Hills and Gods

In our mythologies, the way to heaven is often through the high Himalayas. A single trip makes it clear why. The sages on their trips for meditation would have seen signs of heaven. The heights, greenery, gurgling streams and raging rivers, clear blue sky and the occasional cloud playing hide and seek with the light never fail to impart that impression. Man does try its best to destroy that serenity by never ending construction, noisy smoke spewing vehicles, and all sorts of chaos that man is uniquely capable of.

Even then, that heavenly feeling still persists. I can vouch for that from several trips to HP, Uttaranchal, and of late, to Sikkim. There was one such moment on a rainy day in the balcony of our resort a little away from Gangtok. The rain stopped for a while and there was a fine specimen of one of the most divine sights, a rainbow.

Flying to Gangtok has its perks. One gets glimpse of Mt. Everest and Mt. Kangchendzonga. Thank God we can now take pictures from the aircraft; and with a bit of cropping, get a close look at the mightiest peaks in the world. Since the road to Nathu La was closed, eventually that was the closest I could get to Kangchendzonga.