The ‘Orchids’ Village

The ‘Orchids’ Village
I am a kind of person who loves the ‘fairy-tale’ side of life. I like the small cute houses, pretty backyards, sunshine, flowers and butterflies. In short, I am a dreamer. Being a city-dweller, I am used to a certain way of living. I am accustomed to certain sights and sounds. Therefore, a ‘village life’ is my fantasy.

When I started out with my journey in Sikkim, I was clear in my head that I wanted to explore at least a few villages. I have written about my spellbinding experiences in Darap Village (West Sikkim) and also Dilaram Village (Darjeeling). Today, I bring to you a piece of Assam Lingzey Village, which I have mentioned about in many of my earlier blog posts, but never introduced it properly.

Assam Lingzey Village is a little village near Gangtok. It’s also known as the Orchids Village, because of its many orchid farms. Unfortunately, I went there in May, which was not the season for flowers. But if you want to get lucky and see the orchids in full bloom, December-April should be the right time.

I often feel like an intruder while I travel. I guess the Assam Lingzey trail turned out to be a dream-come-true for the ‘intruder’ me. Well, at my host’s behest, I got to be a guest in a stranger’s home – the Rai family. They are a Nepalese family, who live in a dainty wooden house surrounded by lots of lushness of trees, plants and fields. As soon as I made my way into their front yard, I went berserk with my photography. To be honest, I could manage to capture only a quarter of its beauty. So yes, my photographs barely show what I saw with my actual eyes.

When my host introduced me to them, they quite liked the idea that a woman travelled on her own. The man of the house spoke in English with me, which showed their openness for tourism (not in a commercial manner though). Although they were simple and shy, their graciousness was quite evident.

The house that appeared modest from the outside was quite nicely done-up from inside. Of course, even the exteriors were beautifully maintained. But, as I was invited into their living room upstairs, I was pretty amazed to see the tastefully colourful sofas and other furniture, various décor items and the classy curtains. As I sipped the fresh cow-milk tea, I was in awe of that moment.

Later, I strolled in the backyard of the Rai House, which had a separate space for their cows. They seemed to look amused when I photographed them. It was all so close to my dream – the wooden house, the cattle, the garden, and the pristine mountain air. I was like a child who just wanted to lap up everything greedily (sigh).

Enjoy the photographs.
The Orchid Farms
The Rai House
This is the front yard of the Rai House
A photo-session with the Rais
Beautiful flower pots in the front of the house
Peeking from the living room window
The Rai house seen from the backyard
The gorgeous backyard
More of lushness…
Notice the nicely decked up wooden wall – it’s the space for the cattle
I forgot his name… it’s a cute little pet who enjoys snacking on leaves.
One of the prettiest corners of the house
The wild mushrooms in the nearby field
The ‘green’ wall of the house
The shy Rai family finally posed for me
What about you? Are you a dreamer like me?

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