Page 35 - Seniorstoday November 2022 Issue

the window. Its beautifully manicured rod inserted for a broken femur warned us
gardens below rolling into undulating green
pastures, onto glistening green mountains
on the horizon with majestic snow-capped
Khangchendzonga blinding us with its
beauty. As the sun’s rays glide over the
mountains, the picture gets more dramatic.
With the powdery mist wafting by, it was
ethereal. If we did not have a bumper
breakfast beckoning us, we would have
stood there transfixed endlessly.
The view from our room at Elgin Hotel, Kalimpong
Our enthusiastic guide Bunty made sure
we made the most of our visit. Would
pull us out of the hotel first thing in the
morning and take us not to just the most
beautiful of places, but also gave us a feel
of the local life, walking along the snaking
alleys, stepping into people’s homes making
agarbatti, gingerly treading through a
market, so akin to our Crawford Market,
making us purchase delightful avocado,
strange bananas, et all.
On the tourist trail we drove to a quaint
village of Rishop of Neora Valley National
Park where we enthusiastically started
tramping up a steep incline into the dense
forests. It was so exhilarating, the crisp, cool
air and the heady fragrance of moist leaves
of the pine trees, but we had to bow to our
shortcomings. One replaced hip and one
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #41 | NOVEMBER 2022
of the danger of slipping over loose gravel
on the way down, so we had to beat a hasty
retreat.
A visit to Deolo Hill, the highest point in
Kalimpong was a delight. We never tired
of the grand Khangchendzonga within our
sight all the time. From this point it was a
breathtaking canvas of colours all around
us, the eight- acre lush park with blushing
flowers and the hills and mountains all
around. Tourists of all ages were on high
octane, unable to contain the beauty of
the place blowing their breath away,
interacting with one and all amidst this
bounty of nature.
A visit to a monastery subdued our
exuberance a bit. The hypnotic chanting of
the monks donning magenta robes placed
us in an involuntary mesmerising trance
from which we had to pull ourselves out
due to constraint of time. We were pained
to see the decrepit state of Tagore house but
elated to see the well maintained one of the
star of yesteryears, Devika Rani.
Tagore house is in a pitiable condition
On to Gangtok, the present capital of
Sikkim, had nothing much to offer except
M.G. Market, a walking street dotted with
shops and restaurants. However, our hotel
Denzong Regency once more afforded
us dazzling views, complementary foot
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