Joining into the Indian fraternity last of all, here is an Indian state that is not from any standards the least of all. With a bustling education scene, pharmaceutical manufacturing scene, spiritual embodiment scene and an air quality index that the world can only learn from, the first green and completely organic state of India, is Sikkim at the frontier of all things that the future would ideally look like! All the credit decidedly goes to the former Chief Minister who ensured that pesticides and chemical fertilisers were completely banned from the state roughly over 10 years ago, now every produce from the state is totally organic. The humility and the soundness of the people is truly marvellous as is their devotion to their mountain deity, Mt Kanchenjunga, a five peaked mountain that is also the third highest mountain in the world at 8548m above sea level. While the government of Sikkim has banned the climbing of this peak, to honour the sentiments of the Bhutia and the Lepcha Buddhist communities that find climbing of the Kanchenjunga alike to desecrating the Goddess, the mountain peak is still mountable from its Nepal side, the government of Nepal collect huge amounts for scaling this mountain.
While Kanchenjunga forms the main attraction in Sikkim, the state offers spectacularly picturesque sights from its Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western fronts. To the North is the Nathu La pass, an extremely important breakaway of the Himalayas from India to China, Nathu La also was an important point of the erstwhile Sillk Route that allowed the passage of goods from China to Persia and further into Europe. The treacherous mountains soften in the two major passes of the Khandungla and the Nathula, both that below to India. The passes are heavily guarded by the Indian Army, with Nathu La being especially guarded by the spirited soldier by the name of Baba Harbhajan Singh, who has been gone in body about 50 years ago but a dextrous and zealous army man guarding the front even today! He is replete with all the army honours including paid leaves, awards and recognitions. In return he cautions the army regiment on duty at the front on enemy activities and keeps the guards awake in the miserable cold! One for the record and one for the supernatural, his temple is key to the fact that not everything that happens in this world can make total sense to the most sensible organ, the mind! Our drive upto the Nathu La pass was nothing short of splendid. The winding roads of East Sikkim are not as curvy as the Western forests of Sikkim, but with the falling of snow deeply hazardous. With fresh snowfall at Nathu La the entire scenery was transformed like a moving picture into a winter fairy wonder land. The entire pass blanketed in snow is extremely beautiful and at an altitude of over 14000-odd feet truly surreal. With altitude we did not feel any sickness but perhaps we were entranced by the beauty around us and with the quirky Adrin-ridden playlist of our driver. The Nepali influence is grand in the region and the singer doled out life lessons in every song with a beat we could not stop grooving to. Fresh snowfall in May? Well the answer remains in how the world is turning and we the people of it are turning out! This part of Sikkim is also home to the serene Tsomgo Lake where the world literally stops and the rather still lake is circumambulated by the sturdy Yaks who seem very much at ease in that temperature and the altitude. With no tourist service at Nathu La in terms of food is very much made up with full spectrum cell phone service from Chinese telecom and a prompt change of the time in our phones, signalling China time! The 5 time zone spanning country still tersely uses one time zone across all its zone and it is amusing to find our clocks chime to theirs while at Nathu La!
East Sikkim is where the capital and the most populous city of Sikkim is, Gangtok! It is also the most happening city with way too much activity in almost all sectors. Its MG Marg is so quaint that one cannot help but fall in love with the scrumptious food, the delectable fare from all its cafes and the traditional local fare that is served up along its pedestrianised central spine. Ice-creams in this cold city are up for grabs with the local Sikkim milk cooperative launching its own ice-cream parlor the day we stepped onto the Marg. Unlike the usual mall roads of hill stations, this marg actually houses a mall on its parallel road, a very on point West Point mall stocked with the latest fashion. While the seven sister states of India are known for their fashion sense, the eighth brother that Sikkim is fondly called is not far behind. A fact seen all over the state as women walk past in their pretty skirts and the men are equally trim in build and fit. The fact that this state shares such close proximity with Bhutan kind of rubs them both equal in the way that nature is treated, Bhutan is known for its cleanliness and nature consciousness, attributes that can be awarded to the Indian state of Sikkim as well. The best of Bhutan is keenly felt in Sikkim too, but ofcourse these two zones are very different from Nepal in terms of these two facts, yet Sikkim borrows heavily from Nepal in terms of language and culture. The Buddhist monasteries leave a keen imprint on the ethos of this region but particularly on Sikkim, Tibet and Bhutan. The Tibetan influence on the Buddhism practiced here is very keen, the Vajrasana mould of Buddhism that puts nonviolence or ahimsa at the apex. As the BRO signs say all over the upper roads, “Why be a Gama when you can be a Lama”. It literally doesn’t translate to but conceptually translates to why be an ordinary person when you can be spiritually aligned!
