Then, I came across this paragraph about a house in Kalimpong (quite close to Sikkim) in The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai.
The house has been built long ago by a Scotsman, passionate reader of the accounts of that period: The Indian Alps and How We Crossed Them, by A Lady Pioneer. Land of the Lama. The Phantom Rickshaw. My Mercara Home. Black Panther of Singrauli. His true spirit has called to him, then, informed him that it, too, was wild and brave, and refused to be denied the right of adventure. As always, the price for such romance had been high and paid for by others. Porters had carried boulders from the riverbed-legs growing bandy, ribs curving into caves, backs into U’s, faces being bent slowly to look always at the ground-up to this site chosen for a view that could raise the human heart to spiritual heights.
It gave me some food for thought about our retirement dreams.
PS. My personal favorite still remains Ladakh. But I hear that Ladakh is getting too crowded now a days.
PPS. I guess it is now Spiti but I know I will never be able to retire to Spiti!
hi mridula,me in kolkatta and i have three days to spare.so where do u suggest i go?north sikkim or varanasi?if north sikkim, wil i get clear views of the himalyas dis season? some place extrordinary!!?? not the usual itenary!
4afteruse, if you have not been to Sikkim, I would say go to there. However, it is quite close to Kolkatta, so I guess you can go there any time. It is said that weather is clear in winter, and it was in last week of December when I was there. North Sikkim is very green and beautiful and even if you the ordinary things, like Yumthang even then it is very beautiful. I would say stay in Lachung and see Yumthang and the other lake rather than staying in Gangtok.
You take the most amazing photographs!
How many times have you come across a beautiful place and thought, “Oh! I could build a house nearby and retire here?” ..i thought like this so many times..loved the pic here,Mridula…cheers
Cold .. something I really get scared of…. but sounds worth ritiring in such places … heavenly 🙂
A lot of us dream of living in the beautiful hills. Me included, and nothing feels as nice as dreaming on it.India’s boom economy has been creating something not-so-nice for mountain lovers – mountain exploiters. In the next decade, dont be very surprised if you see every inch of our beautiful alpine landscapes crowded with townships, resorts, clubs and layouts, and worse, industrial areas! The process begun with Amby Valley in Bombay. It is happening quickly in Uttaranchal. See http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/16spec.htm Developers are getting to every corner. Our mountains will no more be mountains but will be host to apartments, industries and slums. Our valleys will be filled with garbage and rivers with filth. May be that’s a bit too far to say, but knowing how we have maintained our plains, we might very well end up doing the same to the mountains.
Teri and Ganga, thank you.Madhur, us who are scared of cold should look for seaside to retire?Arun, if we destroy our hills indiscriminately that would really be a huge loss. Thanks a lot for your comment and the link to the rediff article.
who wouldn’t want to?! :)Me thinking here sitting in front of the PC – “why to wait for retirement, why not now?” – but sigh, work from home option is not yet available in our office 🙁
Hills can have that kind of effect on people…I know.I’d rather have a personal helicopter and helipad too, or a chauffeur-driven jeep at least, if I were to live there. I don’t like driving/riding (a bike) in the hills for too long and one can’t walk everywhere (especially over any distance more than 20kms). Problems can include reaching medical aid in case of an emergency…
You are right Prashanth but it is the practical things that keep us here.Sidhu, backpackers like us do not dream of helipads! You are right about the medical thing. On my treks I have often wondered at remote villages and their capability to manage with very basic medical aid.
Hello Mridula I was reading the book ‘The Inheritance of Loss’ by Kiran Desai and i came across A lady Pioneer book mentioned, My Mercara Home. I am from Mercara and it got me very excited seeing the mention of my beloved town and I started to google it and it led me to this page. Please will you be able to throw some light on this book regarding where I can get to buy , or what is mentioned in the book and such.
Hi Anu, many thanks for the comment. I actually took this quote because of the work it mentioned about building a home in the hills. The books mentioned were incidental to me. And you are right there are hardly any references to the book online. I guess a rich public library may have a copy of the book My Mercara Home?