Eyjafjallajökull :: © 2010 tiffinbox

Eyjafjallajökull’s nearest active neighbours are Katla, to the northeast, and Eldfell, to the southwest. Hence they are considered the mom and the doctor in this representation of how when you are sick, and you try to speak while you puke, you can pretty much expect your name to be miss-spelt. Perhaps Eyjafjallajökull’s real name is Jake or Kaju or Jaku and while he spoke, he just spilt a few extra letters.

This is a somewhat delayed but humorous look at the Eyjafjallajökull eruptions that created some news. But, yeah, we are lazy.

Bizzare thought – Sriparna Ghosh    |    Illustration – Rohit Chaudhary

The cherry bowl :: © 2010 Sriparna Ghosh

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Triund :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Triund is like a Friday night. You can very well see what is ahead and you know what you have just left behind. The tingling of a cool weekend to look forward to and the madding week left behind. We all know what that feels like. And Triund feels just like that.

Triund is that more-than-welcome flat bit of land at 2890 metres, and it sure makes you work hard to get there. You can get there only by walking, and just a few shortcuts are allowed. Let me correct myself there, the shortcuts aren’t allowed, they must be looked for, and must be analysed for their eventual benefits. And then you can decide to take them, if you must.

You would encounter a lot of two-way traffic enroute to Triund. Some would politely overtake you, some making a lot of unnecessary noise but not really making any headway and also those that greet you. As on any other journey, these passersby’s make for good conversation topics with your other co-travellers.

To set your sight on the destination can be a good way to beat any Monday-morning-blues you might be facing. A quick but bone-jangling auto ride from Dharamkot might also lessen the number of kilometres you have to walk by one and a half. This auto journey might just be the scariest one ever (valid till they construct a pakka road).

Since a good way to commence a journey is by getting some blessings on your side, you could go and ring some bells at the Galu temple, beyond which no vehicle will be willing to take you. From here on in, you start, on an uphill journey, on foot.

The path either goes flat or up. The flat parts are pretty hard to come by, and hence a considerable amount of time is spent on them: taking breaks, enjoying the view, discussing how much of the trek is left etc. The HPCA stadium is your constant companion throughout the trek, since its recent addition to the Dharamsala geography.

The views are spectacularly plain, cause all you see are the plains. On a lucky day, as was ours, you can catch a glimpse of the Pong Dam reservoir, in the Kangra valley. It is a huge lake that also doubles up as a well known wildlife sanctuary. A few scattered hazy hills can be seen, but they don’t lend any beauty to the landscape at all. Of course, for those with a love for concrete jungles it might be a wonderful view.

If you walk as fast as we did, then within 90 minutes you should be at the halfway point. There are a couple of dhabas, one of which is very famously knows as the Magic view Cafe. The newer one, with a ‘better’ view that looks directly at Triund is called Best View. I leave it to you to make the painful decision between magic or best. This being my 3^rd time at the half way point, and having firsthand experience with both, I chose the latter.  Have some drinks at double the cost of MRP and proceed to walk on.

Further the path is a lot of uphill task. It is continuously tilted at an angle ranging between 15 to 45. Never a 0. This is the part where the shortcuts are appealing, and you must keep out a keen eye for them. And some steady feet. Shortcuts have the known ability to cut your distance, but they also add the gift of danger.

Dhaba at Triund :: © 2010 Sriparna Ghosh

The last stretch takes your breath away, and so does the first view of Triund. They somehow compensate for each other and allow you to become a kid wanting to roll down the meadows. The Indrahar peak stands upto you. And in between the snowy ranges and you is that bit of grassy land called Triund, like a carpet of green, interspersed with tarpaulin blue dhabas. But dont be mistaken; there is a well hidden deep gorge that separates the meadows from the mountain up ahead.

Triund is like a Friday night. You can see the snowy peaks at stones throw and if you just spin at 180 degrees, the plains stare back mundanely at you.

How and what?

Triund is roughly 7 kms away from Dharamkot which lies another 2 kms above from Mcleodgunj, and that is 9 kms from Dharamsala. But people dont start their trek from Dharamsala, and it is only prudent to start from the Dharamkot. Those wanting to cut down further can also start from Galu temple.

