Monday, December 31, 2018

 

Darjeeling and therebaouts - A soothing Himalayan balm

Nirvana and unambiguous verdict of me being a mountain person. 
I had a nirvana moment while on the back seat of the taxi from Darjeeling to Bagdogra airport as the car wound through the hills. I looked at the majestic and green Japanese Pines flitting past, and  contemplated the people I'd met (Tenzing, our own 'sherpa' guide as we undertook a much humbler hike than that undertaken by his own namesake in the 1950s, the pleasant smiles on the staff of the Tibetan Seven Seventeen hotel, Subash the founder of Ashmita treks..) , the geopolitical themes I'd discussed (the case for Gorkhaland statehood, rumblings at the China border nearby, Tibetan settlements) , the unparalleled views I had witnessed (the embrace of the Kanchenjunga and the view of distant Everest, as they basked in the pink rays of dawn, the hill railway train undertaking its smart 'turn on itself' as part of the 'spiral railway' civil engineering sleight of hand), the diverse flora and fauna I had been in the proximity of (Markhor, the national animal of Pakistan with its flowing beard like that of a wise Mulla at a mosque, the trees- Rhodendron, Pines, Himalayan Oaks, Magnolias, and the bushes of Daphne flowers) and the sharp tingle of the chilly weather I had felt. And I felt a shiver run down my spine and my eyes mist up. This description of the Himalayas I came across at an exhibit at the venerable Himalayan Mountain Institute ring true:

"The entire system of Himalayas, stretching in a languid arc from the Indus in the west for nearly 2,000 miles along India's northern boundary, to the Brahmaputra in the east and for 150 miles or so northwards from the plains of India to the highlands of Tibet, is the dominant physical feature of the earth. They are, and always will remain, a rich storehouse of material wealth, an endless source of inspiration to poets and artists, a standing challenge to intrepid explorers and climbers and a soothing balm for nerves frayed by the stresses and strains of present-day life"

Till this time, I thought i was both a beach person and a mountain person. However, while I do enjoy the sun n' sands, I hereby proclaim myself to be a mountain person. The woods close by, the nippy weather, and the inviting climbs tilt the scales. Further, the fact that I'm not a sea food eater, definitely tilt the scales further.

Context
I was to embark on a 6-day Sandakphu trek with the ol' India hikes troupe with N and S in tow. However, my ankle did not pass with flying colors the various stress tests I subjected it to (multiple 10+ km walks along the walk-spots of Bangalore- Agara lake, Madiwala lake, Cubbon Park). N had a faulty butt and S felt diminished by the cold- and it became a case of 'And then there were none'. Thus, the winter holiday was reduced to a much more sedate Darjeeling holiday, with a 1-day * 17 km hike thrown in.

Demographic observations: plurality in religion, nationalities and ethnicities; singularity in socio economic status; women empowered. 
An eclectic mix of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity prevails. When it comes to nationalities, there are the Indians, the people who sauntered in from Nepal (not much of a border to speak of- as I saw on the hike), those who fled from Tibet. As for ethnicities- there are the Gorkhas and their various castes (Sherpas, Chettri, Tamang etc), the Indians from the plains, the Indians from the north east. I learnt about the grouse that the Gorkhas have- that despite them having served with distinction in the armed forces (ref: Gorkha rifles regiment), often in middle India they are referred to as Nepalis. I bought a book which referenced a movement called 'Run with Roshni' in which the author is striving to get Gorkhas, with their inherently hardy musculature, to get Gorkhas to represent India in the Olympics, and get them fame and accomplishment to rival those of the Kenyans, in that field.

Further, purely by eyeballing, the share of BPL population seems much lower here than in the plains. While Tenzing attributed it to the sense of industry among those in the hills, NP had a different argument. When it comes to living in the hills, it is just hard to survive, and there are few BPL survivors. Or else, BPL folks just migrate to the cities. Must be a mix of both.

It was clear that women are more 'empowered' here- many more women proprietors of commercial establishments, women comfortably occupying public spaces, active women cops bossing traffic around.

I saw many boarding schools in Darjeeling and in Khurseong- classic locations for boarding school campuses, in the lap of nature amid hills. That's a way many an Indian know these hills. I remembered my flatmate Ankit, who recounted the multi-cultural mileu from his school in Kalimpong. He also introduced me to Bipul Chettri, the folk/soft rock musician from his school who he said is quite the star in these areas now. And he sure was right - heard the catchy 'railgaadi' playing in one of the cabs and saw a big billboard proclaiming Bipul Cheettri live.

Buddhism's influence grows around me
Multiple friends (RR, BS and AR) have gone to Vipassana, which involves a week of silent contemplation and mediation. Yuval Noval Harari, a scholar of towering knowledge and startling insight, has declared Buddhism to be the most relevant religion in today's times. On this trip, I stayed at hotel 'Seven Seventeen' which is founded by Tibetans and has entire walls bedecked with beautiful artefacts and paintings on the themes of Tibet and Buddhism and Dalai Lama. I also ended up purchasing a book 'Miracle of Mindfulness' by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. 

