1991 - Darjeeling
- Gangtok - Nathu La – Kalingpong.
THIS BLOG WAS WRITTEN BETWEEN 19 and 31May 2021
Irrespective of the date when the map was made and the blog published, It has been published backdated, to maintain historical sequence.
These blogs are written as much to record our travels and places we have seen all those years in the past, as they are to present a photographic record of the growth of Ajeet and Anuj through those early years.
Darjeeling - Gangtok - Nathu La - Kalimgpong Trip.
This is a screenshot of our Darjeeling - Gangtok - Nathu La - Kalimgpong Trip. This Screenshot is just to give you an overall picture of the routes followed, places where we stayed, and the tourists' attractions we visited.
But these details can not be accessed here.
Full details and description about routes places stayed, and the information/writes up about tourists attractions visited by us, can be accessed in "interactive" google map.
For an interactive map GO HERE.
For
the album with photos of Darjeeling
- Gangtok - Nathu La – Kalingpong trip Go Here.
For main 10 ALBUM MAY 1990 - OCT 1992.which contains photos of the above trip Go Here.
PQ 55/4. Our home.
Background.
It was pure luck that when we were
returning from Indore trip in 1990, we had run into Col Suresh Gadre at the
Officer’s Mess Fort Williams. He was then Chief Works Engineer at Siliguri. On
hearing our desire to see as many states and places in the East during our
Shillong posting, he told us that as CWE his area of responsibility included
West Bengal and Sikkim. He would help us
in visiting Darjeeling, Gangtok, Nathu La Pass and Kalimpong. All these places
were worth seeing for their natural beauty. We of course knew it and were keen
to see them.
After returning to Shillong I had kept
in touch with him. When we finally decided to undertake the trip we informed
him when we would arrive in Siliguri.
Now the catch here is that there was
no date stamp on any of the photos and none of us remembers either the dates or
the month of the visit. The only Available clue is that in the last of the photos taken
at Kalimgpong/ Siliguri we are wishing Priti (Mummy) Happy Birthday, So, on 7th May
1991 we were in Kalimpong/Siliguri.
This way, May as the month was decided
for this blog. Photo of Siliguri mess has a noting " 5 FOD Mess, 30 April 1991" So we were in Siliguri on 30 April. However, all otherdetails, dates remain elusive and no dates have been recorded for
any other places.
Shillong
to Siliguri via Guwahati.
First a road journey from Shillong to
Guwahati. Thereafter we travelled by train from Guwahati to Siliguri.
No photos and no details are available.
Officers Mess, Siliguri.
Not many memories.
It can be safely assumed that we must
have called on Suresh Gadre and at least had one meal with them.
He briefed us that he has detailed a
jeep along with the driver. The driver was briefed about where all to take us. He
was also told about our accommodation at various places and other details.
Suresh had made arrangements for our
stay in the officer’s mess.
Unfortunately, most of the photos do not have map locations. Given here
is the assumed location of the mess. The reason for locating it there is that it is next
to CWE’s office and near some married quarters. The driver picked us up the next morning.
Our trip to Darjeeling etc had commenced.......
Officers Mess, Siliguri
– Darjeeling Road Route.
The driver reported well in time. We
had already collected our packed breakfast and were ready to go.
During the journey from Siliguri to Darjeeling
you climbed almost 6300 Feet that being the difference between the height of
Siliguri (392 feet AMSL) and
Darjeeling(6700 feet AMSL).
At many places, the climb is quite
steep and there are hundreds of hairpin bend in the road. Luckily by this time
Ajeet’s road sickness was over. We never found precisely when and how he
overcame that malaise.
The route is quite picturesque. One is captivated
by the beauty of nature. Steep hills on one side and deep gorges on the other
side of the road.
Added to the natural beauty of the route is the presence of a rail line of toy train from Siliguri to Darjeeling which
runs along the road for most of the distance.
