Mystic land of playful mists - Kurseong

One moment, sunbeams pour over the ridges, abysses and into the valleys below, warming up the air a little, and the next moment, before you know it, mist surrounds you and transports you to a mystic land, where from some faraway place, undulating melody of a folk song, makes its way over the chilling breeze, soaking all the flavors from the tea gardens on its way, and pours into your sensors. 

One moment, entire picturesque landscape of mountainous terrain, remote villages, serpentine roads, green canopy of tea gardens on the mountain walls, near and distant, are all crystal clear in front of your eyes, and within few minutes, you can only barely see the person near you. The landscapes are nowhere to be seen, like a white curtain falling on the nature's changing masterpieces.

Behold, Kurseong (Kharsang in Lepcha language), also called the land of white orchids beckons you! Sitting pretty on foothills of Himalayas, with clouds encircling it below in a ring formation, was the first glimpse of this beautiful place, that catches every visitor's attention.

Amazing transformation at play...

Exactly the kind of place to completely unwind, get connected with oneself and one won't be blamed for thinking of leaving the maddening rat race behind forever and staying back here, while the playful mists, continuously change the painting on the canvas and presenting different perspectives, with bountiful  colors and shades of grey. Strangely though, amidst all the thick mist around, the thoughts inside oneself tend to get cleared up like never before, reason why many a people underwent renewal and found solace in the serenity of these pristine hills.

We had heard quite a lot about Cochrane Place, heritage bungalow and erstwhile stately British colonial home of Magistrate Percy John Cochrane, which had featured in Lonely Planet Guide, and were fortunate to have it as our home in Kurseong during our stay. The property had undergone restoration and was recreated few years back, but has managed to retain its past nicely, including a VW Beatle and a pianoforte which had traveled all the way from England, close to a century ago.  With a Tea bar to flaunt, serving hot cups of finest Darjeeling tea throughout the day, and not to speak of  world-famous Makaibari tea gardens and factory within walking distance which produces the best tea available to the world, it makes for an ideal stay for any tea connoisseur from all across the world. We had our fair share of sips of some of the better varieties available there, if not the best which typically comes upwards of 40k of Indian rupees for a kilogram.

Cochrane Place

Restaurant with unique tea bar

How can one forget Mr Ravinder Cong and his staff? Having stayed in so many such places before, I must stay I have rarely come across a more kind, hospitable, enthusiastic and resourceful unit anywhere else, right from the time we landed there until the time we left the place, creating an extremely pleasant experience for us. We could make the most of the few days at our disposal, courtesy their proactive help with planning the daily trips and logistics to support them.

It took us a while before we climbed up the hill and reached our destination on the first day. What remained of that day was well spent going on a jeep ride around the hills, tea gardens guarded by bushes of lemon grass lying in abundance, and Netaji's family home, now a museum. The place is bound to raise the goosebumps, for this is the same place where Netaji was interned and where he envisioned the future of his mother land, including INA. The verandah overlooking the valleys was where he sat and scribbled some of his most memorable letters, and the speech which he delivered as President of Haripura congress in 1938. Many a personalities like Chittaranjan Das, Rabindranath Tagore had visited this place during early twentieth century.

A train ride to Darjeeling on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway(DHR), a UNESCO world heritage site, established in 1881, was exactly what the doctor ordered for the next day. This was an uphill ride, as train passed through densely populated areas and wilderness, criss-crossing the hill road from left-to-right and right-to-left,  through the highest station at Ghum, renowned for Ghum monastry, and through most picturesque Batasiya loop, before reaching Darjeeling. We spent the day in Darjeeling visiting the various spots, Zoological Garden which is home to some of the rare fauna found in cold climates, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute which houses the oldest museum in the country, and is a glowing tribute to Sherpa Tenzin Norgay.

Darjeeling is much sought-after destination during the summer times and was obviously very crowded. So, we chose to wrap up early and head back to blissful Kurseong by afternoon, for latter was the centre our trip this time.

As always, I decided to spend the rest of the day, walking up and down the narrow hill roads through wilderness, absorbing more of freshness and solitude, capturing some of the breathtaking landscapes and imprinting them in my memory forever. That is also the time when I saw most of the hide-and-seek games that nature was playing while it drizzled and people stayed indoors.

Last day was spent visiting the Makaibari tea estate garden and factory, walking through steep mountainous roads, which is a great experience and a workout at the same time, while getting to know the place, people, their livelihood, lifestyles and aspirations from a closer angle.

All good things must come to an end, and so did this trip. Travel being such a great teacher,  relentlessly feeds perspectives, gives insights, throws up life lessons, as we spend more and more time in its company. It whispers to us to live with the doors and windows of our mind wide open, while it enriches us spontaneously.

This time too, it threw up many new thoughts in my mind to return back with,  some to cherish and retain forever.