Mcleodgunj is connected with Delhi through regular buses. The roadways buses are fairly frequent, while there are 2 deluxe options: TATA AC (Rs 735) and VOLVO (Rs 950). Tickets for the latter can be booked either from ISBT Kashmiri Gate or Himachal Bhawan, Mandi House.

If you prefer trains then you can catch an overnight train to Pathankot, from where there are plenty of vehicular options available.

If you prefer airplanes, you should probably go to Goa.

There is plenty to do at Triund and nothing at all, depending on your choice. You can eat, drink, read, walk, trek further, hang out with sheep,  click photographs, eat, roll on the grass, ride a unicycle (one of the tourists actually did that), sit by the bonfire and gaze at the numerous stars. Or you could just borrow a blanket from the dhaba and laze around indefinitely.

I highly recommend you spend at least one night up there instead of returning to civilisation the same day. It lets you enjoy both the walks and the stay.

Sheepathon :: © 2010 Sriparna Ghosh

For more of WYSBGT, please click here

I flip through TV time shift, only to stop on promising movie names which might sound like Hell and Below, Secluded island, Don’t look back, Don’t look back twice, Watchers (or weight watchers… or return of the killer weighing machines), anything with Lindsay Lohan or Diane Keaton in it. Or no. Wait. Just Lindsay Lohan.

But I digress. Just like romance films and their annoying little happy endings, horror movies have their own clichés. Here is a rough primer on how to write your own:

1. The hero’s family/girlfriend/children will never believe the existence of the zombies/ghosts/vengeful souls. Doesn’t matter if neighbours and pets are mysteriously turning up butchered in your bathroom or your doorstep, the family always says, “Honey, I think you need some help.” This is usually before the ghost literally slaps the daylights out of the girlfriend.

2. Pets always die first. Or the chesty neighbor.

3. Basements and attics are playpens of the evil. The first few scenes will have someone creep up the creaking stairs. The hallway bulb flickers and fades. Hand moves to turn a bright, shiny knob. Knob turns painfully slowly. “Michael! Where are you,” says chirpy voice from downstairs. “Be right down, honey!” Leaves door closed but turns back once to look at it.

4. The hero/heroine will always do one Google search. Or a trip down to the nearest newspaper archives to search for a 50-year-old murder case.

5. During the search, the local Sherriff will say, “Trust me sir, you should stay away from this. Nothing good will come out of this.”

6. Children will always sleep alone. Even if daggers are mysteriously flying out of drawers, neighbors are dying, basement doors are banging, kids need their nightmares.

7. The ghost always befriends/possesses the youngest member of the family first.

8. Rain on climax night. Always.

the wwf seals :: © 2010 Sriparna Ghosh

So, those (in the title) are the animal sounds made by each in the picture above. My favourite is the “wha”, which is made by the Red Panda.

These animals were drawn as seals for the WWF-India panda calling website. The intention was them to form the indentifying elements for the various partnership plans as mentioned on their site, and also appear on the various merchandise which is handed over to the partners.  Since this website spent a lot of time in making, a lot of decisions were changed midway, and hence these innocent animals were rejected of a place on the website. Well if it is of any consolation, their smiles did win some hearts , but their sounds went in vain.

So, in order that this post is of a bit more consequence than just showing some rejected work, here is a list of animal sounds that might come handy at  some point in your life.

Grrrrr. Now buzz off.

But lives of some people around us, do depend on the garbage we dont care about. Their job is to collect, sort and dispatch garbage. For them the wheelbarrows with identification numbers painted on them are like their briefcases. And like once in a while, we like to change the things we carry and change the way we look, these carts are given a fresh coat of paint, and gleaming numbers.

While they bask in the sun on this very bright day, it does bring a cheer looking at these carts waiting to dry. Well, they didnt say “yellow yellow dirty fellow” for no reason.

the dirty fellows :: © 2010 Sriparna Ghosh

In taxi :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

A group of 5 people set out to experience the desolate topography of North Sikkim. High on list is visiting the blue waters of Gurudongmar Lake, driving through the uninhabited Yumthang valley, and chilling under the winter sun at Lachen and Lachung, two main villages of North Sikkim. If the word count of the narrative below puts you off, maybe you could skip it and instead have a look at the pictures from this trip. Here is the flickr link.