Almost halfway to Darjeeling, the Railway
line almost traverses through a circle. The road runs right next to this point. This
place when we had travelled way back in 1991, was known as “Ghoom-Loop” Due to its proximity to the village and Monastery of that name. It is said that people
from the train get down at the beginning of the loop, walk across and again
boarded the train on the other side of the loop. At that time the
area within the loop was a saucer-like depression. It was a barren grassy
patch with a couple of odd trees and wild growth of shrubs and bushes.
Today in
2021, Satellite view of the google map shows it is now called “Batasia Loop.”. The place is totally transformed and has been
made a major tourist attraction with a garden, War memorial etc. The link for the write
up about Batasia Loop by Darjeeling
tourism is @ https://www.darjeeling-tourism.com/darj_000017.htm
Photos taken during the road trip are given
here as well as uploaded on the map at the photo location.
Mall
Road/ Chourasta, Darjeeling.
Went to Chorasta( four roads) at the
end of the mall road.
Chourasta and Mall are located at
the heart of Darjeeling. It is the main tourist spot and commercial hub of Darjeeling. Most of the
vintage shopping places and hotel are located around this place.
It is the place where the tourist and
locals gather to enjoy the beauty and bask in the sun. Pass time looking at the
people going about their business and generally pass time in a congenial atmosphere.
On a clear day from various vantage points
around this place, one can have a magnificent view of Kanchanjunga in all its glory.
Priti and I had visited Darjeeling at least three times earlier. Unfortunately, we never had a look at Kanchanjanga as on our every visit there were too many
clouds around and the peak was hidden behind the clouds. Our luck did not
change even this time. Poor Ajeet and Anuj also missed out on the beautiful
view.
Collage of photos here and on the map.
The link for the write up about Mall Road and Chowrasta by Darjeeling tourism is
@ https://www.darjeeling-tourism.com/darj_000013.htm
Went around sightseeing, maybe for a couple of hours and then set a course for Gangtok.
Darjeeling - Gangtok Road Route.
After all these years too many details of the journey are forgotten. However, judging from the terrain it must have been a thrilling and adventuresome journey.
Apparently, no photos were taken en route.
Gangtok.
A Mess, 17 MT Div.
We had Stayed in A mess of 17 Mountain Division. I had no idea of its location. Then I remembered that Ravi was posted to Gangtok while we were in Shillong. So I asked him if he remembered the location. He replied to inform that while he was there in 1993 A Mess was located near the present location of Black Cat Institute. Accordingly, I have put the location of the mess near BCI. From looking at the photos one can easily imagine how fantastic was the panoramic view of Gangtok and the valleys and mountains from the mess.
Do not remember the duration of our stay.
we saw Rumtek Monastery and Orchid Garden in Gangtok.
Rumtek Monastery.
My memory is that the statues and the paintings had very vivid and brilliant colours. We were told that no synthetic or modern paints were used Only vegetable paints made by the monks were used. Which, looking at the colours themselves I felt was a fantastic achievement.
Following description based on wiki and incredible India web sites.
Rumtek Monastery also called the Dharma Chakra Centre, is located around 24 km from Gangtok.
It is the largest monastery in Sikkim and reflects the best of Tibetan architecture.
It is located in a very picturesque location with flowing streams, the mountain behind and snowclad ranges in front and a river below.
The prayer hall has splendid murals, statues and 'Tangkhas'.
Flower Show Center.
Do not remember much about this place. Looking at the photos there must have been plenty of orchard varieties and other flowers on display. Write up on this from Sikkim and Darjeeling tourism website is given as captions in photos taken at flower Show centre.
Today in the photos of these websites it is looking fabulous. Many of the facilities like a paved pathway, fountain etc may not have been there in 1991 but natural beauty must have been always there.
Gangtok - Nathu La Road Route.
The memory so far as this trip, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Nathu La and Kalimgpong trip is concerned is mostly blank.
