Petals of Paradise

"Not just a bloom, but breath retained
In roots where secret cares remained,
She heals in silence, veiled and wise,
A prayer  pressed into petal guise."

As the cab from Bagdogra enters the toll gate and the driver stops to show the entry permit, our attention goes to the big, bold letters against the mountain slope-SIKKIM, The Green State of India. The road from Siliguri to Gangtok meanders all along the river Teesta and at every bend you get the most gorgeous view of this mighty river which in March looks muddy, gentle and subdued but can take the most dreaded form and wash away all that comes on its way, if and when it so desires. The ravages caused by the Teesta in 2023 can still be seen all along its course and recalled by many in that region.

In this trip I was looking forward to visiting the Valley of Flowers in North Sikkim having read about how a windswept, remote desert-like valley surrounded by massive mountain ranges becomes a carpet of flowers in springtime. But that comes much later.  As we make our way through the evening traffic to reach Gangtok, what strikes us is that every house here is adorned with flowering plants. These houses can be apartments in three or four-storeyed buildings or tiny cottages with barely two rooms in them or can be a nice little mansion belonging to a well-to-do family but they all have one thing in common. Little coloured pots holding the most colourful orchids, petunias, cacti, bougainvillea hanging from the balconies or terrace railings or simply standing in a row on the sunshades or lintels. They can also be small trees laden with the most beautiful azaleas or camellias adorning a small patch of a garden. Flowers are there all around- in the houses standing on terraced slopes, on street-lamps, on the roads, and the roundabouts- welcoming you, beckoning you, smiling at you. The rain, the sun, the mists, and the clouds all take care of them. Wherever you look they are there, “tossing their heads in a sprightly dance”.

Camellia

Bush Lily

In Gangtok, you will find flowers wherever you go. It can be a monastery or the hotel you are putting up at. Even the famed MG Road of Gangtok, where all the eateries and shops are located, is beautified with flowers. The whole road is a car free zone and so you can stop and stare, or as most tourists are busy doing, click selfies with the flowers in the background. Flower pots are arranged on ornate wrought iron or wooden stands and all they do is spread good cheer, freshness and brightness.

Azalea

Flowers on M.G. Road

However, in Gangtok it is the Orchidarium which steals the show. They have opened this recently on the occasion of completion of fifty years of statehood.  You will find a huge variety of orchids including their state flower, the Dendrobium nobile, and other flowers like the pitcher plant, azalea, anthurium, camellia and peace lily. You get to see a plethora of orchids, which bloom all over the hills of Sikkim between February and April, including some very rare ones under one roof. The best part about this place is how thoughtfully it has been arranged and curated so that it holds your attention from the posters on flowers to the little exhibits in the museum section as well as the actual landscaping and the glasshouse where the real flowers are grown. A whole section is devoted to the renowned botanist, explorer and the man behind the theory of evolution, Dr Joseph Dalton Hooker, who played a big role in shaping Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. Sikkim’s orchids are world famous having more than 400 species. They need to be protected since many rare varieties have already disappeared from the wild. The Orchidarium is indeed a novel effort in this direction.  Not just in the orchidarium, there are orchids everywhere in Sikkim- hanging from the porch of a roadside café, growing along the walls of a Tibetan monastery, showing up from a dead tree trunk to cascading down from old plastic bottles on a window ledge.  Your heart longs to pick up an orchid from a roadside nursery but deep down you know that the heat, humidity and pollutants of your city will kill these flowers of paradise.

Orchiderium, Gangtok

Orchids

Orchids being grown in bottles

As we make our way up to Lachung in North Sikkim, the vegetation keeps changing along with the landscape around. As you cross Chungthang, where Lachung chu (chu meaning river) meets the Lachen chu to flow into the Teesta, the road diverges in two directions- Lachen and Lachung valleys. As our driver takes the road towards Lachung village he asks us to look on either side of the road. We are greeted by rows of rhododendrons. It is mid-March and the rhododendrons (local name is guras) have started blooming everywhere. By April every tree would be bearing hundreds of these flowers. We enter the town of Lachung like royalty, the rhododendron trees standing guard on either side of the road bearing the clumps of deep red inflorescence with pride, and the Lachungchu merrily bouncing down the rocks and pebbles, gleefully mocking at us at every turn and twist of the road, as if to say, “For men may come and men may go, but I go on forever.”