Day 1

We are in New Jalpaiguri (NJP). Our train kept its promise with the official arrival time, 1100 hrs. We set out for the taxi stand in anticipation of reaching Gangtok early. It is the 29^th of December and yet it’s pleasant outside. We have the company of a Gangtok resident, who suggested we group up, to reduce the taxi fare. We were happy to oblige as she knows the language and is happy to do the negotiations. But things aren’t meant to be this easy. First, we learn about a bandh (for a separate state of Gorkhaland) from 12 to 5 pm, during which taxis won’t hit the roads. Instead of taking a taxi from NJP station, the local lady thought it would be wise to get one from Siliguri (half hour drive from NJP station), which has a bigger taxi stand. So, we set out for Siliguri (Rs 300 for an entire taxi). A good one hour ticks by in negotiating the price. Rs. 1800 is fixed for the front 2 rows of a Mahindra Maxx Jeep. And by the time our driver finds 4 more passengers for the last row, it’s already 2 ‘o clock. Once we are on the road, eventually, our driver tells us about the presence of middlemen (dalal) in Siliguri and NJP, who take their share from the drivers for getting passengers. Rs 600 from our fare went to the dalal’s pocket. And for some mysterious reason, which forces us to believe that maybe he too is a part of it all, the driver asks us to lie to anyone who comes asking about the fare; Rs. 140 (per person, for a total of 10 people) is what we have to ‘officially’ tell any inquirers.

We reach the bridge where the agitation (peaceful today) is supposed to be taking place. A few passer bys tell us about the status of the bandh and a driver of another jeep informs us about how the windshield of a jeep was thrashed to pieces earlier by a few agitators. Amidst all this confusion, the traffic starts crawling back to normalcy. Jams take over from bandh once the agitation is called off. Unwanted breaks take over from jam once the road is cleared, like fellow travelers on the last row announcing that they want an early dinner and our driver stopping to drop off a package to his home on the way. What should have been a smooth 3-4 hours’ ride ends up being a boring and tiring 8 hours’ drive.

Day 2

Mig-Tin, our hotel for one day and 2 nights, had caught our attention while looking up hotels in a guide book, not because of its description which wasn’t inspiring anyway, but due to its name. We had chosen the rooms on a long distance call and asked them to book the rooms with the best views. Thanking ourselves later on, as we went about the otherwise vacant hotel we realized that apart from the four walls we had been handed, rest of the hotel is pretty dingy and badly maintained. For the record, when we peeked from our window, we were in the middle of MG Road, the Switzerland of India, or so says the Chief Minister.

After an exciting and relaxed brunch at the wonderful Baker’s Café, and a meeting with our tour operator, we set out for the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (at Deorali). This has to be the most interesting place to see while in Gangtok, as it is known for its renowned museum in Tibetan architecture. Memories from my last visit to Gangtok are still filled with slightly blurred visions of its passageways. But as we discover, unfortunately, the museum remains closed on Wednesdays. So, we move onto the Do-Drul Chorten, a couple of hundred metres ahead of the museum. And we are in for a complete shock! This place has become quite unrecognizable since our last visit, owing much of the ‘credit’ to an appalling new construction on the only side of the chorten, which was devoid of any human encroachment till now. If not for the distasteful urbanised surroundings, this place could be visited at least for the quaint walk that the road (from the ropeway) to the chorten offers. Rest of the afternoon and evening is spent in the back lanes of Deorali and later on checking out Lal market, the two main places to go shopping (apart from the usual and pricier MG marg).

Lal market in Gangtok :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Day 3

We reach the office of Sikkim Tours and Travels by 9 after a brisk breakfast. Mr. Lukendra Rasailly, owner of the company, informs us that our permit has been made and the driver has gone to fetch it from the tourist office. By the time we get to see the driver, it’s already 11 and our plans to leave early in the morning to travel leisurely have painfully disappeared. We wonder why he didn’t apply for the permit the day before, only to be told that permits have to be applied the same day. This can be attributed to the reason that since there are daily weather changes at the altitude we are going to, it is only logical to decide if travel is possible on a daily basis. And on top of that, he informs us of snowfall up in the north, for the last couple of days, which keeps us sufficiently busy speculating the chances of roads to the lake being blocked. Well, it’s quite difficult to fathom the probability of ending the trip (and the year) without a visit to the spectacular lake and we try not to think about it. By 11.30 pm we finally leave Gangtok.

