Sikkim Sojourn (Part 2)

Lachen monastery is more than 200 years old and belongs to the Nyingma sect of Buddhism. Nyingma means “ancient” and “old” in Tibetan language. Around the 8th and 9th centuries, the Esoteric Sect spread into Tibet from India; while Bon Religion had been exerting a great influence on Tibetans. Since these two religions shared some common characteristics as being mysterious, they merged gradually. This sect has a loose organization and focuses on mantra practice. It does not have systematic doctrines and complete ranking system among monks. Pemayangste Monastery in Pelling is the seat of Nyingma sect and Lachen comes under their control.

We silently toured the Monastery asking the Lama to explain their worship rituals, festivals and turning him into a curator to explain the mythology behind the paintings. Paintings were intricate, done with herbal dyes and some of them were strikingly similar to hindu mythology. We were shocked to see sexually explicit painting depicting carnal desires. The Lama says it is all about explaining desires more than experiencing and relinquishing them on the path to spirituality. I asked the Lama if I could take some pictures but sadly he denied my request. But I always found ways to take capture some interesting objects or subjects and every time I stealthily used my camera and Artur coughed heavily to mask the shutter sound. Don’t blame me…I want to share every bit on the trip with you.

Chortens are seen in very monastery. They are beautifully crafted Tibetan stupa with a chamber inside to house relics and empowered objects. We came out and asked the Lama to explain all about Chortens. It is believed that Buddha was kept in one after his death. Chortens are similar to Brindavans built for hindu monks after their death. A Chorten is a stabalizing force in any environ, it anchors the positive energy of enlightenment in an area.

I looked around and Steven was the only one missing from the gang. He was busy standing outside the monastery trying to explore if he can get a bird for dinner. We gathered some knowledge, left enlightenment from next part of life and started the journey towards Lachung.

The morning was cold and misty; we were buried in our jackets with windows rolled up. Steven was busy hydrating himself all through the journey while the rest of us were conversing louder to bury the noisy bollywood music in the car. On the way down we stopped at an Army post and spoke to few of the Jawans, who were guarding the borders.

The 3 hour drive finally got us to Lachung and it was around lunch time when we landed. We had no planned accommodation and we went driving around the town and asking people if they had 4 bedrooms to spare. We preferred doing homestays to resorts or lodges. Homestays are basic, but comes with more warmth, care and at a cheaper price (Rs 100/bed/day).

Finally we found a homestay with 4 rooms on the first floor. That was a perfect place for the 8 of us to stay close and cozy. For 200rs a room we even had a view from our bathroom. When you are surrounded by forest, mountains and waterfalls where is the chance to have any other view? There was a nice 4 feet by 8 feet walkway outside the rooms which we had ideas for.

So far in the journey we were playing it safe - rice, dal, subzi and occasionally momos, but local cuisine was yet to be tasted. The hosts prepared an elaborate lunch since we had maggi for breakfast. After the Indian lunch we walked around the town with filled bellies and no agenda. Feels like wandering cattle huh?

Lachung is beautiful village at 9000 ft surrounded by nature and peace. Winters add a white blanket to this beautiful town. But this time of the year was green and wet at times, but mountains higher up was blanketed in snow.

We were in no race to cover the touristy places or pose for pictures, just a happy walk flapping our flip flops, wagging our tongue and observing people. Soaking and sinking with the local people, tradition and culture is the best way to understand any place or country.

Residents of this town radiate peace that you see in the nature around you. Life is slow, clam, respectful, peaceful, simple and soulful. Quite a contrast to what we see in the cities! Houses were small, but hearts were large. We made contact with passerby to understand the life, lifestyle and peripheries of the village.

During our walk we explored the local monastery, a school and a primary health care centre (PHC). Never have I appreciated a PHC, but now living with them and looking at the minimal medical facilities, I felt the need more doctors to work/volunteer here. Who would not want to serve in the palms of nature for a year? Is there a need for a big hospital? Nope. People look healthy, trim and fit and PHC would not have much work unlike swelling hospitals in cities. I saw many old people fit and active.

Food, fun and friends.…
While I was engaged and ravaged in thoughts, Steven and rest of the gang were planning the evening during the walk. A long list of items got on the to-do list and everybody had Thumba…thumba…thumba on their list.

One picked up a pack of cards, another picked up a guitar, one picked up the bottle of pleasure, one picked up the dhoop stick and all I had was a thick blanket to keep myself warm that evening. We got into the large kitchen area of the house and saw the lady of the house was filling the wooden cylinder with fermented millet and there was hot water boiling on the stove.

The groups sat around the table strumming the guitar, reeling out popular songs and Carol taught the group a new card game. Soon smoke filled the room and finally thumb was brought to the table and hot water was poured from top and a bamboo straw was dropped in.

The beer was freshly brewed. Plates of momos and chips came to the table along with personal stories and there was background score to go with it. The room was little empty without Steven. Where is Steven? Every now and then I stepped out to catch a whiff of fresh air and looking out for Steven The sky was clearing up and moon was ready to illuminate the snow capped peaks. At around 8 PM nature turned the stars on and beetles were composing their symphony in the wild.

Nobody sat around the kitchen and ordered food off the menu card. What a boring way to do a vacation! Steven came back with the bird and his homecoming was welcomed with cheer .The group had been on a vegetarian diet and rest of the gang was salivating for the bird.

Which hotel would allow you to walk into their kitchen and make your own thingy or help the host, but that is what some homestays do to you. And if you speak the local language you get more access.

