Uniquely Sikkim!

Well enough is enough. I spent the week between April 17th to 24th in Sikkim. And ever since, this post has been in 'draft mode'. I have finally decided that I am sick and tired of seeing incomplete posts on my dashboard and thus here it is.....
Tales of the beauty of this tiny state nestled between the mountains of the lower Himalayas is a tale that has been told umpteen times. I do not wish to repeat it here. Here are a few pics though to give you an idea:

Instead, what I will attempt to do is, give you an idea of a few things that combine to make Sikkim, uniquely Sikkim: -
My first impression of Sikkim was of its excellent administeration. Literally the first thing our Taxi Driver said on entering Sikkim was, “Yahaan ka kanoon bahut khatra hai”. By that, he definitely did not mean that the laws there are any more or less barbaric than the laws in the rest of the country, but only that the implementation of those laws there is far better than anywhere else I have seen. :)

Secondly, the people seem to love their Chief Minister. Mr. Pawan Chamling has been in power for fifteen years in Sikkim, and everybody we spoke to was very confident that he would come back to power this time too. Well, it’s not difficult to see why. He’s brought such a lot of development and prosperity to Sikkim! I am yet to visit any other place / state where I have gone a full week without seeing signs of abject poverty or encountering people begging from tourists. However, What development and prosperity has also meant is that there is a LOT of construction going on everywhere in Sikkim. That has compromised with the cleanliness of the place a little bit. But definitely nowhere near the levels we are used to seeing on the streets of Calcutta or Ranchi or any other city.

Thirdly, the only vehicles seen on the roads of Sikkim are: Local Taxis and very few local private vehicles. Due to the hilly terrain and roads that go up or down at angles of nearly 60* all the while incorporating hairpin bends, no two wheelers, rickshaws (whether of the auto or cycle variety), cycles, or even public transport such as city buses etc are seen on the roads. A few buses owned by the Sikkim Nationalised Transport can be seen plying, but they are few and far in between. The roads are just too narrow to allow a bus to take up the entire space. Stringent license requirements, and rigorous driving tests ensure that Sikkim has one of the lowest rates of road accidents, despite having roads at gravity defying angles! So most people walk to their various destinations, which means Sikkim must also have a very fit population!

Fourthly, we kids from the plains are plain spoilt. What with the buses to take us to and from school, public transport wherever we want to go or private vehicles at home to ferry us around. Lines of Sikkimese kids can be seen every morning, happily walking precariously on the edge of the road, collecting flowers and other knick knacks on the way, wearing traditional school uniforms, merrily make their way to school – which could be anywhere between 5 to 10 kms away one way. Little kids from Nursery onwards are expected to walk long distances, since even older kids cannot be expected to carry them for upto 10 Kms. Pity I didn’t think enough to take a pic of any of these kids.

Fifthly, the fact that the Sikkimese aesthetic sense translates into all houses big or small, rich or poor, have flowers adorning them. Every last one of them! If there is a man living somewhere, there will be atleast be a flowerbed / a pot adorning it. And it makes the entire city look so pretty!!

Sixthly, I love how friendly and warm the people are. Despite the enormous hardships they have to face due to the terrain, they are a hardworking happy people, ever smiling and ever ready to help. And that pleasantness rubs off on the tourists too – making the entire stay all the more pleasant. I also love the straightness and the simplicity of the Sikkimese people. Sample a random conversation I overheard:

Random Girl to Policeman guarding entrance to Rumtek Monastery: Police Uncle, aap bole the thoda phool denge. (think of it said in the lilting accent of the Sikkimese)
Policeman (gruffly): Kaun sa phool?
Random girl: Mamma bola ki aap phool denge ghar ke liye!
Policeman (gruffly): haan haan, kaun sa phool?
Random Girl: Dheere boliye na, Dar lagta hai. Rose chahiye tha.
That girl was easily at least 15 – 16 years old. Now where else would you find a person scolding and telling a policeman to keep his voice down and tone normal because it scares her?

Seventhly, of course this is the land of the Red Panda and the Snow Leopard and the tibetan wolf etc etc. as also the land of the thousands of kinds of flowers and the three kinds of bamboo.
A co-passenger who was on the train with us both on our way to and from NJP remarked on the way back, ' Sikkim में लगता ही नही है की India में हैं। Foreign लगता है "। He couldn't have hit the nail straighter on the head.