The World- famous Rumtek Monastery is like a fortress as the Indian Army is deployed there in large number. I am no less than curious Tom so I questioned some of them, while some of them acted peppery and remained noiseless (mind you I approached only the frail ones, I didn't want to get shot) one or two in hushed voices said that as Dalai Lama has fled from Tibet to India they fear an attack from Tibet. He also hissed something like the monks sometimes turn violent which I didn't digest well.