The Enchey Monastery that we visited was very special as the monk here gathered flying powers after his deep meditation! The hymns of “Om Mani Padme Hum” fill the hills as the prayer wheels are rotated all across the region. The calmness is surreal as is the feel of the place replete with positive energies. As birds chirp in region and sun glints on the icy peaks we made our way to the West but not before seeing the beautiful Himalayan zoo and the gorgeous Orchidarium that pays homage to the joyous and deeply classy flower of the orchid flower, of whose 515 specie are found in this state. Orchids that are found all over the world in different colours and constructs are deeply admired for their beauty. The Orchidarium is a very well designed museum for this flower that showcases its various forms and functions. Vanilla is a type of an orchid, a bit of knowledge I gained here too during the visit to see this spectacular flower, and in the zoo I learned of the Red Panda, a cat like, panda faced creature red in colour, also the state animal of Sikkim. It is so exotic to see and climbs a tree resting on it like a pro! The Himalayan zoo is very interesting in that it is not meant to be like a traditional zoo with the visitors peering into the animals living there but lends a very natural setting to the visitor almost like an experiential quality that blurs the cages between the habitats of the animals and the visitors. The Yak that we found all over the Northern Sikkim is housed at the highest most point of the zoo, for the yaks, any altitude of less than 7000 feet is truly lethal. Looking dressed to the T in fur coats, these yaks are domesticated for fun rides for the tourists and locals alike. Rich in colour the tapestries of Sikkim are liberal in their use of the reds, yellows, blues and all the other tertiary colours that make for resplendent objects against the blue and white of the sky and the snow. At the revered Hanuman tok and the Ganesh tok one is treated to spectacular views across the Valley and spirituality like none other. Hinduism is also a major religion in Sikkim heavily borrowing from its neighbour, the only Hindu country in the world, Nepal. A majority of the people in Sikkim continue to be Hindus inspite of the influence of the region and the prominence of Christianity around the world.
While Southern Sikkim is replete with agricultural produce, all organic and all good for the gut, western Sikkim is still forested and deeply at that. Pelling the other city we stationed at, is much smaller that the state capital yet extremely beautiful in make and belief. Pelling brings one closer to the Mount Kanchenjunga roughly about just 40 km from this glorious peak, one that is all about giving away wishes to its worshippers. In fact there is a lake in the vicinity called the Kheocheopalri lake that is called the wishing lake! It is a foot shaped lake and legend has it that birds allow no leaves to rest on the lake immediately pulling out the leaves that drop onto the sheet like lake, it is surrounded by a wetland and the birds that comprise the habitants of the lake are melodious as ever. The feel of the lake with its adjoining monastery is very holy just like the mountain deity herself. Our resort offered us stunning views of Mount Kanchenjunga and the snow peak apparently unveils itself ever not so often, shielding itself with clouds and every time the clouds clear and the peak is visible makes for a lucky view. Even better than the views from the Chumbi Mountain Retreat are the views from the newly opened Pelling Ropeway to the Pelling skywalk, again a centre for a huge praying Buddha statue, one that we also saw on the roadway between Gangtok and Pelling at the Buddha Park of the Thatagat Tsal. The views are uplifting and the scene are truly spell-bounding, it all probably has to do with the prayer words on the prayer flags and the prayer wheels that unending winds carry over all around.
Not having an active airport in Gangtok of makes the region very hard to reach and hence one has to arrive all the way from the Bagdogra international airport that is a part of West Bengal. The drive is scenic along the banks of the Teesta river and one is treated to the city that is Siliguri. Sixteen kilometres from the Nepal border and about 30 odd kilometres from the Bangladesh border make Siliguri a very important centre in this part of the country hence being heavily guarded by the Indian Army. Siliguri also is the beacon to the north east, all roadways connecting to this part of India have to pass through here. The drive to the various points in Sikkim is not for the fainthearted and definitely not for one who considers their food their medicine or a reason for being! While the food and the views are reward once one gets to the main point, the journey is definitely not the destination in case of food along the way. The beauty of Sikkim does not pass any one by, it’s a beauty that stays with one long after, especially the views of the snowcapped mountains afar. While the region gets ready for the Mansarover season, and pilgrims arrive for the trek or the helicopter ride to the abode of Lord Shiva one just wonders on how much more beautiful can the world get. While Switzerland is clean pristine and beautiful, Sikkim is that and spiritual and that makes it spell-binding! It is touted as the Switzerland of the east but course there cannot be a Switzerland in the east!
Vedasri Siddamsetty 