Geopolitical schisms
If the above section refers to Djling as a 'melting pot' - in terms of Geopolitics, it's more of a simmering pot. On the domestic front, there's the demand for statehood in the form of Gorkhaland. The case which has overwhelming local support, is that Djling and thereabouts (Kalimpong, Pedong) is distinct from West bengal - different language (nepali v Bengali), different life (hills vs. plains), different industry (Tourism and Tea vs. more industrial). I learnt that Djling has mostly had 'Delhi' centered MPs (and not WB or locals) - eg- Jaswant Singh and SS Ahluwalia (a Punjabi). The locals resent tea and tourism revenues lining the coffers of WB. I see a strong parallel with Uttarakhand's separation from UP. Well, if UK separated out, why not here? Tenzing bristled against Tea estates having all their operations in Darj. but headquarters in Kolkata.

ON the national front, there's a sprawling cantonment at Siliguri. I sped past a firing range in which there were atleast 100 jawans milling about, and 10 of them were lying prone, perched behind the sights of machine guns mounted on the ground. Sikkim with its China tension lies close by.

Last year, as both the Doklam and Gorkhaland tensions flamed at the same time, army was summoned to Darjeeling with the dual responsibility of containing the Doklam related fallout, and restraining the Gorkhaland protests. A symbol of the dual-tension.

Coming to Tea
We visited the Happy Valley tea estate and sampled plain and flavoured white, green and black teas, of which I liked the black ones the best. Learnt that the tea which India has is CTC tea (crushed, tear, curl). CTC makes it sound like you are absolutely ripping into the natural benefits of the leaf. Well, if processed food is bad, then perhaps processed tea is also bad, when compared to unprocessed tea?  Tea tasting can be a strong competitor for wine tasting. Given that millennials are dropping off the alcohol bandwagon, tea tasting could emerge from the shadows and Darjeeling could deliver Bordeaux a blow. however, there is a critical gap in the plan- wine lovers have a word to describe themselves (Sommelliers) but there's no such for tea lovers. I propose kettlehead, tea totaller, or Jillosophers (Darjeeling and Philospher) or Jillophile. I scanned through at Happy Valley the painting "Tea revives the world" - a funny telling of the world of tea trade replete with delightful little snippets (eg: Tibetans drink tea churned with butter and other ingredients and drink up to 80 cups per day) Bought some White and Green for Ankit, herbal for NP, and herbal and black for ourself. These purchases were made at Sunset lounge, an excellent cafe (no tea equivalent word, again) which lords over great valley views and serves teas from Nathmulls estates.

Nippy weather; pleasure to slip into Columbia amid a sea of fake North Face
The cold weather was a delight, and so was the process of slipping into all my Columbia wear, which was a masterly protection. A hat doff (the blue Columbia sun hat, of course) to PJ, who had implored me to go Columbia and ditch Quechua. I am warmly chuffed (quite literally) with my Columbia wares- heat retaining tracks, 'Titanium' fleece jacket, the water proof army fatigues colored gloves, and finally the piece de resistance - the 'Outdry' Down jacket in resplendent light-blue. It's a great feeling to wear this attire and step out and say to the cold- 'Bring it on!'.   It is amusing to see the cornucopia of fake 'North Face' jackets doing the rounds. People have taken to it big time, and a competing brand like Columbia must surely feel left out. They should roll out a strategy for wresting mkt share from rival North Face in the fake apparel markets of Darjeeling.

Startup idea- Retreena
What's an immersive travel experience without a startup idea to boot (Rick Steve's audio guide app for India!). Retreena- an app that you can point at various flora to identify. The backend uses a reverse image search, and tacks on the result a fact pack on the identified species. Fact pack also tells you whether it's edible or not- so you can even pick off a fruit and sample it right there. During the hike, I bugged Tenzing quite a bit towards identifying flora. By the end, I was comfortably identifying- Japanese Pines, Rhododendrons, Himalayan Oaks, Magnolias, Daphnes- and this left me mighty pleased. I did feel much more 'one with the mountains'  after this.

Fauna
Padmaja Naidu zoo is the best I believe in India, and compares with the Singapore Zoo which I visited in 2012 and which is touted to be among the world's best. They have a great collection of fauna of the mountains, including various high altitude antelopes (the Tahr, the Markhor I've talked about above), and the highlights of course- the red panda (mowgli's buddy) and snow leopard (though it's coat was quite dirty). The environ the animals are kept in is very natural to the species- the mark of a good zoo. I enjoyed hiking up and down due to the natural hilly terrain of the zoo. Spotted 4-5 birds during the entire trip, of which Himalayan Whistling thrush I identified. At the bustling mall road, I saw a Siberian Husky, which thankfully must feel much more at home than at Carter road in Mumbai, where I'd last seen one.

Plans going forward
Read: From Mountains to Oceans- Run with Roshni, Miracle of Mindfulness
Watch: Seven years in Tibet
Outdoors: Long term- Sandakphu in March 2019, Goechala in 2020 or 2H 2019; Short term- Western Ghats hikes; regular ankle workouts!

Other links
A pun-jabby journey through Darjeeling: Link 








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Comments:
Nicely written - In general, geographically, NE India needs to be explored a lot more. Interestingly, parts of NE India are Matriarchal (another term I had come across - Matrilineal society) in sharp contrast to most other parts of India.

If there's one clear positive of the current central govt's work in the last nearly 5 years then it has to be the NE focus.
 
Must say - your writing has improved by leaps. Your eulogy to the mountains reminded me of Kipling's words -
"And the last puff of the daywind brought from the unseen villages the scent of damp wood-smoke, hot cakes, dripping under-growth, and rotting pine cones. That is the true smell of the himalayas , and if once it creeps into the blood of a man, that man will at the last, forgetting all else, return to the hills to die."

 
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