Traveling is good
The seven sisters as they are fondly called are the group of states comprising the North Eastern region of India. The states are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura . This region is a true frontier having a long international border shared with four countries. Since time immemorial, it has been the meeting point of many communities, faiths and cultures. North East is renowned for its magical beauty and bewildering diversity with each state having distinct culture and traditions. Nature creates an enchanting and romantic atmosphere in winters when mist carpets the valleys and swirls in hills during summer rains. The monsoon brings heavy rain, and thunderstorms sweep across the hills, valleys, powerful rivers, plains and dense jungles.
Each state is a travellers paradise providing fascinating insight into Natures marvels and there are numerous wild life sanctuaries and national parks sheltering rare animals, birds and plants. Besides this the states provides great scope for angling, boating, rafting, trekking and hiking.
We crossed the border to enter Sikkim. Smooth good road replaced the bumpy and potholed road, air became cooler, traffic lighter and River Rangit replaced Teesta. Soon there was no traffic at all. We were the only one on the road and River Rangit was there, revealing its beauty to prove Aaroop right. Yes!!! Rangit was dancing, flirting and romancing with us. I have traveled along rivers in Uttaranchal, Himachal but nothing like this.
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जब हमने सुना कि एशिया का सबसे स्वच्छ गांव का पुरस्कार भारत के एक गांव ने जीता है और वो मेघालय में है तो मैंने इसे अपने प्लान में शामिल किया । लीविंग रूट ब्रिज देखने के बाद हम इस इस गांव में पहुंचे जो कि लीविंग रूट ब्रिज वाले गांव से 2 किमी दूर स्थित है।गाँव को साफ़ कैसे रख पाते है जबकि सैलानी आते जाते रहते है रोज़ खूब सारे।
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स्नानादि पश्च्यात 10 बजे शहर से लगभग 6 किमी की दूरी पर एक सुन्दर सी जगह है गंगा लेक( स्थानीय भाषा में Gyakar Sinyi )(झील के साथ एक मिथक जुड़ा हुआ है कि यह झील शापित है और रात के समय कोई भी इस स्थान पर जाने की हिम्मत नही करता) …एक पहाड़ ऊपर के अंतिम सिरे पर एक झील है जहा घुमावदार रास्तो से होके पंहुचा जाता है।
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Oof! The show was breath taking. While local tribes gave a good show, the visitors also enjoyed the hotness of the Raja Mircha. The Israeli girl put a brave face though her chicks grew red in every second that made her look more beautiful. Anyways, she could successfully eat two King Chilies.
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The entire zigzag road was blocked with snow. We were the only souls from far off plain lands stuck in the midst of old silk route, completely disconnected from the outside world and covered in a thick blanket of snow. Our journey to Gnathang Valley was cancelled. But what we witnessed was much more than what we had wanted and could ask for no more.
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Samsing is a small hill village and tourist spot in the Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district. It is known for its beautiful landscape with green tea gardens, hills and forests, which attract a lot of tourists. It lies 18 km from the Neora Valley National Park.
