All set to experience the North Eastern beauty of India, I was excited about my vacation. With the final little To Dos to be taken care, I checked them one by one and sighed with relief. Finally with my little voyager, I packed my bags and was looking forward to the next day.
Boarding the flight from Chennai, my little Harshu kept questioning me on what is that we’re going to do the next few days, how will the weather be and so on. As I answered her queries, I started imagining the Eastern Himalayan beauty. The first day was a pretty long day for us. We got down in Bagdogra and took a cab to Gangtok via Siliguri. We could sense the smell of the damp soil, crushed leaves and pastures. Closing my eyes I could not get a better feel than a paradise on earth.
Heavy downpour started and continued for more than an hour. The green leaves appeared greener like a bride glowing after a turmeric bath. The roads were curved and vehicles were zooming in. The chain of mountains were huge and folded with River Teesta touching their foot. River Teesta was continuing all the way from West Bengal to Sikkim for about 300 kms. The mountain appeared to be a mother safeguarding her child by surrounding him completely and pampering him on her lap.
While I was mesmerised at the beauty of the mountains and the river, my other mind awakened me to the sound of brooks. I could see water flowing in tiny paths wherever possible. The hushing sound appeared to be the restlessness of the water to find its destiny. Tiny brooks here and there finally started joining their hands to form a small waterfall. The joint hushing sound grew little by little into a choir.
The sun began its rest and I got reminded of the campfire at our Guides and Scouts camp. “Days done; gone the sun; from the sea, from the hill, from the sky. All is well; safely rest. God is nigh; good night” I sang to myself. We checked in to our hotel and rested. Guna and I started talking about the next days plans.
The next day we went around the city and covered 8 tourist attractions. We were excited and looking forward to go to the Tashi view point which is the view point to see Mt. Kanchenjunga, the third largest peak in the world. Unfortunately it was raining heavily and the mist covered the entire viewpoint and we could not see her shining tall and large. As we moved to the Jhagri falls, I could see the smaller brooks like the previous day here and there. The droplets of water appeared like fresh water pearls and kissed my cheeks.
While we witnessed lush green lands, and the huge mountains that seemed never ending, throughout our drive, my mind was going back to the little brooks and their sounds. The day ended after a visit to the Ramthang monastery and the Ganesh Tok with a simple shopping at MG Margh. With the freshness of the beauty of Gangtok, I slept as calm as a baby.
The next day was supposed to start as early as 6 as we wanted to visit the Lake Tsomgo also called Changu which is a glacial lake that is located about 12500 feet above sea level. I woke up at 4:30 and got ready to wake up my man and my little one. We started our drive towards Nathula pass which shares the route to Tsomgo lake. As we moved higher in altitude, we could sense the tickling breeze spreading its dampness on our faces. The mountains on this side seemed huger than the ones we saw the previous day. Quite magnificent and lovely.
The mountains seemed to grow taller and taller and the taller green trees were not to be seen anymore. We could only see short plants here and there. Little flow of water here and there were still seen throughout the way. In between, the roads were broken and a narrow path was only to be seen. The brook didn’t seem to leave even the little path but continued its journey downwards.
We stopped at a nearby tea shop and still witnessed the little brook on its sides. We moved ahead and saw the huge lake Tsomgo. We could not witness much snow as it is still summer. The silent lake looked calm and serene. Was it meditating to the calmness of the huge mountains? Was it sleeping to the rhythms of the little sounds of the brooks? Was it humble even after reaching the pinnacles of success? Was it leading the Zens way of living by remaining calm? I asked myself.
We then moved ahead to see the Shiva mandir and Baba Harbhajan Singh mandir which are the shrines that are found at an altitude of 13000 feet above sea level. The temperature was dripping to 2 degrees and we still followed our tradition by walking bare foot from the entrance of the shrine to inside (although a short distance). The brooks here and there seemed to again form a bigger union at this location. The beauty of the growing brook seemed to tell me something.
Why am I following the little flow of water from yesterday? I have been taken over by it completely now. I was looking at the transparent water which seemed to make a noise like kindergarteners. The little flow of water here and there had fine soil or silt underneath it. As and when the altitude began raising, the fineness of the soil seemed becoming a challenge. In some locations, I saw tiny pebbles and no more sand. However the flow of water continued with the same momentum.
Later, as we moved higher and higher, the pebbles still grew in size. In face I could even see some growing rocks. The water seemed not to give up. It tried entering every tiny gap it could see and moved. If there was a bigger rock on its way, it still didn’t mind to jump over it. The water shattered into droplets while it jumped over the rocks. It again joined below and continued the flow. The flow of water from all directions seemed to grow and reach the peak. It is from here that it originates again as a mightier waterfall.
Tiny brooks do not seem to give up at any point of time. Finally the sand which was first a hurdle seems nothing to the rock it faces later. My mind stopped for a while and seemed to smile at me. How true is this to us? As we grow in life, our hurdles seem to grow as well. However it is upto us to take every situation as a challenge and keep running.
The moment we are going to get stumbled in our lives and stop running, we are going to stay stale like the stale gutter. We would not be looked forward but rather been someone deserted. However the more we approach life as a challenge and challenge it, we can be sure that we would rise high as high as a lovely waterfall which everyone looks upto in awe.
I’d always remember what the little brook taught me today – “My path in life is not smooth but I have chosen to flow restlessly over rocks and hills for I have the power to choose my destiny!” And my vacation continues for the next five days with inspiring lessons that Mother Nature has to impart to me. Truly “Nature has music for those who listen” 😊
Subhaguna's Blog 