We went sightseeing round in Gangtok with a brazen looking Maruti Omni. The traditional Rumtek Monastery was an uphill climb and left me panting---but only for a minute. Everything remains the same except for the number of armed personnel. We felt like intruders and were ushered this way and that. Maybe the ongoing power struggle at the Monastery had something to do with that.
Our amiable driver then decided to take us to a more recently built and far less stifling monastery at Lingdum . It is bigger than Rumtek, has a magnificent row of Prayer wheels, and photography is allowed. The clouds swooped down on us as if they approved of our choice, spattering a few drops on our hastily covered camera bags, opacifying the car screen and rocking the bees out for their honey hunt on the wildflowers all around.
The monks wore earphones, the young trainees looked like children anywhere, but the archaic chants echoed and reechoed off the richly carved wooden doors and painted walls before dying down at the feet of a mystic, smiling Buddha. Only some betel chewing adults and raucous children ran around playing ball, reminding us that 21st Century Religion itself is becoming an accessory to Mammon.
If Religion has to be a part of our lives, then it has to be like the glasnost at Lingdum, with the mountain winds with its whiff of flower scents amidst the ancient hymns and prayers of souls seeking peace and fulfilment.
We then came down to the ban Jhakri waterfalls where a natural water gush had been modernised with cemented walkways and colorful figures and railings and shops selling snacks. Empty plastic bottles and thrown away chips packets raised their heads like festering sores in the clear mountain waters. Young girls and boys splashed in the descending waters as if it was a waterworld Aquatica.
We returned to Gangtok to take the Cable car ride. This stretched from one hill of Gangtok to another, and though it is not a patch on the cable car rides elsewhere, it did give us a view of the Gangtok valley, its Legislative Assembly, and the winding roads far below.
We ended our excursion with pastries and chowmein.We did manage to get some great momos before packing hastily as we wanted an early morning start for Pelling--but that will be in the next part.
No comments:
Post a Comment