The Himalayan odyssey

Incredible India has a million hidden surprises, waiting to be discovered. It was our turn to discover one such in the northeast of India ... we were treated to a sublime exposition of nature, in all it’s glory. Sikkim, the land of peace and tranquility, had us transfixed with it’s Himalayan charms!

It was thanks to my wife Yamini’s efforts & planning that this trip happened. She had done the entire trip planning down to the last detail. A Planner to the financial planner! My sister-in-law’s family too, were with us. That ensured that we had good company & a great time.

Our first stop was to be Darjeeling. We were to fly to Bagdogra and then head for Darjeeling. The flight was from T2 – Mumbai International Terminal. The terminal is exquisite and simply world-class. It’s a better terminal compared toT3 in Delhi, though T3 is expansive.

T2 has a full-fledged museum housed between check-in and baggage claim

area. It has 7000 artifacts along a 3 km long wall ! The highlight for me was the representation of the cosmos on the wall facing the lounge area. It had a beautiful representation of the various constellations in the sky – all aesthetically done and tastefully executed.

We flew Vistara this time, with it’s spanking new planes. The staff were nice. Their uniform designer had pulled a fast one on them, though – their uniform looked dowdy and in need for an uplift! The first touchdown was at Delhi. From Delhi, it was a hopping flight to Bagdogra via Guwahati.

Bagdogra is a defence airport open to commercial operations. From there we had arranged for a vehicle to Darjeeling, which was our first port of call. We had momos and chai on the way.

Darjeeling was an amazing place with the clouds floating about and serenading us in it’s cool embrace. Walking among the clouds was magical – we felt like devas in Indralok!

In this Indralok, we were housed in RJ Resorts – a good joint with comfy rooms and decent food. After dinner, myself, Yamini and her sister ( Ramya ) went for a walk, as others chose the comfort of the warm room. It was niceand soothingly cool. There were eerie stretches with the wind bringing in the mist and clouds, making it look like the scene from Madhumati. I could almost hear Ghadi Ghadi mera dil dhadke !

 

Darjeeling sightseeing included Ghoom monastery, where we saw some boys to be ordained as monks, kicking a ball around and having fun. Batashia Loop was another location which houses a war memorial and also had a toy train that is one of the highlights of Darjeeling.

We went to Padmaja Naidu Zoo which was compact, clean & inviting. The weather was nice and it started to rain, adding to the allure. The zoo housed snow leopard, red panda, clouded leopard, Tibetan Wolf, Asiatic Bear etc. & many birds too. It had climate controlled chambers to house snakes. Overall a nice, well maintained place.

We went to a couple of more places before embarking on the long ride to Gangtok. The place we were to stay was Juniper Tree, which evoked visions of a resort set inside a wooded park. The reality was decidedly harsh, with the place bang in the midst of the concrete uglies, in the centre of Gangtok! The rooms were OK. But it had lodge feel to it and we felt completely let down.

Gangtok is set on the mountainous terrain and one needs to constantly keep climbing up and down here. We were taken to Ban Jhakri waterfall, a place developed into a paradise! There are thousands of such waterfalls across the country, but none so beautifully & aesthetically developed. I would say this is one of the most memorable places we visited in Sikkim.

Ban Jhakri, as the legend goes, is a shamanic deity of the Nepal Tawang people. Ban Jhakri is a short, wild simian who is a descendent of the Sun. Ban Jhakri abducts children who have potential to be good shamans and gives them training, in his cave. His consort Lemlemme, however has evil designs and devours the children, which the Ban Jhakri will need to protect. If they survive, the children become great Shamans, as legends go!

We went to Chortan Stupa, which had 108 prayer wheels around it. One is supposed to rotate each prayer wheel as one goes around the Stupa, thereby completing one’s prayer. Not much to see, but a very serene place. We visited the Institute of Tibetology, where we saw a museum of Tibetan iconography & religious art, the largest collection of Tibetan works outside Tibet. I found it very interesting, though our children panned it ( and were out in 30 seconds !). We must have gone to another half a dozen buddhist monasteries/ stupas... all serene placeswhere the stillness of the place was magical & peace almost palpable.

The next stop was a flower show which had a good collection of orchids, though the exhibition centre itself was pretty small. Presented good photo ops though!

The other memorable trip was to Nathula. The ride up was fairly long –probably three hours, with a stop between. In that stop in the wilderness, they sold tea, samosa, Maggi etc. ( we went in the precontroversy period! ) They also had gloves, shawls etc. They warned that we may require something really warm, which we put down to sales talk. But then, we were soon to be proved wrong! After about another 45 minutes of ascent, we reached Nathula. Boy, was it cold?

You bet!

 

We went up to see the Indo China border. There were buildings on our side and some more on their side, with a barbed wire to separate the two countries. The barbed wire was just two strands... not like what we see on TV, as exists between India & Pakistan. Ofcourse, there are soldiers on either side and hence the flimsy fence was more symbolic than an actual instrument of protection.

When we saw the soldiers there, we felt a lump in our throats. They were there throughout the year in a place which was bitingly cold & hostile – it was about 2 degrees Centigrade at 1 PM! And there was a steady wind blowing, which made the ambience a lot colder than it was. Many actually saluted them, which included yours truly. The patriotic feelings were stirred in our breasts!

After this we drove to Babaji ki mandir. Legend has it that this soldier, Harbhajan singh, was posted near Nathula and had fallen into a Nullah due to inclement weather & perished, while accompanying a mule column. He came in the dream of a fellow soldier & appraised him of what had happened and had wanted a Samadhi erected. A Samadhi was erected as per his wishes. A temple was later constructed which is Babaji Mandir. Legend has it that he still patrols the border ( various people have seen a man on a steed, in border areas ) and he is said to protectthose in the border. In his mandir, there are three rooms. In the first is his photo, along with Sikh Gurus & Hindu deities. There is another personal room and an office room. It is believed that water kept in his shrine has the power to cure diseases. The legend lives on...

