To heaven and back
It was one of the best trips I have ever been to. Full of first timers. Had been to Gangtok from 23rd March to 28th March with my VGSoM friends.
March 23rd, 2005
We left the hostel in the afternoon after faking the dates on the station leaving forms. The journey to Gangtok comprised of 4 legs. On the first day we were to take the local from Kharagpur to Howrah. From Howrah we went to Sealdah which is a twin station to Howrah. Our train, Uttar Banga Express, was scheduled for 7:30 from Sealdah station. Luckily our tickets which were in RAC got confirmed. The train journey was as usual boring and sad, and my trusted discman once again kept me company. I slept through most of it.
March 24th, 2005
We reached a station called New Jalpaigudi which is just before Siliguri. From there the upward climb began and we took a car in which all 10 of us huddled together and began the last leg of the journey to reach Gangtok. As soon as we were out of the Siliguri town, the army area began and we saw a lot of Ammunition dumps and the army camps in and around the place. Then began the ascent and the surrounding view was simply superb. It took us 3 odd hours to reach Gangtok. After we settled in the hotel, we went out for lunch and everyone was quite tired to go anywhere. We went out in the market generally looking at some stuff. At night came our usual round of drinks in the which most of the people went to sleep due to the fatigue of the journey. I had a few drinks and went to sleep myself.
March 25th, 2005
Gangtok was simply superb the view from our hotel balcony was amazing. We could even see the Kanchenjunga peak. The climate was cold but simply fabulous considering we came from a place which was absolutely hot and humid at that time. We hired 3 Maruti Vans and left at about 10:30 to have a look at the famous Monasteries. First up was the Ranka Monastery. The location was quite good. Well, I dont know about the others, but I didnt find it as interesting as it was made out to be by others who had been there before. Same was the case with Rumtek Monastery which is supposed to be really old. It was built in the 19th century sometime, and then was in the ruins. It was rebuilt in 1960 by some reinacarnated monk (?). Only good thing I liked about the Monasteries was the peace and tranquility of the main prayer hall. You just feel like sitting there for hours on end. After leaving the Monasteries we went to the cable car which not only is a tourist attraction, but is also intended to be used for transport in order to avoid the strain on the local road transport. It was quite good. We could see the Sikkim Assembly also from the cable car.
March 26th, 2005
We started off early in the morning for Chhangu lake and Nathula Pass. The permits was Nathula pass had been freezed but since a friend's dad was an ex-army man, we were able to obtain a pass for that (only later to know that it was of no use). We started off with a chinky driver whose name was Arjun-da and he was playing some good local music. We drove upto Chhangu Lake which was completely frozen and the surrounding, trust me, was really amazing. Sadly the road ahead was blocked due to landslides and dense snowfall. Surrounding Chhangu were snow covered peaks and a winding road cutting through the snow at an altitude of 12000 odd feet. We saw Yaks for the first time and had a lot of fun in the snow, sliding and making a snow man and stuff like that. Finished it off with a cup of piping hot coffee, which felt really good. On our way down we got quite a scare. It started snowing suddenly and the visibility ahead of the car was nearly zero. Everyone was quite tensed, but Arjunda drove superbly. Must be one of the best drivers, I have ever seen. He went to the extent of talking us through the entire dense fogged road and trying to calm us down.
March 27th, 2005
We were to take the train back to Kharagpur on this day and we started off at 8:00 in the morning. First stop was white water rafting. One more first timer for everyone in the trip. It was one of the best experiences ever. We rafted through the waters of Teesta. The water was awfully cold. Almost freezing. The best part being that the entire adventure was being videoshot by a man. We had to dole out 800 bucks for the entire footage, but I believe it will be worth it. One to always remember always. It was a 11 km long rafting distance after which we freshened up and started our journey back to New Jalpaigudi. On the way we stopped over at Hong Kong Market in Siliguri. Almost everyone bought fake zippo lighters there. Finally we took our train back to Kharagpur and had an extremely uncomfortable ride. Our tickets were in RAC and it was an overnight journey. Anyways, the high of the trip was enough to take care of the comfort levels.
I have uploaded a few photographs which will give you a fair idea of what I am talking about. You can have a look at them here: http://photos.yahoo.com/jay_mody. You can find them under the Gangtok folder.
Life like it never was
"This has been one of my longest hiatus from the blogging world I believe. To say the least life has had quite a few turns of late and those who know me well, probably wont ask me why. Those things apart I finally managed to tame some time to get back and put up something.
Life takes you to places you never imagine. Come to think of it, there are still times when I wonder what am I doing here in Kharagpur of all places on earth. A place that I didn't know existed, leave alone it being in God's own country.
I still remember the first time I had come here to give my interview. It was exactly a year before. I left the station only to be greeted by age-old Amabassador cabs and cycle rickshaws. I took one of the cycle rickshaws (I thought the cabbies were charging exorbitant. Besides, I was alone with just one bag). I loaded the bag and my haversack onto the rickshaw and off we were at snail's pace. It was a typical country-side lined up with small houses with shingled roofs. There were seperate houses of the daroga, collector, etc. Whilst sitting in the rickshaw I told myself, ""Never am I coming to this place again in my life"". As fate would have it, this was the only admission call I got and I decided to take it up. A major gamble I must say (I am yet to know if it paid off).
Being born and brought up in a city like Bombay, you never really get used to the place quite well. And till the time you do, its time to leave. Its almost like living in a different world. There's some respite in the fact that IIT itself is quite urbanized as compared to the town (or village?) outside it. Theres a marked discontinuity.
There's a major shift in lifestyle when you start living in such a place. I got used to much lesser (almost nil) pollution levels. So much so that when I went home in winter break, I found Bombay almost suffocating. You get used to more two wheelers than cars. The biggest difference being, I had to start using a cycle again. It was almost like childhood days revisited when we went out shopping for a new bicycle.
The saloon here is like the typical village types, only difference being it is in a proper brick and mortar housing instead of the traditional dhoop-chhav (under the tree). I always looked at people's haircuts and had decided that I am gonna grow my hair and will get a cut when I go home after the semester. For once I believed in Murphy's Laws when I was compelled to get a hair-cut because of the companies coming to select students for summer internships. Finally I mustered enough courage today and got a hair-cut. The guy who was cutting my hair must have got a major pain the place where sun don't shine. I was meticulous about each and every small detail of how he should cut my hair. Needless to say, it turned out quite decent at the end. The coiffure still resembling what it was before unlike some of my friends. The best part being, it cost me only 10 bucks. And I asked him twice whether it was 10 only. Things are quite cheap when you compare it to your megalopolis home city.
But then maybe the experience was really needed to get me used to living sans the luxuries of urban life. The western habits get diminished a lot when you are staying in this kind of a place. There is still a little more than a year to go before I leave this place for the same old life. I don't know whether I will ever miss it. I think I might. Only time will tell."