The road beyond Chungthang splits into two. The one on the left goes onto Lachen and Gurudongmar Lake and the right one takes one to Lachung and Yumthang valley. And these are the areas that are inaccessible to people without permits. So, though you can visit places on the route ahead of Gangtok like Phensang, Phodong (lunch stop for people visiting north Sikkim through agencies) and Mangan (district headquarters of north Sikkim) without any permits, going ahead of Chungthang will need one. The Incredible India brochure on Lachen says, “Visitors making a trip to Lachen or nearby places are required to make their arrangements through registered tour and travel agents in Sikkim. Additionally, foreign nationals are required to travel in groups of 2 or more”. The roads in Sikkim are quite characteristic unlike anywhere else. Most of the highways here run into single lanes and the turns are dotted by huge wooden poles flanked with tall white prayer flags.

As we get closer to Lachen, we start spotting blocks of snow around the road. We try looking ahead in the valley towards our destination but it’s getting quite dark and we have to settle for our immediate surroundings. And it isn’t long before those chunks are gone and we find ourselves literally floating on snow. Quite a surreal sight it is; rocks, streams, trees, everything reclaimed by snow. Everyone in the jeep gets super excited, music is turned off and faces get glued to the window, trying hard to see what shimmering snow has to offer under the moon lit sky. A sharp turn and we enter the village, a village dotted with yellow bulbs hanging from the courtyards of lovely ‘white’ houses. It’s only 6 in the evening (took us 6.5 hours to get here) and we get ready to prepare ourselves for the long night ahead of us, the last night of the year.

Lachen in snow :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Day 4

It’s first of January in the New Year! All of us are in a hurry to get ready, for it’s the day we have all been waiting for; visit to the second highest lake of India and 15^thhighest in the world, according to an online source. Gurudongmar Lake, nestled at 17,100 feet (5135 metres) above MSL, is sacred to the people of three religions, for there is a stupa, a small Hindu temple and a Gurudwara, all looked after by a watchman (who lives there throughout the year, all by himself!). And supposedly, the speed of the winds at that altitude is so immense that you can barely hear others speak! Because of its altitude, weather tends to get unpredictable after noon, and staying beyond a certain time (sometime around 12-1 pm) is not allowed. The owner of Hotel Bayul (our hotel for 2 nights in Lachen) had told us this the previous night.

People leaving for Gurudongmar have to leave early; around 7 in the morning (one way to the lake takes around 4 hours roughly). But we are late by an hour, since neither the cook nor the driver woke up on time.

We haven’t left Lachen too far behind and some isolated houses of the village can still be seen down the valley on our right. After a sharp turn, just ahead of us, we see a parked jeep and its driver waving us not to go any further! Our driver parks right behind him. All of us get down. The two drivers have a word, walk down some steps on the road, come to a halt, and observe the road below them and down the valley. I can barely believe what’s going on. Others decide to make full use of the opportunity with all the snow around. Our driver signals me to join him. He shows me the road where he is standing and points out at the winding road down the valley. Most of the snow has now become ice because of the constant traffic of army vehicles and it’s extremely risky to move any further. Since jeeps are much lighter than, say, an army truck, chances of slipping and losing the balance on a road like this are very high. No amount of begging would convince our driver to move further to see if it’s really dangerous. Some minutes pass by observing silence.

A cavalcade of 3 jeeps approaches us, all stuffed to the brim with bengalees. Again a discussion takes place. And the new entrants decide they want to try out the road, which convinced our driver to follow them. We start moving slowly, certain that we will make it this time. A kilometer down the road and across a bridge, we stop again. We wait patiently and nervously. And then it is all over. The 3 jeeps in front of us take a u-turn and stop. Their passengers start falling out of the vehicle; shouts of excitement everywhere. One of them shouts at the top of his lungs, “What the hell! This is Gurudongmar, let’s play!” Our hearts sink. This is the farthest we go on this unfortunate day!

