A Sikkim Kind Of Summer

The first fully organic state of India draws travellers from the plains with its natural bounty and unique melange of cultures. Kavita Kanan Chandra chooses the sustainable route to experience its ethereal lakes, warm hospitality, and organic food.

-  Kavita Kanan Chandra

What beckoned us to Sikkim beyond its lush greenery, hills, and valleys was the state’s carbon-negative initiatives like massive afforestation and organic cultivation. In love with the Himalayas and pristine nature anywhere, my family of four was drawn to the bucolic charms of the state.

One summer, escaping the scorching heat of the plains and equipped with both rainwear and woollens, we alighted at the New Jalpaiguri railway junction. A three-hour drive through forested plains and up the hills led us to Shanti Niwas homestay in Burung near Sangkhola in east Sikkim. Our cottage perched on a hillock, overlooking valleys bordered by rolling hills.

Our host Rounak greeted us by draping white silken scarfs around our necks. It is a traditional way to welcome someone in regions that practise Tibetan Buddhism, and the white scarf is called khata. Next up was a delicious Nepali thali with dal bhat, tarkari (lentils, rice, and vegetables), chutney, and chicken curry. The homestay’s organic kitchen garden was bursting with seasonal greens.

We learnt that Rounak was from Siliguri. Burung, the ancestral village of his wife, has traditionally been home to a Nepali-speaking community. By evening, dark clouds gathered over the mountains and it started drizzling. Rounak invited us to the bamboo gazebo for a drink of tongba. “This is the traditional alcoholic drink of the Nepalis and is made from fermented millet,” he explained, pouring hot water over a fistful of millet in a bamboo mug. He let the liquid sit for five minutes and then dipped a perforated bamboo straw so we could sip the clear liquid. It tasted slightly alcoholic and a bit tangy.