Sikkim Soul Station

An aura of quietude exudes from the virgin forests and monasteries of this hallowed land. Deepika Belapurkar goes on a spiritual adventure

Granted, Sikkim simply has much to offer and most visitors find the options stupefying. Take the monastery trail, for instance; every corner of this state has some significant wedge of Buddhist lore nailed to its historical tomes. If like me you claim to be the odd spiritual freak, you would be well advised to allocate a few days to unraveling Sikkim's monastic connections with greats like Guru Rimpoche.

Sikkim is quite the proverbial Shangri-La, gripping adventure sewn into its 7,096 sq. kms. fabric. From its muggy subtropical plains to the highest peak of Khangchendzonga at 28,168 feet, a mere 80 kms. distance between, Sikkim encapsulates the best of the lot of magnolias and primulas in the Eastern Himalayas.

The sky, for instance, is mostly a cornflower-blue, arching over a land of endearing contrasts: tropical, temperate and alpine, 46 per cent forest cover that nourishes luxuriant meadows and a resultant florid plant and animal life. Apart from mountains, glaciers and passes that fulfill a mountaineer's deep-dwelling fantasy to conquer, the cornerstone of Sikkim, are its abiding customs. Sikkim is for the explorer, the seeker, the, egalitarian. It's never too late to back out, however, if you're expecting to get anything aside from Maggi hakka noodles and momos (buffalo?) in the far-flung villages. It doesn't get any better, for the simple reason that the locals' needs are rudimentary.

Even booking a holiday in Sikkim is a dream, so flagrant is its mix of offerings and so worldly the men who sell the packages. So astute are the ways of these tour operators, whose operations seamlessly blend with the services proffered by the tourist office and the tourist cabs that line M.G Marg in Gangtok with hardly a millimeter space in between. We dithered very briefly between embarking on mind-uplifting lama encounters and taking botany lessons on the state's biodiversity. For, we wanted both.

Gangtok was where we got a foot into the door. Simple, enough. But, to dare verify all those myths and legends about mountains doubling up as Gods and lakes hiding legendary secrets in their bowels you need to step outside its bedlam. The capital is coolly reminiscent of worldly pleasures: antique stores, the Levis-clad youth and jowl inspiring fare. If you look carefully and can distinguish the odd Mongoloid Lepcha, Sikkim's original inhabitant, try convincing him to reveal his grandmother's tales.

What we got for a whole lot of expense, for Sikkim's suited to every tourist season and can never be termed inexpensive, were mounting cab bills to various sightseeing spots. Therefore, for an impending trek we garnered forces, guide and driver (and someone to share the vehicle with and therefore the charges). All of Sikkim has trek-worthy land and well configured too.

Everything happens for a reason here. Even our early breakfast hours at the promontory crowning M.G Marg in Gangtok to counter four a.m. dawns. Those you ought to survive 'cause Sikkim (even Gangtok) freezes over by 8 p.m. and you're left with hotel foyers that appear to be shrinking violets, so you just retire early, that's all. In the remote areas, forget action; even electric poles are hard to come by.

Getting acquainted with Gangtok's dharmic ways is a starting point. Begin with the palatial Pal Zurmang Kagyug monastery in Lingdum. Its frescoes of 1997 even now retain ethereal brightness. You're unlikely to bump into conversationalist monks here, though you're assured inspirational silence and premium time to bask in the sun on the steps leading to the main prayer hall. Rumtek, nevertheless, is the uncontested beneficiary of reflex tourist attention, for its 20th century old monastery, built by the 16th Karmapa, and whispers the story of the black hat made from strands of hair donated by ten thousand fairies to the first Karmapa. Even earlier the ninth Karmapa built a monastery nearby, which somehow lost its sheen in the face of Rumtek's captivating position. Rumtek Hill, caretaker of its namesake monastery, has tourists vying to trek to Tinjure on top.

You can simplify your search for nirvana even further. Inside relaxing gardens and parks, the best harvest from a land that nourishes almost psychedelic orchids and similar such ornamental beauties. Then there are chortens, small and big, with prayer wheels nimble beneath the flicking action of one's patulous fingers. Whilst Tibetan architecture reveals itself in imposing places like the Research Institute of Tibetology.

