To Sikkim And Back

Photograph@Arijit Sen--All Rights Reserved

Sikkim University, a 32 month university held its first convocation in Gangtok. I was most happy to be part of this grand moment. (Photograph) Gangtok from the hotel window.

Photograph@Arijit Sen--All Rights Reserved

The Kanchanjunga remained in a hide-and-seek mode for those ( like me) who woke up at 6 and not at 5 am.

An old Sikkim post/Photograph

Sikkim 2009

Back after a long break. Garhwal, Sikkim, Delhi, Calcutta, Shillong--waiting to upload some photographs. This photograph was taken in Yumtham valley in Sikkim in July this year.

Kitchen and Sikkim Tea

Going back to Sikkim again. Tea and the kitchen ( in Dzongu) and Pema and Pema's sister. Pema is a lawyer. His sister is the world's best possible cook. They are sitting in the kitchen. The kitchen is an integral part of the house in Sikkim. Everything from watching tv, reading magazines, post-dinner-lovely-marathon-conversations-without-washing-hands, dinner, breakfast, everything happens here. Get the drift?

This tea is the best possible tea I have had so far, you get a bad version at the Oxford bookstore in Delhi ( in that stupid cha bar).

(Got a call in the morning, Affected Citizens of Teesta have been asked to call off their hunger strike, or else legal action will be taken. Next week, we travel to a lot of places, lot of places.)

Leaving Gangtok

Gangtok, on our way out. I want to visit this place as a tourist.

Tea stop

This is the view from a coffee shop/tea stop. It's in North Sikkim.

Dzongu

We were hiding here

Myth

After the shoot, on our way out from Dzongu, we met Myth.

Inside the forest

Inside the Kanchanjunga national park and biodiversity area

National park

Early morning. We are trekking towards the core-zone of the national park. Really difficult trek, especially with equipment. We are going mad as the mighty Kanchanjunga starts playing hide-and-seek with us.

Morning in Dzongu

First view of the range from the Kanchanjunga National Park and biosphere reserve. And what a view!!

Evening

It's raining now. We are having tea and planning next-days shoot.

Entering North Sikkim

We are entering North Sikkim. So far we've filmed only two reports and tense about what's in store.

Dikshu

In the town of Dikshu, Mukut and I. Don't we look angry ( and funny) (anger: as people were refusing to speak on camera). Most of them are scared to speak against the state government/government policies.

Teesta V

(Pictures 1 and 2) (right) Teesta V project. 18 km of tunneling being done by the NHPC, to make the river water flow in the hills of Sikkim. This project is near completion. There are 22 hydel power projects planned in Sikkim

(Third picture) (left) (Near the Teesta V project)

Affected Citizens of Teesta

At the Bhutiya-Lepcha house. People are happy to have us around. We start shoot early in the morning in Gangtok. As we have a long, long way to go to North Sikkim. ( These are the people, nearly 200 of them on a relay-hunger strike, protesting the mega-hydel power projects in Sikkim)

Sikkim

We are really tired, carrying equipment, flight's delayed and as we enter Sikkim, this is one image, I will always remember. Father and daughter on a bike.