Nature’s best kept secret-

Kalimpong and Loleygaon

“One touch of Nature makes the whole world kin”- William Shakespeare

As we made our way through the narrow lanes cut through the lush green hills of
the mighty Himalayas, I wondered that, of late, how many times had I travelled
around with my ‘nana-nani’, or ‘dadu-dida’ as we call them in bengali? I gently
pulled my head out of the car’s window, taken with the pristine view of the hills,
dotted with small, brightly painted houses, and realized that it was, suprisingly
enough for a wanderlust like me, the first time I had been travelling with my real
‘best friends’ -My grandparents. This just made this trip to Kalimpong and Loleygaon
much more special and exciting.

Flanked by the gorgeous, serpentine river Teesta that meanders down the hilly
terrain, the path uphill is any traveler's delight. While on one side there is the
massive, cliff-like expanse of green foliage, on the other side flow there is the silver-
greenish gurgles of the magic river. I was especially happy with our decison to visit
this heaven in the laps of Shivaliks. I was mostly an urban places explorer, But my
old grandparents couldn’t keep up with the booming noises and febrile energy of any
metropolitan city, so we opted for a calmer destination. After scanning the internet,
we finally squared down at two unconventional hills, not far from Darjeeling, West
Bengal, with equally unconventional names- Kalimpong and Loleygaon. Beautiful
mountains, detoxifying environment with the cleanest air, beautiful hills fillled with
monasteries and fluttering prayer flags… This place was paradise, a perfect refuge
from the despicable smog and noisy crackers that were a common sight in Delhi
during Diwali. We booked the tickets for 6th of November, 2018, packed our luggage
and voila! We were on the go.

My maternal grandparents were initially against any change in their daily life style.
My grandpa is shiftless, the quiet, serious, dork-ish type; my grandma, on the other
hand, is the super-active, ebullient character who manages almost everything. Both
of them were the soul of this trip. A short flight to Siliguri and then we shifted to the
car. Traversing those roads for over an hour, gazing at the small rivulets that passed
us by, and the distant waterfalls that didn’t cascade but spiral downwards in narrow
streams, One couldn’t help but lose touch with reality. And then suddenly ‘she’
sprang into view- the town of Kalimpong, jarring and jolting us out of the trance. All
at once we found before us colourful streets that were abuzz with activity, school-
children chatting animatedly, people buying and selling stuff in the marketplace. The
hill was bustling with people and unique traditions.

We finally went back to our feet in the Hiltop Tourist Lodge which is situated just on
the outskirts of the town. The large rooms, accompanied with alluring gardens and
delicious food provided us with a lavish stay. It was late evening, and Kalimpong
slept early. We followed pursuit and called the day off.
We woke up early, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the city’s most majestic
attraction, The Kanchenjunga. Mist and cloud welcomed us and needless to say, the
pair played a spoilsport and we initially didn’t get a chance to see anything, but then
luck had it in our favour, and we saw the lofty peak, as it basked in the morning
sun. It was the first time we had seen Kanchenjunga, and it was a visual delight for
all of us. We skimmed past Hanuman Tok,a giant Hanuman mandir, Science City, a
few bungalows from the colonial times and many beautiful waterfalls. We stopped at
the Phodong monastery and I clicked a ton of pictures with my grandparents, with
the brighly painted dragons and buddha statues at the backdrop, barely giving my
parents any chance to click some photos with my ‘dadu-dida’. Our next stop was
Dello(or Deolo), the highest point of Kalimpong at around 6,000ft from the sea-
level. An anthophile’s paradise, Dello was a gardern of Tremolous beauty. I chit-
chatted and supported my Grandparents all the way, as we noted the rioting
garderns of cannas, Jasmines, Chrysanthemums and Roses. The view of the entire
city from the vantage point was mesmerizing beyond our imaginations. Right next to
the fairy tale-ish garderns were three tents of the weirdest and most unique cactus
plantation I had ever scene. while some didn’t even reach my knee, others were way
taller than me. Some were pumpkin shaped and some were flowery. It was a
hilarious experience, to push our way ahead, without getting stung by cacti. After
travelling the entire day, merrymaking ourselves, we called it of.

The next day, we scurried downhill to the market to check out the local environment
while there was still time. "Haatbazaar" - the marketplace in Kalimpong, is pretty
much the same as what one can expect to see in any town - shops, shops, and more
shops. The hawkers yelled on the top of their voice, as they sell a myriad of street
food, especially the Nepalese ‘Thupka’. While my mother went on a hunting spree to
carry some beautiful souvenirs and Darjeeling tea back home, the men contented
themselves with browsing through the shops. With everything available almost
everywhere now, Souvenirs don’t carry the same air of uniqueness and novelty
around them. Some hand-painted scarfs, books and mural arts do catch my
attention though. One can always find their passion anywhere. The evening, we bid
goodbye to this lovely city, which showed us the beauty of nature in it’s purest
forms.

The journey to Loleygaon, a city practically untouched by the Human advancements,

was even more green,natural and peaceful. The ride is a pleasure, with the thick,
lush carpets, huge pine tress, and canopies of the forest that alone are enough to fill
the heart with joy. At Loleygaon, there were barely any people, allowing us to calm
our minds, and wraps ourselves in a cocoon of peacefulness. My father and I trekked
our way to the Canopy Bridge, a long bridge made by joining two large trees. The
bridge swayed end to end as we ran our way to the top, adding up to our adrenaline
rush. The rest of the evening was spent gazing at the Kanchenjunga, which sparkled
in the moon-light. The next day, we packed our bags, and started our journey back.

After a tedious journey through a stony road, we finally reached the final mile-stone,
Siliguri. The city bustled with it’s own energy and took night-life enjoyment to a
whole new level. My grandparents, being true- blue Bengalis, felt particualrly happy
to be in their known territory, after such a long time. After a 15-minute ride from
the Tenzing Norgay Bus Stand, we came to the Hong Kong market, which was a
crowded, narrow maze of shops selling wares ranging from spurious electronic goods
to cheap clothes, from pirated CDs to export reject shoes. A bargainer's paradise,
the formula for shopping here is simple - divide the price first quoted by two, and
then take it up from there depending on your budget. We finally managed to buy
some handicraft-bags and ate to our heart’s fill, traditional bengali food.

Even though we wanted this trip to last longer, our time was limited. Another flight
to IGI airport bought us back once again to the fury and the fumes of the city life.
Trips were usual to my parents and me, but not to my ‘nana-nani’. We all were
nervous, whether they had enjoyed the trip or not, but the response by my grandpa
was overwhelming-“where are we going next time?”. The trip had been a successful
one, a trip which bought me much closer to nature, and it’s beauty, a trip that
bought a change in my grandparents monotonous lives, and a trip that gave me
wonderful memories to cherish all life. A thank everyone who made this trip a
success, and escpecially my grandparents, who graced this trip with their presence.

-Abhiroop Das

Class X

At dello, Kalimpong with my parents and grandparents.