Falls and Waterfalls of Sribadam, Sikkim

With every step I, having a stick in my hand and backpack on my back, could hear the dry leaves getting crushed. It was like walking in a jungle alone, though Google was showing a village here. After every 50 meters my brain was releasing some warning hormone, but my heart beating a little faster said keep walking. The adventurous side of me always won! To make things better (or worse) it was a cloudy day and rains was predicted. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard someone shout, “Hey you?”. Before I could process who and where he was, I was just happy to hear a human. “What you doing?” That was all the English words he knew. I showed my camera and kept walking. After an hour of internal battle, I was welcomed by the sound of a water fall and there was a massive waterfall in the middle of a pine forest. Heaven!! Such unexpected views are the best. Soon after it started to pour heavy. Put on my raincoat, walking briskly, jumping over muddy patches, slipping at times but somehow managed to be back to civilisation. The fall and waterfalls of Sribadam, a quiet little village with stunning views of the valley in Sikkim.

How did I get here? Having booked my tickets in the excitement, and without much (any) planning, I landed in Bagdogra with the aim to reach Sribadam. Even the people at the shared taxi stand did not seem to know about Sribadam. That was scary and exciting! As guided by the homestay’s owner, Kesang, I boarded the Sumo to Jorethang. The ride from Siliguri to Jorethang is picturesque with the killer – Teesta river following  along side the road. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we got stuck in a terrible traffic jam. It was a looong line of cars. People started getting off, some drinking tea, others debating over what could have happened. All of a sudden we heard a huge splash. A piece of the road had fallen in the Teesta river because of a major landslide. We had to take a detour to reach Jorethang, a 4 hour journey would now take over 8 hours. My co-passengers weren’t too pleased, but I was super excited as we now would pass through small villages and beautiful tea gardens. What better!! It was almost 9pm by the time we reached Jorethang. And Sribadam was still an hour away. I had to trust human beings and got on a car with some strangers going in the same direction. It was dark, the mobile signal was poor and could hear the dogs barking when I was told to get off at Sribadam. I so prayed that the homestay was legit and they did not ditch me! I was welcomed into the house with a lavish dinner. A hard earned meal for the day!

Independence Day Celebrations in rural India. I woke up all excited to see how the village actually looked. It wasn’t very populated and was super green and clean. I overheard some speaking about the independence day celebrations in a nearby village. Excited by it, I decided to experience it. Being a holiday there was no public transportation, so the only way to reach Soreng was to hitchhike. An elderly person heading to the same festival agreed to take me along after some questioning. I expected a handful of people to gather and sing the national anthem, but it was like a festival here. A huge field was decorated, and hundreds of people, young and old, shouting and cheering rushed towards it. It was a happy jolly environment with everyone singing and dancing, eating ice creams, and carrying the Indian flag in the laps of the mountains of Sikkim. I on the other-hand was looking so off the place and under dressed with my black rain pants and camera that the district collector himself approached me. They are not used to having tourists. Happy, he introduced me to all the prominent people in the area, including the police head. (I was definitely safe now!) The function had cultural performances, a football match and the goosebumps giving national anthem to the sound of small waterfalls to give a calming background music. All of these taking me back a decade to my school days, the same emotions and excitement. To head back to Sribadam a local policeman helped me hitchhike with a young couple. The guy had driven 200kms to meet his girlfriend and there I was sitting in their car!

Homestay or home? Kesang, his brothers, his sister and his father treated me like their family. Literally. From sharing family problems to making sure I eat that extra helping of rice 3 times a day. They eat only what they grow, so the food is super fresh and really well made. In my 5 day stay, the quantity of food I used to have increased drastically. Kesang himself being very enterprising, keeps on thinking of ways to improve and help the guests. It’s the perfect spot to relax, read a book, write or just introspect. If not, walk around to neighbouring villages to explore the unexplored or just play football with the monks.

Sribadam village. In all four directions you head you’ll find something to cherish. I was lucky to go during the monsoons, because of which I could witness a lot of waterfalls, a lot. From the one hidden in the pine forest, to the ones flowing through a forest. Waterfalls and the sound of the water hitting the rocks was so peaceful that I would enter a parallel universe in my head. One of things which is always the focus of my travels is interacting with people, but on this travel I could meet and have conversations with very few people. The most people you’d see is at 5-6 in the morning to collect milk, else the village is very sparse. If you keep walking on the highway, there are multiple sheds built and those were “my” spots. The view, if the clouds did not cover it would be exceptional. The place to be in to click pictures or get lost in thought. For me this was the time to reflect on the year and focus on what makes happy.

Makaibari Tea Estate. Life goes on and you can’t (don’t want to) be at a place forever. As hard are goodbyes with a promise to return, that exciting is the road ahead. After standing in the middle of the highway for an hour I finally found a shared Sumo to Jorethang and then to Kurseong. Reading about a homestay program to increase the income of the tea workers, I decided to stay for a night in Makaibari, Kurseong before heading back home. It was right in the middle of a village amongst the tea gardens. Sipping the best red tea sitting in the tea gardens was the perfect end to this journey!