GORKHA LAND is what they call it!!!

"SMOKING IS BAD" definitely not true in such a place.Water would have turned to ice,had it been a couple of degrees lesser.we were dressed up like mummies from the egyptian myths,wrapped up with woollen clothes.We strolled weakly on the platforms of the jalpaiguri railway station,we were to board our train back to calcutta.The station was almost still,no one wanted to move needlessly."Chai coffee!!chai coffee"was the only sound to be heared along with the railway announcements that came now n then.Tea was like elixir,and chaiwalas were messengers of god in disguise!!!It was cold and the rescue team was immediately called for.Divine things are always available only in less quantities,this time it was a plastic cup with not more than three sips of Darjeeling tea.As i started to sip the tea,advertisements,where people collect tea leaves,powder it and the whole process of making the tea powder,were the first to come to my mind.Such was its taste,more importantly,i could feel it running down,warming the food pipe.Cigarette was the perfect complement for tea in that icy cold weather.We lit the cigarettes,no one questioned us,infact ppl who smoke had the license to kill themselves,if not the weather will do it.Suddenly came the announcement,and green,changed the signal and the squeeking noise of the rails confirmed that the train had already started to move...With a couple of quick drags,we got into the train and sat in our respective seats and the trip began to end...

It all started on the eve of christmas,we had to board the bus to siliguri at 6 in the evening.The office works had kept us busy all day.It would atleast take an hour to reach the destination from the place where we stayed.It was already 5'o clock by the time we left the office.We hired a taxi and hurried to esplanede.Traffic jam everywhere,reason being Dhoni's men were on a mission to seal the series against the lankans on the 4thODI at the Eden gardens here in kolkata. Esplanede was next to eden gardens.Had we not planned the trip,we would ve been sitting there watching thematch.After an hour we reached the busstand.It was an electrifying atmosphere both in and around the stadium.The bus waited for another 15 minutes and we all started to siluguri.It was jingle bells Jingle bells Jingle all the way,Festive mood everywhere.Churches with serial bulbs and christmas trees were a treat to watch.After a small prayer,through the window and few christmas greets,i went back to getting drowned in my all time favourite melodies.

The tedious journey ended at 8 in the morning,when we reached "siliguri" the gateway to north eastern india,it connects three international borders China,Bangladesh and Nepal.Once we stepped out te bus,the air was pure and it carried an aroma of the medicinal herbs,we were tired no more,we all felt fresh.The car was was already waiting for us,we owned it for the next three days.After a quick freshening up break,we sped towards the misty mountain terrains.As we crossed the border security force zone,i happened to notice a pluckard which read "Vetrivel Veravel" i thought how true was it when they said "ethisayum pugal manakka irundha perum tamil enagae!!!!"no sooner i felt at home.But there was another reason i felt ashamed of,As an Indian I could nt speak hindi as fluently as our Nepali driver did.All these thoughts vanished,only at the sight of the crystal clear river.No one knew which language it spoke,but it was simply beautiful.It followed us all the way to Kalimpong,a warm blue carpet welcome.Thank you Teesta!!

Kalimpong is on the way to gangtok in sikkim,a 60 km drive from siliguri.We had booked a room in advance at kalimpong.After a small enquiry about the where abouts,we reached the hotel.

The inn keeper greeted us with a bright smile,and helped us move our luggages to our rooms.Hospitality was at its best.Lava was first place in our itinerary.A sumptuous meal was cooked and served hot.Fish curry was spicy and delicious too.What would one like to do after a heavy meal? sleep.A 20 minute nap helped us recharge our batteries,and we were on the move,the next minute.The hot molten lava from volcanic mountains is dead opposite to this "Lava".It was freezing out there.Beautiful scenaries!!it was like all my desktop wallpapers came to life.We took pictures,not for memories,jus for showing off,uploading them in facebooks and orkuts.Not everyone gets a chance to visit such a beautiful place,either time constraint will be a problem or they maynot have friends like i do.I can boast about my friends bigtime!.Our gang then returned back to kalimpong.We shopped for a while and went back to the hotel.We had a drink,and then came the dinner.We had a quick discussion about the places to be visited the next day before going to the bed."its going to be a big day tomorrow"i convinced my wavering mind to sleep,and it obeyed.

I was woken up neither by an alarm clock,nor by a high pitched cock-a-doodle-doo,all my friend had to do was pull my blanket off.Until then it was very cozy and warm inside the smooth silky fur woven blanket.I started trembling and ran into the bathroom and drowned into the tub of hot boiling water.bread omlette was served,and we then set out to Hishop.It was yet another master piece of GOD,i envied his creativity.Next we went to see the God himself at the Buddhist Monastry.Buddhist monastry that they show in old tamil films is accompanied by a music that goes like"tan ta ta ,tan ta,tan ta ta tan,".I couldnt seperate both,and there was no music playing.so i kept humming it all along.Cricket could have been India's national game,they play it everywhere.There were two monks playing cricket.One batted and the othe bowled,not one ball went to the stumps.His bowling hit my friend's leg who was standing a 10 yards away from the

stumps trying to take a picture.We all laughed and he capture it on the camera.The tune never ceased to stop coming until we were at the exit of the monastry.We had chowmeen,a chinese dish with momo and a big bowl of soup.Tree top walking or canopy walk was next.It was not so exciting for me,it was the usual walking,it was boring only until imet that cute smiling face.i would nt say she was very beautiful,but she had that smile so addictive.I was looking at her,and she came towards me,I could hear my heart pounding loudly, and louder when she began to speak"could you please take a picture of me with my husband"and then it stopped.I got the camera and took a picture and we said bye.i wondered "Had all break ups been like this???".Next...rest.Back to room.drink,dinner and sleep,and before that a small prayer to those who lost their families in tsunami,the same day five years back.

The next day was bright and sunny.It was perfect for Rafting!!!We visited the Srikrishna temple,I had the role of a guide to play.I Know to read and write Hindi,only speaking was difficult.It came handy,when i had to explain the writings under every sculpture to my Japanese friend.At least he would think there are few good things in India.We went back packed,and started climbing down.We went to a nursery where they grew cactus.

These Cactuses flashed this metaphor into my mind"MEN ought to be like camels to drink water from female cactuses".The river rafting was the highlight of our trip.Except the japanese guy,none had experienced a raft ride.We wore life jackets and we yelled and screamed when the "rapid" came.The best part was the cold water splashing on us.Out of sheer enthusiasm few guys jumped into the water,It was so cold that some of them started breathing hard we had to pull them back on board!!It was for 45 minutes.we reached the other end.We walked to the road.There we had a news waiting for us.There was a strike and all vehicles were stationed for 2 hours.Our car was blocked somewhere.We couldn't even buy a cup of tea,we left everything back in the car before going to raft.I decided to walk all the way uphill to the place where our car was stationed.That was my walk to remember!!I blamed god for creating people blind deaf and dumb .If i were blind i would nt ve seen the river filled valleys and the sky kissing mountains,if i were deaf i would nt have heared the birds' chirping,the distant church bell or the music in air from the coniferous and bamboo trees,if i were dumb i could not have told my friends how happy i felt walking alone.

.By the time i reached the place the strike was called off,and i got into the car and started down hill.My friends were waiting,we picked them up and started off immediately.We reached siliguri at 7.Jalpaiguri was another 20 mins from siliguri from where we had booked our train tickets to calcutta.We had dinner at jalpaiguri and then bought some smoke."

"SMOKING IS BAD" definitely not true in such a place.Water would have turned to ice,had it been a couple of degrees lesser.we were dressed up like mummies from the egyptian ..............................