Our stay in Pelling was over. It was time to leave. Next
stop was Ravangla – the most beautiful part of Sikkim I have been to so far. We
went to have breakfast at Kizom and I also had to bid adieu to Cedar. I hope to
see him again on my next visit.
However the journey to Ravangla did not go as smoothly as
planned. The car broke down right in the middle of nowhere and the driver had
no stepney with him. We had to wait for an hour for his friend to arrive from
Ravangla with backup. We had chosen to stay at Ravangla Hilltop Resort and to
our sheer fortune we got the entire place all to ourselves. Off season is
bliss. Everything was good about the resort except its location. It is
literally perched on the hilltop and you need a car every time you wish to get down.
And be ready to have all your bone joints dislocated during the 10 minutes ride
from the resort to the main road. They also had a golden labrador who looked
utterly neglected and fat. We went out on an evening stroll after reaching and
half an hour later came back with leeches hanging from our exposed body
parts. I love leeches. There is something so blissfully evil about this
creature. I want to drink your blood but I am going to do it so silently and
swiftly that you wouldn’t even know your body juice is being sucked out. And
their coldblooded stubbornness is truly admirable.
There is only one word I have in my vocabulary to describe
Ravangla in short. Surreal. There was something so otherworldly about the place
that I had not experienced in any other part of Sikkim. I wanted to soak in
every moment I was about to spend there.
Ravangla Buddha Park or Tathagata Tsal is the main USP of
Ravangla. It’s a huge park with a colossal 130 ft Buddha statue in the middle.
At the plinth of the statue there is a temple. The inner walls were painted in
colourful frescoes depicting the life and works of Gautama. This was the first
time I saw a place in Sikkim where the presence of Theravada prevailed side by
side with Vajrayana. The giant water bowls outside had thick layers of coins at
the bottom. I wonder how many of those wishes got fulfilled so far. There was a
small temple in the park where one could light butter-lamps. I lit two in the
memory of my dogs I had lost the previous year. And then found three fluff-balls playing
around.
The three puppies were too cute to be left behind. I was
almost dragged out of the park. Driver was waiting outside. The car roared into
life. Next stop – Ralong Palchen Choling Monastery. This is perhaps the
youngest of the monasteries in Sikkim. Built in 1995 this is another place that
follows the Kagyupa lineage besides Rumtek.
I would never know that sky could look so beautiful had I
not come to Ralong. There was no sign of monsoon anywhere. The golden coloured
temple was dazzling under the sun in the backdrop of vast azureness. As if the
gods themselves had built their golden abode encrusted with the opulence of
lapis lazuli. I did not know what I had done to deserve this experience but I
bowed in gratitude to the humongous idols of Rinpoche and Avalokiteshwara.
Ralong has another monastery complex nearby which is the
older one. This one did not have the extravagant resplendence of the new one,
but the serene atmosphere was more welcoming. It was under renovation. Workers were
painting the walls with utmost concentration. Nobody even looked up for once at
us. A young couple was sitting in the courtyard playing with their toddler son.
I couldn’t help stealing a few glances at their happy faces through the corner
of my eye. What I would give to exchange my life with that family.
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Traditional Bhutia houses near old Ralang Monastery |
After lunch I decided to meander about in the town. Since
after dark there was nothing to do except looking at the night sky from balcony
and listening to the nocturnal symphony coming from the woods. Ravangla has a
Tibetan settlement and an army camp just across the street. The Tibetan camp
looked completely desolate. My friend TS’s home is somewhere in the vicinity. Two
dogs were enjoying afternoon siesta on the steps. I went to say hello to one of
them, but he was not in a good mood. No point denying it, I feel devastated
when I’m rejected by a dog. I left the camp questioning my credibility as a
good human being and kept on walking further. The Tibetan settlement was left
behind. The army camp’s area ended eventually. I kept on walking. The entire
stretch of the road was completely deserted except for a handful number of cars
passing by once in a while. I crossed a soft bend and then came to a sudden
halt. What is that in front of me? A giant monster man was standing by the side
of the road. Shoulders stooping, his silhouette looked really tired in the gloomy
light of the setting sun. As if he was standing there from time immemorial
watching over people passing by. He reminded me of Heimdallr, the ancient Norse
god who watches over the nine realms. Maybe he wanted to go home now. With this
decay of humanity all over the world the day of Ragnarok is not far away after
all.
To be continued
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