School time, kid!

Tinchuley and adjoining villages are as remote to the world as the nose and the toes! But, seeing children going to and coming from school even in such heavy rains is a delight to watch! There are a few schools in the vicinity and children often walk 5-10 km to and fro. Captured here is a girl walking to school… Happily!

Tiger Bridge (circa 1911)

This is a typical arched bridge made by the British in 191¹(circa). The big arch is conspicuous. Made on the river Teesta right at the foothills, this bridge is still functional and stands majestically tall. We started our 5000 ft uphill drive to Tinchuley from here.

Summer of 2009 – Day 3

After having perched ourselves at the guest house in Tinchuley, we were greeted by the effects of the cyclone ‘Aila’ that hit West Bengal and Bihar. At first it was drizzling but soon turned into a heavy downpour which is now into its second consecutive day! The weather wants to palt spoil sport with us perhaps!

We are unfazed though a little bogged down. After all this cyclone has taken heavy toll in Kolkata (incidently heaviest since 1860s). Moreover landslides in the hills have blocked the roads to Darjeeling, our next destination in the itinerary. The news from Sikkim too is grim.

We changed our plans as the road to Darjeeling is inaccessible and now go to Kalimpong instead. We have made Tinchuley our base camp owing to its central location amongst the places of interest in North of West Bengal. After an early breakfast we drove to Kalimpong. It took us 2 hours to reach Kalimpong while enjoying the surreal-istic beauty of the hills.