We spend an hour on the snow, trying to do stupid things with it, trying to revive the excitement of the trip. Once back at Lachen, we wonder what can be done with the rest of the day. A hike to the monastery overlooking the village seems the best option. We head for it.

The monastery is a busy place. Lots of people around, unusual for a monastery, except for on festivals. And it does turn out that preparations are being made for the annual monastic cham (mask dance). We spend a good hour here, under the pleasant sun, observing various chores being carried out. The 2 approach routes to the monastery make for an exciting glimpse of the village life. Little things, like a bucket under the continuously flowing tap, or fluttering prayer flags on every roof top, or plants surviving in blue colored desi ghee canisters, do something to you, not entirely possible to depict in words but easily felt once you are back in the comforts of the big cities.

Day 5

It’s 9 in the morning and we prepare to leave for Lachung. Almost all the snow has melted away. We wonder if any tourists will be going up to the lake today. Our driver confirms that no permits were issued yesterday.

We were told of an interesting story about the dynamics between Lachen and Lachung, during our stay in Lachen. A politician in the current ruling government of Sikkim comes from Lachung. He saw the much-favoured route to Gurudongmar Lake as a threat to the tourism industry in Lachung. So he got access to both the lakes (Tso Lhamu as well) barred, citing border sensitivity to divert the tourist inflow to his village. After a public outburst over this decision, the government was forced to open up one lake to tourists and locals. But still, it’s the politician who is considered the perceived reason for most agencies suggesting a 2-day stay in Lachung compared to a 1 day halt in Lachen. And whatever inquiries or visits Lachen has been getting over the last few years is purely because of the Incredible India campaign on Lachen, giving it much needed publicity and a facelift (a few Incredible India signboards in Lachen and a brochure that we got from our agency in Gangtok were testament to this disclosure, but we can’t vouch for the political angle to the story).

It’s a nice drive, 2 hours of what we missed while coming up on the 31^st January due to bad light, and 1 hour on a new route ahead of Chungthang. And as we enter the new road, both the valleys seem quite different from each other. Lachen side is more of a narrow gorge, and one sees hardly anything beyond the towering mountains on either sides. But this one opens up slowly and slowly, till it reaches its widest at Lachung, making it seem like a huge amphitheatre.

We arrive at our hotel in Lachung, Apple Valley Inn; a beauty carved out in wood. It’s difficult not to fall in love with this place. We are tripping on our surroundings; the views from the hotel of the small village downhill and magnificent snowy peaks rising behind them. So much so that we defer our plan to leave for Yumthang valley immediately upon arrival in Lachung, and instead settle for a cup of coffee in the comforts of the balcony facing the marvelous views.

After the brief intermission, we set out for Yumthang valley. Set further north of Lachung, Yumthang is a limited access area, for the area borders Tibet. The Lonely Planet guide gave us the impression that visitors can go upto a couple of kilometers ahead of the ‘famous’ hot springs. But somewhere on the internet, we read about Zero Point. Supposedly, Zero Point is the last place till where a tourist can go. It’s called zero point for the simple reason that beyond this point there is no road!

This side of the north Sikkim still has lots of snow cover. We pass a number of vehicles, all of them on their way back. We are surely late, not that if bothers us and rather we enjoy the anticipation of being alone at zero point. We pass the hot spring; too touristy. The landscape beyond seems to have frozen. Water coming out of a big iron pipe has frozen to form an art installation, and so have the huge waterfalls, rendering a scary silence to the valley. The huge trees start giving way to more and more open areas and eventually shrubs take complete control of the proceedings. We keep moving against the horrors, which blocked our way to Gurudongmar. But here progress is much easier owing to a comparatively leveled landscape. The valley begins to open up magically towards the end stretch. One can see multiple valleys connected to this one.

Being the only car going against the flow of traffic can sometimes cause a jittery feeling. The landscape is intimidating. It is enclosed in what is like a snow bowl, with frozen waterfalls on all sides and a solitary road leading to an end. A vehicle slipping and rolling to the valley floor, or any cries for help will obviously not be heard.