The best part of being in Sikkim is the location of almost anything. Amid birch, magnolia and oak forests. Can one possibly be far from heaven, one muses? Quite possibly, Sikkim's hottest selling package today includes Nathula Pass, multiple kilometers northeast of Gangtok. Upright Chinese soldiers, too childlike in their enjoyment of Indian adulation across the fence, can't quite make up for the freeze at 14,400 ft. Chhongu Lake about 20 kms. behind is a joyous receptacle. Of merry yak rides, all kinds of woolen accoutrement - this extra reinforcement is of great use up at the pass, oodles of inspired noodle delicacies, and friendly local shop owners wise to the bargaining ways of Indians.

This part of Sikkim is austere though personable, visit-worthy though sparsely habited except for miles of spartan army barracks. No visitor ever skirts the Baba Harbhajan Singh temple located on rocky land whittled by the callous pounding of unforgiving winds. You'll be stumped alright, by the convoy of visitors and their tourist vehicles that easily number a revolution. Such is herd mentality and curious yearnings thereby that even agnostics believe the story of how a sepoy became a baba and whose realm exudes the power that can bless bottled water if left there over consecutive days. To claim it would be a Herculean task, by all means, to combat expense, cold and winding roads on your second attempt.

Care to discover the best scenery? Then choose the appropriate algorithm to pick holes in your persistent tour operator's hard sell and consult a good guide at the outset. Fantastical panorama is easily what the northern parts offer. Tashi View Point that concedes to the north Sikkim highway is far more generous in unveiling sights of Kanchenjunga, but if glaciers and high passes are what you seek, the extreme northern frontier never disappoints.

We were in no hurry to get anywhere. So, we befriended village life embedded in the flow of interlacing ridges, steep and intersected by the deepest valleys you ever saw. Riding piggyback on a coiled serpent, staking claims to the intermittently fallow and fertile land, this road brought us to dwell for extended periods at forested groves and glades in the north. Simply, there is no better place than Sikkim whereby to become acquainted with the different religious trails charted by monks and kings alike. Moreover, all of its 194 odd monasteries brim over with anecdotal rites of passage into the present moment. Whether the 1970-built Phodong monastery, a creation by Chogyal Gyurmed Namgyal for the then karmapa of the Karma Kagyu order or the older Labrang in its original architectural form.

The rest of the state is no neophyte either. In the south beyond Ravangla on the way to Kewzing, one gets a peek into the designer world of lamas at the state's sole Bon monastery; here exquisite and highly original thangkas are fashioned by the residing head lama Kalsong Nyima. Much too hot in terms of pricing. Another one of those (un)earthly architectural marvels resides at Pelling in the west. It's premier, 400-year-old and as royal as you can get; for Pemayangtse was the former kings' favorite destination for religious ceremonies.

Much of Sikkim's past, though not all, has endured the chilling brushstrokes of slow but deteriorating change. Inevitable change. Couldn't be more evident than at Tumlong in the north, capital of old and long - 90 years. The rendering of his former palace into rubble and stone mounted by even thicker shrubbery would as certainly give the 7th king a turn were he alive. Sikkim's second capital built by the second chogyal had been Rabdentse in the west, now completely ravaged too.

But, in these shadowy vistas also thrives an immensely spectacular northern region, resplendent in flower scented and color-bedecked valleys in April and May. There's richness in every inch of fecund land here; come across the greenest paddy field in Chungthang and you'll understand this one's blessed. It is - for legend has it that Guru Rimpoche cast his benevolent glance on it. There's proof too in the form of his footprint on a rock nearby for all to see. The sanctified Gurudongmar Lake is considered so because its water is blessed nectar for childless hopefuls.

Blessed places apart, most honeymooning visitors, a huge chunk coming from West Bengal, pass through Sikkim without so much as a second glance in another direction. Well, at least until the tour operator deposits them at Yumthang. Flowers at one's feet and snow-bound views at eye level practically. But, really, is that all there's to valley views?

Never. For, in the west, the deepest forests are yet to come by with relentless waterfalls, and daily life transcribed on the banks of fulsome rivers and on the slopes of centuries old terraced fields. Your guide can become your window to another life, where time ceases to hold relevance and true friendships seem to hold good even between strangers.

You can witness this endearing trend on hikes yes, but at base camps such as Yuksam in the west its intensity is palpable. At many of Sikkim's mountainside places such as this life unravels almost as leisurely as the first hesitant drops of unplanned rain. A 25 km excursion to Khecheopalri Lake brings into sharper focus the relevance of prayer flags as these waft love and peace messages across the water surface. Its environs are thickly wooded, yet not a single leaf violates the unruffled waters.

Such is Sikkimese faith in the elements of Nature controlling their everyday life. Uneventful, languorous and chhang-filled everyday life. So, all you do is relax, sit back and inhale the aromas of dharmic sustenance.