Do not remember the dates, the duration, the location of places where we stayed, how much was our stay at each place. Sufficient details about places we saw to describe them from memory are also missing.
To put it bluntly, do not remember anything at all.
If it was not for the photos and sketchy captions written in the album when the trip was fresh in mind, I would not have been able to write anything at all. This one sentence "In 1991 we went on a trip to Darjeeling, Gangtok, Nathu La and Kalimgpong", would have said it all.
Having said all that, some incidents during the road journey to Nathu La and at Nathu La itself are etched so deeply that I am not likely to forget them ever!
Here are few such memories.
Tigers Path:
On the road, there is a Brick and cement road sign stating Tigers Path. By the time we had reached this place, we were already climbing for quite a while. At places, the climb was quite steep. At places hairpin bend one after the other. On one side there were steep mountains and on the other side deep valleys. The valleys were all covered in clouds. Clouds were coming down from the higher mountains and settling down in the lower levels of the valleys. In fact, at many places, we were driving through thin layers of clouds. While taking a break our driver told us that on this route if the clouds increase become thicker and settle down on the road reducing visibility to such a degree that one had to either turn back or wait for the clouds to lift up. In fact, he told us that if such a thing had to happen we would have to cancel the further journey and return to Gangtok. Fortunately, the clouds did not worsen and we could complete the trip.
Changgu Lake - Tsongmo Lake - Tsomgo Lake,
Even before we had reached the Tigers Path sign, we were seeing snow deposits along the road and the surrounding hills. The thickness of the snow deposits kept increasing as we went further and higher towards Nathu La. Few kilometres after the Tigers Path sign reached Changdu lake. It is a glacial lake, some 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the capital Gangtok. It is located at an elevation of 3,753 m (12,313 ft),
Lake was not frozen. However all around the lake, ground and hillside were covered with snow. At this place, it was not an unbroken blanket as patches of barren earth were interspersed with snow-covered ground.
The water was dull grey with low clouds. Its mirror-like surface without even a ripple on its surface as there was no wind at all. There was death-like silence all around. Without any greenery and signs of any type of life along the lakeshore. The scene appeared totally barren desolate. In a strange way, it still appeared quite majestic and had a beauty of its own.
This was a far different scene from what has been described in Wikipedia about the lake. Excerpts are given below.
The lake is the venue for the Guru Purnima festival which is also the Raksha Bandhan festival when the faith healers are known as Jhakris of Sikkim assemble at the lake area to derive benefits from the healing qualities of the lake waters.
After the winter season ends in the middle of May, the periphery of the lake has scenic blooms of flower species of rhododendrons (the state tree of Sikkim), primulas, blue and yellow poppies, irises and so forth. Also seen in the precincts of the lake are several species of birds including Brahminy ducks. Wildlife seen includes the red panda.
Tourist attractions at the lake site include joy rides on decorated yaks and mules where kiosks offer a variety of food and drinks. There is also a small Shiva temple on the bank of the lake.
More details at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tsomgo
Encounter at the bunker. The road became Steeper and the number of hairpin bend also increased. Came across a bunker. When we went to have a look at it met a young Sardar ji 2nd lieutenant. He was posted there and was staying in the bunker. It was a hard and lonely life for a young fauji. Mummy had carried some laddus for us to eat in case Ajjet, Anuj felt hungry. She gave a couple of them to that young lonely boy. He was overjoyed and almost ecstatic at getting something sweet and cooked at home. we can never forget the joyful expression on that young officer's face.
Nathu La.
Eventually, the climb eased off. and we had reached a point where the road was almost level with a hint of a gentle climb towards Nathu La. The height of Nathuls pass is 14149 Feet AMSL. Even in May, there was a thick blanket of snow and all the hill ranges were totally covered with snow. One could imagine how tough life would be in the hick of winters.