The jeep suddenly stops. We are a kilometer short of zero point. A long sheet of ice on the road challenges us to tread its path. We peacefully decide against it (unlike day 4). All of us get down and get soaked in the utter tranquility of this place! It’s like Lachung, all draped in snow but on a much, much grander scale. The Yumthang River has been reduced to a joke with most of it being frozen. Some abandoned shelters dot the slopes below us. The snow is delectably white and the gradual sloping of the nearby mountains makes for a very tempting slide on them. And the irony of it all- we can stay for a maximum of 15 minutes only. Ours is the only vehicle out in the wilderness and the driver doesn’t want to take any chances with the problematic roads and disappearing sun.

And so in 3.5 hours we are back in our hotel, still spellbound with what we have seen up there.

We didn’t go to Mt. Katao. It’s the mountain in front of Lachung frequented by mostly bengalees. Apparently it’s illegal to enter that area since it’s very close to the border, and permits are not issued, but agencies take a chance and enter the area in the absence of any police check post. Or, as some say, with help of some corrupt policemen.

Lachung seems like a Bengali outpost. Almost everyone speaks the language and others who can’t, surely understand it. Most of the people here are immigrants, from Bengal and Bihar; little doubt then, that no meal here goes without a papad and aloo bhaja (Bengali potato fries).

Tonight is going to be special. After all, it is our last day in North Sikkim. And though we will and have to come back to visit the lake that eluded us and beyond (this information cannot be divulged till we are sure of the plans), we don’t know when that day is going to be. And so we embrace our spots on the rocks out in the porch, under the still moonless night, and begin an endless gaze into the sky counting shooting stars.

Prayer flags on way to zero point :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Costs

We ended up paying 22,000 on this tour of North Sikkim for a group of 5 people, inclusive of transport, lodging and meals for 3 nights and 4 days. The price is extremely unsteady and one can come down drastically on bargains. But most of the tour operators start with Rs. 25,000 for such a trip. The final price, of course, translates into quality of accommodation and food, and sometimes vehicles also. So the best bet, I guess, would be to go with the agencies with most recommendations.

Tourists in Sikkim :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Magically, 2010 has started on a good note, showering us with some increase in wealth and also appropriate proactivity. We wanted to continue with the way our last cards were (due to the oft. recieved compliments ) and decided to have 4 different designs on the back of the card, with snippets from our work. The front side is common for both of us (we like conserving paper).

We are also lovers of screen printing, for reasons more than one. It adds texture. It smells amazing. It is also cheaper than offset when printed in low numbers (anything less than a 1000 pieces which is a lot for a small firm like ours). We would also like to argue that it is more environmentally friendly (we have an environment reporter trying to figure our the truth… updates soon).

But it entails certain low points as well. Like, we are bound by the number of colours we can use. It is recommended that each face not have more than 3-4 colours at the max. We cant print gradients or bitmap images. In case we want plenty of colours, then it is both complicated (for us and the printer) and risky (the printer is human after all).

So, as opposed to a single file one would need to send to their offset printer, this is what we had to provide to our screen printer.

© 2010 tiffinbox

The colours each of these 7 screens will be printed in is shown on their sides. And by the end of it all, we expect our card to look like the one on top.

There are 3 other designs, none of which are as complicated as this one. Those will not be posted online, and we wait for you to meet us if you really want to see them, and the end result of this

Cards are being printed on Karess Springo Sandgrain White paper (300 gsm).

A Horse wrapped Zebra :: © 2009 Sriparna Ghosh

A Horse wrapped Zebra.

I consider Zebras to be graphically spectacular creatures.  To me a zebra is a horse wrapped with a ribbon.

So when I started making this illustration, a problem came about when I had to choose a color, for both the horse and the ribbon to wrap it in. There was no clear word on whether the stripes are black or white. Hence there was no way to decide the colour of the horse in question.

So, my Hobra here has both.

Initially, the theme for this illustration was to be ambiguous about the colours, as it is not clear here whether this animal has white stripes or black. But later on after some more research I came about this following information on Wikipedia which clearly states that the stripes are in fact white.

{It was previously believed that zebras were white animals with black stripes since some zebras have white underbellies. However embryological evidence shows that the animal’s background color is dark and the white stripes and bellies are additions.}

This artwork was made as a submission to the weekly illustration challenge at illustration friday