Journey Introspect: Monastery on the way to Sandakphu

Pity that I take so many photographs only to store them on my hard drive. Here's a little attempt to share the beauty on the other end of the lens. 
This one is from a trip to Rimbick where we had gone to conduct a farmers training. Initially we were planning a night halt at Sandakphu but the villagers strongly adivised against it as the trek is nearly 6 hours long that too for experienced trekkers. On the other hand the local villagers reach Sandakphu in 4 hours and reach return back in 3 hours or so. Finally we decided to go for a trek towards Jarayo Pokhari (Deer Lake)  on the way to Sandakphu, a two hour trek from Rimbick Bazar, but then again we only made it half way up to the monastery. 

The village around the Monastery is called Maney Dara and name of the monastery is Mahendra Samten Monastery which was built around 1917. The main monastery itself is new but the stone structures and relics around it are old and beautiful. A beautiful stupa stands atop the hill from where we could get the view of Darjeeling Town and Namchi in Sikkim. It was really peaceful just to sit near the stupa and breathe. I looked at Darjeeling Town and thought about home and family. Two days and I am already missing them...however for the moment its nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the town.  In these remote parts  you can hear and feel the sound of silence.
There was a house near the monastery where the owner and his family were busy working the potato fields. We did some casual talk about the life, agriculture etc sipping the salted milk tea his daughter prepared for us. The owner seemed to having trouble with the apple trees. No fruits because of pollination was what he told us.This place was away from the world, secluded, peaceful, protected and harmonious...
At the end of the day it was a nice introspective journey. Ending this post with a photograph of the art-work that I saw on the monastery wall drawn by a student from Sikkim!? 
Artwork seen on the monastery wall


Location: Sandakhphu, West Bengal 734201, India

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