The road surface had become very slippery. Our jeep slipped and skidded badly. It was very scary as the danger of going off the road was very real. It was a feeling we would never forget. Eventually, we were just crawling along even at that slow speed the driver had difficulty in controlling the slip and skid. When we came in the sight of Nathula which may have been just about a km away we left the slipping and skidding jeep behind and started walking. At places, we had to traverse through the snow and our shoes became wet and soggy. Pant bottoms were also wet. All that discomfort could not dampen our spirits which were buoyed by the beautiful awesome sight of the snow-covered mountain ranges as far as we could see.
Gol Ghar.
We were led to a round gazebo sort of structure with a roof of galvanised iron sheets and large glass windows all around to give a good all-around lookout of 360 degrees. This was called Gol Ghar due to its round shape. It was located almost on the border and China was less than a stone's throw away! Mountain ranges on the Chinese side were given names by our jawans based on the shape of the mountain range against the horizon. A mountain looking like the hump of a camel was called Camelhome,. There was also a Rabbit mountain and some more. This way when the camel mountain name was mentioned everyone knew where to look and which place was being referred to.
After spending some time at Gol Ghar started back to go back to Gangtok.
After a good night's sleep, the next morning set course for Kalimpong.
Gangtok - Kalimpong Road Route.
Started for Kalimpong. for almost half the distance it was the same route we had come from Darjeeling.
The first break was at the Rangpo Police check post. The arched gate declaring that it was the border between Sikkim and West Bengal was of typical Sikkim architecture and looked good so took a photo./
Short of Chitery, Teesta Forest we turned left for Kalimpong.
Later as the road was running very close to Teesta River had couple of breaks before finally reaching Kalimpong. /There is no record of where we stayed. As Suresh who was CWE, I felt that the most probable place would be either in the officer's mess of some army unit or MES Inspection Bungalow. I have opted for MES IB as the place we stayed in Kalimpong.
Durpin Monastery, kalimpong.
Went to see Dupin Monastery. The statues, the draperies, the tapestries etc were similar to what we had seen in Rumtek Monastery. This may give one a wrong impression that "you have seen one monastery, you have seen them all".
Nothing could be far from the truth.
The statues are so beautiful, the tapestries so amazing. The colours of the tapestries so vibrant and vivid, the designs so good. The weaves and designs of draperies so beautiful that no matter how many times earlier you may have seen them, at every fresh look they look as beautiful as ever. One can never get enough of their beauty, no matter how many times you have seen them. And so it was at Durpin Monastery. Enjoyed the visit thoroughly.
Following courtesy Lonely Planet.
Kalimpong’s largest monastery, formally known as Zangtok Pelri Phodang, sits atop panoramic Durpin Hill (1372m) and was consecrated by the Dalai Lama in 1976. There are impressive murals in the main prayer room downstairs, presided over by Padmasambhava (the Indian sage credited with spreading Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century), interesting 3D mandalas (visual meditational aids) on the 2nd floor, and stunning Khangchendzonga views from the terrace. Prayers are held at 6am and 3pm.
The monastery is about 5km south of the town centre, most easily reached by taxi (one-way ₹200). It's a pleasant mostly downhill walk back to town, passing the army golf course and canteen. You can stop for a tea at the 1930s English-country-style Morgan House, now a state-government-run hotel.
BN Pradhan Cactus Garden.
Went and saw BN Pradhan Cactus Garden. Hundreds of arities of cactus. From minuscule to huge. From plain looking to most colourful. From dangerous-looking hard thorns to very silky and delicate looking growth.
Spent a good time looking at the varieties of cactus plants.
07 May 1991.
I do not remember ever having stayed in a place with wallpapered rooms. The last of the photographs of the album were taken on Priti's( Mummy's) birthday. The room had wallpapers.
So it must have been either on the last day at Kalimpong or during our return to Shilling during transit halt at Siliguri where the room had wallpaper,
#Where ever it was with these last birthday photos our trip to Darjeeling, Gangtok, Nathu La and Kalimpong came to an end.
