On The Lap Of The Silky way, Part - 12

On The Lap Of The Silky way, Part -12

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

After getting out of the car, I was surprised and fascinated for a while and drank this unforgettable beauty. Two boys came to unload our luggage. They took those luggage to our rooms.  Both are young boy. They were too sweet to look at. It was clear that these boys were not born to be a porter at all. They told that their house is in Pedong. They read in 1st year in a college at Pedong.  Now the college is closed, it will reopen after Diwali festival, so during this vacation they come every year in this area of Sikkim in a hope of earning some money from these home stays, which has been going on for the last three years. There was a two-storey wooden house on a very open space right next to the river. There were six rooms at the ground floor and six rooms at the 2nd floor. There was quite a large modern kitchen and dining room by the river. They have many pet swans. These ducks are very sweet; they are calling around all the time. In a word, I fell in love with this place at first sight. I ordered tea in the kitchen for everyone and then I went down to the river bank. One of our elder brothers immediately went into the river with a towel on his shoulder for bathing. Pretty good current is here in the water. However, it will not be bad to sit submerged in water. I also saw some boys taking a bath. It was quite a different kind of loving environment.

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

On the right, the river bends about 60 degrees through the gap between the two hills, and on the left, the water with its silvery foam was coming out through the hills and the forest. Somewhere it was quite deep and somewhere just knee-deep. It was a transparent and clear water flow. The pebbles under the water can also be seen clearly from above. The pebbles are hitting each other and rolling from one place to another. There is a song in Rabindranath Tagor's Play "Dakghar". 'jolotole baje shila thunu thunu thunu thunu'. The words of these lyrics seemed to be in full view. This side of the bank of the river is on the state of Sikkim, the other bank is on West Bengal State. That side of the river is  a small village in the lap of the hills.  

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

There is a green field of paddy and a vast field of maize. The Reshi River forms the boundary between these two states.  But is it possible to erect a fence like this way? The little boy with the herd of goats on the bank shouting to his friend on the bank and laughing to each other, the friend on the bank of the river rushed after the friend on the other side of the river, and the two of them were engaged in a mock game of fight in the corn field. So they are the people of which state?

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

I spent a long time on the bank of the river and then came to the dining hall. There was Rice, pulses, cauliflower curry, spinach, egg broth, chutney and papar in our today’s lunch. I sat down to eat and realized that I was very hungry. A young Bengali boy is the caretaker here. After the meal, he offered us pan on his own initiative. 

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

The location of this homestay is such that the sound of the river Reshi is our constant companion. Here the temperature is little bit hot as because today we have come down a lot from the hill. There is the scorching sun in the afternoon.  It is impossible to stay in room without fan. I have heard from the caretaker that it will get cold in the evening. That is why there are blankets in the room as usual.

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

After lunch we went for a walk along the river bank. There were the bushes of catkin flowers along the river and only the large boulders. We were approaching by Jumping from one rock to another with feet. This was an awesome environment. 

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

We went a long way on foot, there is no such thing as a so-called road for walking. Sometimes jumping with our feet on the rocks, sometimes taking a path through the gaps of the bushes and sometimes just crossing the two bamboo bridges over the river, we don't know how far we had gone, but we were always fascinated by the beauty of the Reshi Khola River. 

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

We were further fascinated by the curve of the river when we had been at the back side of our today's home stay only by touching a little bit of water on our feet. The shore was quite wide with white flawless sand. The river had suddenly entered between the narrow ranges of two hills. There was no other way to proceed. We came back to the dormitory on foot.

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

We spent an indescribable evening in Reshikhola that day. Gradually the daylight on the river went out. The dense forest on the other side, the green tender body of the high mountains, suddenly it seemed as if someone applied thick tar on them. Only then did the dim light of the last evening flicker in the sky above the heads of our houses for a while. 

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

By arranging few chair and table in the open space outside, we sat down to chat that evening, listening to the sound of the Reshi River's breathing. Mustard oil, green chili, onion, coriander leaves and spicy mixture, with cauliflower and onion fry, with it a cup of hot tea, all the ingredients to soak the minds of Bengalis were ready on that day. On top of that were songs, recitations and stories. One of my elder brothers took a lot of funny ghost stories out of his bag and gave them to all of us as gifts. By that way we do not know when the clock had struck nine o'clock at night. The caretaker of the home stay called us twice before, so we all went to the dining room.

Even after the meal, we sat on the sofa on the verandah in downstairs and chatted for a long time. In fact, as the day draws to a close, when it seems like you have to go back to your orbital life, where the people who have become very close to these few days of relationships may not be available for a long time, it may be we have to disperse from each other for a long time, then a sad silence is consuming the inside of the chest. So as long as we can spend all this time together by talking, laughing, having fun, mock quarreling with each other and extracting the nectar of this sweetest moments of our life if we can store this juicy time in our blood then maybe I will be able to continue for more some days.

As the night was ageing the temperature was coming down. I went to bed at around 11 pm. Only the murmur of the ever-flowing Reshi River remained awake. I do not know when that music put me to sleep after waving for a long time in all strings inside my heart. Early in the morning, a friend from the next room knocked on my door and woke me up. The first rays of the morning sun were just touching the water of Reshi River. Just after washing our mouth and putting on warm clothes we left for morning walk along the river bank. 

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

After walking some distance by the side of the river, we wanted to climb the hill on the right. The soft mountain soil, soaked in the morning dew, wants to defeat our awkward desire again and again, but no one is willing to be defeated. 

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

We got up to the top of the hill by holding each other hands and came down at the end. The joy of winning the war was on everyone's face then.

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

It was about eight o'clock. After drinking tea and taking a bath, everyone went to get ready quickly. Today we were a little late to go out after the breakfast episode. We are going back to New Jalpaiguri today; from there we will return to Kolkata by night train. Everyone was a little depressed because of that. The road from Reshikhola to New Jalpaiguri is about 140 km, it takes about four and a half to five hours to reach at New Jalpaiguri, and we have to stop on the roadside hotel for lunch today. 

Sikkim Silk Route Tour

We reached Pedong around 12:30 in the afternoon and did some shopping there, had tea and left again. The beauty of this path is not less; it is a semi-urban hilly scene. And after a while Teesta became our companion. It was late afternoon when I had to finish my lunch in a big dhaba on the road. Crossing Coronation Bridge and keeping Teesta River on my left as I approached the town of Siliguri gradually, everyone in the car was very much depressed. Eventually the car came straight past the Kanchenjunga Stadium and came to a stop inside the area of the New Jalpaiguri station. In the dense evening, the bright light of the station was shining all around. Swarms of birds are coming back in groups in the big trees of the courtyard. The nature of the evening was full in their chatter. We have to go back, even if we don't want to, it is the obvious rule. Crossing the station escalator with luggage, we slowly walked towards the platform.

THE END