Bijay took control of the bird and took the cleaver in his hands to chop the chicken. While the bird was spicing up Bijay emptied a can of Mackeral and cooked it with eggs to add spirit to the evening. Henrietta helped to make some tea and the room was buzzing with activity.

It was over 9 pm when the dinner was finished and we had to move out of the kitchen and give the owners their space and personal time. Where do we go next?

We remembered the 8 feet by 4 feet space outside our rooms, yes the hallway. Candles were lit, blankets were put on the floor, glasses and bottles were brought and the crowd was gearing up for a ritual. I borrowed pen and paper from Henrietta and found myself a chair in the corner of the room, to observe and make notes on the trip. Sounds like chemistry lab without a lab coat?

Artur put some brown stuff in his hand and powdered it with his fingers. Then he pulled out a piece of parchment paper and made a thin cylinder out of it. He packed it with the stuff and sealed it with saliva and finally packed one end of the cylinder with a cigarette filter. The2inch happiness stick was ready and sorrow was burning at the other end!

The three Fs’ (food, friend and fun) came together to make that evening memorable. An hour into the party I retired for the night and all I hear at 4 AM was a knock on my door.

Yes, who else other than Henrietta? Remember she wakes up before any life in the village and she walks around and capture the beauty of the village. Walk in this village is meditation!

An hour into the walk nature displayed its next curtain; it was dark grey with intermittent drizzle. Clouds were playing hide and seek in covering the mountain peaks and waterfall. It looked like nature was drawing the curtain to do a personal pooja to the peak often. During the morning walk I captured the scenery, flowers, the drying teddy in the clothes lines and beer bottle with sweater in my camera.

We took refuge in a tea shop and fished for some more information about the place and people. People spoke Hindi and Nepalese but very little English. Over a cup of chai we found out that the law entitles only natives (born in Sikkim) to own land, property and run businesses in Sikkim, hence you got to be a Sikkim national to own or run a business. Thank god otherwise our Nairs, Biharis and Gujaratis must have set up their business and turned it into a commercial hotspot.

So many people must have visited this tiny village, so many cameras must have captured the mountains and hosts must have served so many hungry stomachs. But still the place was neat, fresh, clean and there was no sign of thrown around garbage and unhygienic lifestyle.

By the time we got back to the room rest of them were up, showered and ready for breakfast and leave to Zero point and Yumthang Valley. I didn’t have much time to freshen up and leave. 2 minutes into the shower, the pipe poured air and water droplets started to trickle. I looked helplessly at the airing pipe with foam filling my palms. Yes, it was Steven who emptied the tank in the process of emptying his hangover. I yelled for help and finally I get a bucket of hot water to complete my ablutions. Finally the marathon ended with 2 bread jam sandwiches and chai before I boarded the jeep.

While I was busy getting there was a little fight between the cab driver and the group. Since we were not able to make it to Gurudongmar Lake due to landslide (it was a part of the deal) we were asking the cab driver to take us to Zero point instead. After some serious exchange of words and haggling he agreed and reversed the car in a rage. Well what do you expect a 19 year old to do?

Within minutes into the journey the beauty and blossom of Rhododendrum quelled the temper. Music was back and so was Steven with his bottle of Cola. We were ascending altitudes beyond 5000m and the air was rarified and the winding movement made us sick. We stopped at the military check post to hand over a copy of our travel permit and a few hundred rupees to take care of the foreign tourist in our vehicle. Money goes all the way from netherworld to mountain peaks!

The vehicle passed by Yumthang Valley (kept it for later) and drove towards Zero point. Fully bloomed and colorful Rhododendrums decorated very inch on that road and we found yaks grazing with their family. Inclement weather had covered the mountains and vegetation with snow. We were excited to see Snow in the month of May in India. We stopped and captured some snowy moments for you.

We parked the car at Zero point and the place was filled with tourist and I was pained to see the petrol and diesel fumes polluting the milk white snow. Tourist was plucking the wild flowers and some rolled down their windows and abandoned empty water bottles, chips and biscuit wrapper. My friend Bijay snapped at a few of them. How can we educate people who are not willing to listen?

I walked a mile in that snow towards a quiet spot on the of the valley edge to just sit, observe and absorb the beauty of the peaks. My eyes saw just white stuff all around and every step at the altitude (17000 ft) needed more energy due to lack of oxygen. I forgot I was at that altitude and I pushed myself towards the valley. I heard my lungs and heart cry for oxygen and my head felt heavy and dizzy. A little more push could have pushed my heart into a failure mode. I realized the seriousness of the altitude and slowed down. I felt gravity was more than 9.8 and my shoes suddenly felt heavy. It took me a while to get back to my base heart rate. A few biscuits and a gulp of water induced some sugar into my blood and brain. Shortly we left for Yumthang Valley.

Yumthang valley is at 12000 feet and is filled with 24 species of Rhododendrums. By the time we got to the valley clouds covered the peaks and chill wind started to flow through the valleys. We walked to the river and the blend of flora and fauna was breathtaking. The cold wind made us feel nippy, yet we took turns and posed for a photograph. We asked the driver to bring the vehicle to a point downhill and trekked a 3km forest trail along the river.

Links to Pictures:
Lachung - http://picasaweb.google.com/Chandrasekaranduraiswamy/Lachung#
Lachen - http://picasaweb.google.com/Chandrasekaranduraiswamy/LachenMonastery#
Zero point - http://picasaweb.google.com/Chandrasekaranduraiswamy/PointZero#
Yumthang Valley - http://picasaweb.google.com/Chandrasekaranduraiswamy/YumthangValley
Coming soon…Phodong Monastery, Yuksom, Dubdi Monastery, Pelling, Budh Purnima and Saga Dawa….