Living through memories

 

Recently a colleague mentioned that he was going on a road trip and will be covering Utah. The first thing I blurted out "are you going to see Bryce canyon". As he started looking forward to his trip I started digging back into my old albums.

 It was a decade back that I went to Denver to my friend Nishant Shahs’s place and we then did a 10-hour drive to Bryce. The drive was marked with such amazing changes in landscape and vegetation that school Geography came alive.

 My travel opportunities in India were limited while I was growing up. It was in North America that I could experience what I had read. In fact, staying in Toronto meant that I could visit Niagara Falls whenever I had a free weekend. From Great Lakes to Canyons, Snowcapped Mountains to Deserts it was all encompassing. This was my way to recharge and it continued when I moved back to India. As it turned out, Nishant returned as well and we planned a trip to Sikkim. He was part of a hiking expedition to Himalayas.  I joined them during the last leg for a sight seeing trip.

I landed in Bagdogra a few days before Dussehra and my auto got caught in the procession on Ashtami. I had to abandon it midway as all the roads were blocked. I was able to swathe through the crowd and managed to find a cycle rickshaw. By the time I reached my hotel, I was dead tired. I took an early dinner and crashed.

The next day was going to be long and adventurous as I was supposed to meet Nishant and his group of friends in the middle of the mountains. I rented a car to Gangtok and had to pick Nishant en route. Soon after I passed Siliguri, I was greeted with lush green forests and stunning views of Teesta River. The road to Gangtok was almost a mirror image of the river and kept meandering through the mountain rages providing jaw dropping views. I wondered if the river Tushmia from Dev Anand Starrer "ye gulistaan hamara" was inspired by Teesta. The tune of the song "tushmia ri tushmia" kept buzzing in my mind. My thoughts were interfered by a phone call: Nishant and his hiking gang were only a short distance away.The timing was perfect and when I reached the destined restaurant, they were just around the corner.

 Nishant introduced me to his group and we settled down over breakfast. They all soon bid adieu, leaving behind Nishant and Ranjeet. The three of us thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the drive and we stopped ion the way at Rumtek Monastery. Its location in the backdrop of mountains was a sight to Behold. The place was bustling with monks. We also observed that they domesticated lot of animals and we could observe cats and rats living in harmony!

By evening we reached homestay in Gangtok. It was strategically located uphill giving a panoramic view of scenery below. Our routine in Gangtok was to have breakfast at homestay and leave and come back in the evening. We had lovely conversation with our hosts over scrumptious food during dinner time.

I was surprised that rice was the staple food for them as they are Nepalese. I had the misconception that as we go North rice gets replaced by roti as the staple food. (I am of course aware of the love for rice among Bengalis).

Among the several landmarks we covered in Gangtok were the temples Ganesh Tok, Hanuman Tokand Banjhakari waterfalls. The falls had a vantage point, a flat rock downstream spot where you could stand with a view of water from above. It became a "Patel point"; with young guys lining up for their turn and give macho poses. I am sure some of them would have ended as profile pictures in matrimonial websites! The highlight of the journey was a trip to Nathu La Pass; where we could see the India-China border.

Dashami was on October 3, and it was also the birth anniversary of Vividh Bharati and a string of melodies kept us company. As Kishore Kumar's voice started serenading in the mountains "havaon pe likhdo, havaon ke naam.; ham anjaan pardesion ka salaam" we were stopped by the locals and gave us sweets. It was truly the signature of those unknown people who were very hospitable and disciplined.

In fact, if there is one takeaway from my trip to Sikkim, it’s the cleanliness and orderliness of the city and its people. It’s like a foreign country and it was heartwarming to see women shoulder to shoulder with men in all spheres of life.

I did not get a chance to go to the North East again, but my fascination for mountains, water bodies and forests in that order continues...Since Aarohi was born the sequence got reversed and forests (national parks with wildlife) became the focus.

Having already been to Bandipur and Pench in the last 2 winters, we are looking forward to makingnew memories this year; God and Covid willing. Otherwise we can always live through our memories.