There are dedicated sanctuaries for orchid conservation like the ones at Shingba and Barsey where they celebrate rhododendron festivals every year. More than 30 odd species of rhododendrons have been identified in this region ranging from giant trees to shrubs with change of elevation. The state tree of Sikkim is Rhododendron niveum where the flowers are lavender or purple. Rhododendrons need not all be red but can be pink, lavender, yellow and white too. The flower is known for its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. It provides nectar, pollen and seeds to birds and bees. The wood is used for timber and firewood. Locals make a wine from the rhododendron or ‘gurans’ flower and I also found local stores selling ‘gurans’ pickles, jams and tea made from its flowers, stem and leaves. Apart from its aesthetic value, this plant is definitely an intrinsic part of their lives and ecosystem.

Rhododendron

The next morning, we make our way to see the Yumthang Valley and Zero Point (Yumesamdong) which is at an altitude nearing 16000 ft. The roads here are maintained by the Border Roads Organization with army outposts and army camps all along.  The mountains are no longer covered by foliage of different shades of green, but become more barren and snow covered. The verdant slopes are replaced with shades of grey and white. Even the many waterfalls we passed on our way to Lachung can no longer be found for they have frozen into streaks of ice in mid-flow. The flora changes to alpine vegetation and the green slopes get replaced by the junipers, cypress, pines and firs while the higher regions are completely barren and snow covered.  From a distance all you can see are snow covered peaks and grey-black mountain slopes dotted with white. Gradually, you realise that the specks of white and silver are the fir trees at a distance whose wide branches are holding up the falling snow.

Snow capped fir trees, North Sikkim

In April and May, the Yumthang becomes the valley of flowers. This remote, windswept, bare valley is covered with rhododendrons and primulas. But since we have come a fortnight earlier, we have to be content seeing the tiny shoots and leaves which are showing up in nooks and crevices of the valley floor and slopes. We get to see a few of the small purple flowers called primulas. In a few weeks, the whole valley will be covered by them along with other wildflowers like buttercup, iris, poppy. On our way up we saw some yaks grazing at the lower altitudes. Our guide-cum-driver explained that in a few days, as temperatures rise in the higher regions, the yaks too will come up to this valley to graze. Incidentally, the yaks do not eat the primulas or the other wildflowers. They know what to graze on and what not to.  Hearing this we can only marvel at the Creator’s clock-work precision and also the unwritten rules of Nature.

Primula, Yumthang Valley

There is one more beautiful tree that we get to see in Pelling which lies in West Sikkim. Pelling offers the most glorious view of Mount Kanchendzonga. Another novel feature here is the cable car ride they have recently started which takes you to the Pelling Skywalk from where you not only get a great view of the third highest peak in the world but also the Pelling Buddha or the magnificent statue of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara- the Bodhisattva of Compassion. On climbing up the long flight of stairs we get to see a beautiful magnolia tree next to this statue. I happened to read somewhere recently that the magnolia is one of the oldest trees on earth, as old as the dinosaurs! Scientifically, Magnolia genus is considered an ancient genus having hundreds of species dated to the cretaceous period.

Magnolia, Pelling

Soon after returning to Mumbai, we are completely taken aback by a diktat from the governing body of our cooperative housing society stating that in view of the recent renovation and exterior paint of our building, no flower pots will be allowed on the window sills. Reason being that while watering the pots, residents are ruining the walls of the building. No amount of pleading or reasoning or demonstrating how not a drop of water has ever been spilt by me and the walls beneath my window do not carry any stains of mud or water due to overflowing, I am unable to keep my flower pots. They have to go. This is Mumbai, plants do not add to its beauty, only concrete does. The committee will certainly decorate the society garden but with cement fountains and statues, the lobby will be adorned with glass doors and artificial plants. Residents can go in for indoor plants, those which do not need direct sunlight. And, of course, artificial flowers are so much more colourful and maintenance free. Here the human voice reigns. So be it!

Fortunately, for this strategically located state sharing borders with China, Nepal and Bhutan, the original inhabitants, the Lepchas, worship Mount Kanchendzonga as they believe the first Lepcha man and woman were made by the creator from its pure virgin snow. He is their guardian deity, their creator, their protector. So, they do not allow anyone to step on this peak. They worship the sacred rivers Rangit and Teesta and they still inhabit the holy land of Dzongu. The Bhutias whom they allowed to settle in their land are their sworn brothers, with their guardian deities of Sikkim being witnesses to this blood brotherhood.

No one in Sikkim is allowed to pluck flowers or spoil nature. Locals are allowed to take photographs and videos of those violating or stealing from nature and send them to the local authorities. Those who defile nature are immediately fined. No disposable plastic is allowed in there either.

If the mountain and rivers are your Gods, no man can dictate your lives. In Sikkim, Nature reigns supreme. The Gardener here is the Lord himself.

DS