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सिक्किम में प्रवेश करते ही हमारे दोनों तरफ ही पांच – छह मंजिलो के मकानों की कतारे नजर आने लगी। ऐसा लग ही नहीं रहा था कि हम हिल स्टेशन पर हैं। सुन्दर साफ – सुथरा क़स्बा था। पहाड़ो के घुमावदार रास्तो से होते हुए लगभग 4.30 बजे हम गंगटोक पहुँच गए।
अब हमें शहर के अन्दर होटल डेन्जोंग जाना था पर पता लगा कि यह बड़ी टैक्सी शहर के अन्दर नहीं जा सकती। वहां पर जाने के लिए छोटी टैक्सी से ही जाना होगा और उसमे भी 4 लोगो से ज्यादा नहीं बैठ सकते। हाँ सुबह आठ बजे से पहले अवश्य यह टैक्सी वहां जा सकती हैं। शहर की परिवहन व्यवस्था इन छोटी टैक्सी पर ही टिकी हुई है। लोग या तो अपने वाहन से चलते है अन्यथा इन टैक्सी पर ही निर्भर रहते हैं। यहाँ पर ऑटो , टेम्पो , ग्रामीण सेवा आदि नहीं चलते हैं। सिर्फ छोटी कार वाली टैक्सी। इन छोटी टैक्सी का किराया भी ज्यादा नहीं है। पंद्रह रूपये सवारी के हिसाब से लोग सफर करते हैं।
हमें लाल बाजार, डेन्जोंग सिनेमा के साथ लगे हुए डेन्जोंग होटल जाना था , टूरिस्ट समझ कर हम लोगो से वहां पर टैक्सी वाले 150/- रूपये प्रति टैक्सी मांगने लगे। मैंने होटल फोन कर जानकारी ले लेना उचित समझा कि यह लोग ज्यादा पैसे तो नहीं मांग रहे हैं। होटल वाले ने बताया कि 90 – 100 रूपये से ज्यादा नहीं लगता है। आप लोग टैक्सी स्टैंड से बाहर आकर टैक्सी कर लो। टैक्सी स्टैंड से बाहर सड़क पर आये तो एक ने 100/- रूपये मांगे तो हमें लगा सही भाडा मांग रहा है उससे 4 लोग होटल रवाना हो गए दुसरे ने 80/- मांगे उसके बाद दो टैक्सी वाले 60/- रूपये में ही चल दिए। मतलब यह कि अगर आप मोल -भाव करना नहीं जानते या स्थानीय लोगो से नहीं पूछेंगे तो आपकी जेब ज्यादा हल्की हो जाएगी।
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After all this, the last thing on our list was a visit to some tea estate in Darjeeling. To go there was one part of the pleasure and the next best part was to sip a hot n nice cup of tea there! It was really a divine experience and I had about 3-4 cups of tea- each of a different variety!
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Koilababa is then brought to Jagmohan Ghar (a special house) after Meji Puoa and on a sacred moment in the night Koilababa is brought to Doul Ghar in a special walk of seven steps (Sapta Thak)
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There we saw nothing like individual performances and all the tribes were dancing in a group. In every performance group of artists in colourful costumes began dancing slowly, made circles or some geometrical formations, gradually raised the tempo with steps and on reaching the climax, tempo was brought down again with a satisfying finale.
The tribes of Mizoram entered into the arena with their most popular Bamboo Dance. In that format of dance bamboos were placed and held horizontally across each other on the ground. While the boys tapped bamboos in rhythmic beats girls were dancing by stepping alternatively in and out to the beats with ease and grace.
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Further ahead, the scenery again changed. We were drawn more deep into the actual jungle. The forest cover got dense and our excitement jumped higher. Under the shade of the trees and some swamps, we found a herd of the world renowned one-horn Rhinos. It was not the first time in my life that I encountered them but still, they being the pride of my State, rakes up my pride too.
Our Gypsy driver suddenly had a rush of adrenaline and after few minutes of some sway-and-swanky driving, he brought us into this clearing, which was clearly bang in the middle of the forest. With a few words of prayers, we de-boarded our vehicle for a photo-shoot!!
Now, you must be wondering, why we were having a photo-shoot when we had prayers in our lips. Well, that’s because inspite of the heavy forest cover, the view and the vibes took our breath away.
Read MoreLater when I Googled, I found that it is indeed a reservoir and an artificial lake and was created by damming the Umium river and covers about 220 square km. This is first hydro-power project in this part of the country. Barapani is a major tourist attraction. Plenty of photos are available on the web.
We reached Shillong late afternoon. I was very excited, keen to find Shillong of my dreams: hills, fern, orchid and low cloud. Unfortunately, the sights and sound of the city did not match my imagination.
We drove past the crowded Police Bazaar area, the assembly and the polo ground and reached a quieter part of the town called Upper Lamthumai. Our hotel, Roseville Hotel, is located there.
Roseville Guest House: The hotel, more like a home stay, has cottages for guests and a well maintained garden. I identified Pine and Birch trees and some flowers. It has an old world charm. The property is famous for beautiful rooms and heritage rooms and was earlier managed by ITC Welcom. The tariff: Rs 3,000+25% tax per day.
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