Sikkim in North East India Offers a Blissful Escape

chillibreeze writer — Subhasish

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Sikkim is famous for its mesmerizing scenic splendors, snow and mountain views, rare varieties of flora and fauna, warm and hospitable people and awesome Mount Kanchendzonga.

Every public building or park in Sikkim has something to do with either Lord Buddha or Kanchendzonga. Even the entrance to the State Secretariat -"Tashiding" is through a Tibetan pagoda-styled roof.

Over the years Sikkim has witnessed a burgeoning growth of adventure tourism and a vast majority of tourists come to visit Sikkim in search of snow and mountain tourism. This has put the cultural side of Sikkim slightly in the background. The more aesthetic and sublime frontier - that of pagodas, monasteries and gompas – of Sikkim is also a huge attraction.

In Sikkim, Tibetan Buddhism flourishes. Buddhism was introduced in Tibet in the 7th and 8th centuries and later on spread to Sikkim and elsewhere. Buddhist texts and commentaries were translated from Sanskrit. While in Gangtok, the state capital, make it a point to visit the Research institute of Tibetology(RIT), which happens to be the melting pot of modern Tibetan Buddhism. A lot of high quality research goes on at this centre of excellence.

Tibetan Buddhism is different in that the dedicated Tibetan Buddhist seeks Nirvana, the popular religion retains "shaministic" elements and includes hymns and prayers and the worship of many spirits.

What is especially remarkable is the gradual rediscovery of Buddhism in the West. Actor Richard Gere, for example, converted to Tibetan Buddhism which is prevalent in Sikkim way back in 1984 and spends several months each year traveling and speaking on behalf of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. He partially funded the making of "Seven Years in Tibet". Steven Seagal, another Hollywood celebrity, is recognised by Penor Rinpoche, the supreme Head of the Nyingma lineage as a reincarnated "Tulku" (Lama).

Celebrities are not the only ones attracted to Buddhism. According to Diana Eck, Director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, who recently visited Sikkim's fascinating Buddhist monasteries, nearly all the 1,500 Buddhist temples and monasteries that are found throughout the United States are packed.

In South California alone, a Tibetan Buddhist temple is erected every two months.

Along with the exquisite Tibetan architecture one is also provided with the opportunity to explore the bewitching beauty and desolate landscape of the Sikkimese countryside where most of the hilltop monasteries re located. What can be more rewarding than getting to interact with the serene lamas, relishing "Churpi", the hardened cheese made of yak milk, and watching simple mountain life pass by in India's Marlboro land?

Gangtok is always brimming with activity and Western tourists flock there throughout the year. One can find trekkers letting their hair down in dimly lit restaurants, dancing to the beat of an endless flow of hard rock numbers. An air of enchantment envelopes the city at dusk and as the lights come on, Gangtok wears a festive look. The lights, the stars above and the sound of prayers being recited by the lamas with the accompaniment of trumpets blown in distant hill-top monasteries in the valley makes for a truly ethereal setting.

According to Christopher Bertulloci from Milan, who makes it a point to visit the Sikkim monasteries every year, "Each year I visit Sikkim, I stay with a Sikkimese family. I have never before experienced that ethereal sense of being woken up by the tinkle of temple bells at home. I was very touched by the scent of incense flowing into my room as the woman of the house went from room to room with her prayer thali (metal plate) containing a diya(oil lamp), incense sticks, gorgeous jasmine flowers and prasad(food offering). Sikkim is a world apart". And indeed it is.

I was fortunate to witness the colorful festival of Drupka Teshi while on a visit to Sikkim this year. Drupka Teshi is celebrated to mark the Buddha's first preaching of the four "Noble Truths" to his first five disciples in the Deer Park at Sarnath. I was told that Drupka Teshi is celebrated at the Gangtok Deer Park and also at a rarefied place called Muguthang in extreme North Sikkim where a spectacular Yak Race is held after the prayers and rituals are over. I decided instantly that Muguthang was the place for me to be.

The journey was a bit tedious and at times scary since the roads are not exactly in mint condition. My travel guide, Sahir Latif from the Silent Valley Wilderness Camp, who accompanied me all the way from Calcutta, and I were elated after reaching Muguthang. The Yak Race was simply out of this world. The entire village congregated at the makeshift race venue and there were huge mountain yaks, the very best that Sikkim has to offer, dressed in all their finery, literally bulldozing their way in a rather fierce competition. Ultimately the yak from Zema was the winner.

The serenity and beauty of Sikkim leaves you enraptured and your visit to North East India promises to be an enriching and rewarding experience.

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Subhasish writes for Chillibreeze

Sikkim in North East India Offers a Blissful Escape

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