We passed by the Tsomgo Lake. This lake freezes over in winter, we heard. Nothing spectacular here, except for a photo-op on the back of a Yak!

The next day we went to Kalimpong. We drove along the Teesta river most of the way, which was in full flow. The approach to our hotel was through highly crowded bylanes. The drivers here & in Sikkim were very skilled at navigating through such narrow lanes & bylanes. They have very good understanding among themselves. No frantic honking, no road rage... not even a whisper! That was a surprise for a Mumbaikar!

In Kalimpong we visited a Botanical Garden, which was reasonably well maintained. We could have done para- gliding here, but there was no time. The next stop was the famed Cactus Garden. Here there different types of Cacti in special enclosures, which trapped the heat! There were spherical cactiwhich were 20 inches in diameter! We visited a couple of other places in Kalimpong before we headed for the airport the next day.

The drive to the airport was an edge of the seat affair, as the vehicle came late and there was lot of traffic along the way. We reached in the nick of the time. We heaved a sigh of relief when all formalities were done, including security check. We were sitting down for a snack when I discovered that my boarding pass was missing! Frantic searches on my person yielded, everything else – but the elusive boarding pass!

I had to go back to the security check counter and request them to check if my pass has fallen down by mistake. Itwasn’t there. I just again checked the bag I was carrying. They had asked me to remove water bottles which we were carrying. It was there! Whew!!!

The flight back to Mumbai was uneventful and we landed this time at the Domestic Terminal. It was a wonderfulexperience. We had seen the serene, sublime & the enchanting sights, in Sikkim & Darjeeling. We had experienced the mighty Himalayas. It’s always awe inspiring, those mountains. We have left them behind, but we carry a thousand memories to treasure for a lifetime!

Experience captured for posterity by - Suresh Sadagopan!

Also Read: Baroda Trip Diary

What women need to learn about money?

Women today have made inroads into every field or sector of human endeavor  – be it a pilot, banker, police officer, explorer, astronaut, scientist etc.  They are also present across hierarchies – from the lower rungs to the rarefied echelons of top management. Many of them even call the shots as CEOs in major corporations. And yet, women seem to have a pathological dislike towards money.

The upshot – their money lies around in their bank accounts, in fixed deposits (FD), post office deposits, insurance policies and the like. All these so called “safe assets” are actually low yielding traditional investments – which tend to be poor choices whichever way one looks at it.

Why women’s choices are conservative?

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It may be something to do with the societal conditioning.  The subtle messages that they receive from childhood ensures that they develop interest in everything, except finance. Finance is supposed to be the preserve of men.  Hence, most women just clam-up when it comes to finances. They are not willing to educate themselves on financial matters due to this pathological aversion and hence their choices tend to be simplistic – FDs or recurring deposits (RD) etc. 

Also, women inherently tend to be less of risk takers as compared to men, in general.  We find this from the risk tolerance tests we administer.  This aspect is important and needs to be factored into the advice. However, even factoring this, they would still need some exposure to assets other than FDs and post office investments, if they are to achieve their financial goals. Too much conservatism actually increases the risk of not being able to achieve goals & ending up with an insufficient corpus for the retirement years.

How do they manage their finances ?

For most part, they do not seem to be managing their finances! Their father, brother, husband etc.,  tend to manage their finances. Many times,  women don’t even know where their money is being invested.  Often times, they sign any form put before them, unquestioningly!  Even accounting for the fact that their father or husband would have their best interests at heart, it is supremely naïve to sign off forms and issue cheques without knowing what it is for. Many times women sign entire cheque books – to be used in future.

This brings about peculiar situations… their money gets invested in assets which they themselves would not approve.  Their risk tolerance vis-à-vis investments 

are not taken into account at all.  Since they have ceded control, they can’t do much about it.

Also, this brings in a level of vulnerability, which could have been avoided in the first place. There are so many stories of how their money have been mismanaged, swindled.

Also, from observation, we find that we get far less women clients than men. Women need good financial advisers even more than men, due to their aversion to finances. Yet, they are the ones who seek advice the least.

Also Read: What women need to know about managing money

The way forward

There is just no replacement to some enlightened self-help.  Saas bahu serials & other weepies may be interesting. But then a bit of time devoted towards educating themselves on finances would reward them hand over fist. This is what will ensure their financial freedom - which eventually is a passport for them to a better life, everywhere.

With financial freedom, they enjoy better status in the family, are able to pursue their interests and also ensure that they are not being pushed around.  They tend to have far more choices when they are financially secure. With so much at stake, how come women are not equipping themselves on money matters? Things are changing – but only just. More women need to take up the onus of educating themselves. They need to ask the right questions while forms are put before them to sign. Simple questions are all that are required - what are the features & benefits of this product?  How is it suitable to me? What are the alternatives? How tax effective they are?

It is not a sign of lack of trust when women want to know what they are investing into. They need to understand that first.  Then they need to convey it to those people who assumed their passive assent in the past.  Where they are not sure, they should seek professional advice.  It is after all their future which is at stake.  It makes sense to secure it, doesn’t it?

Also Read: Teach your child to be financially savvy

Author : Suresh Sadagopan   |   Article published in MoneyControl on 19/5/2015

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Baroda Trip diary

A trip to the land which Gaekwads ruled!

When you are going to your close relatives place, you experience a warm, cosy glow inside. That was the kind of warmth which I was experiencing when I sat in the taxi taking us to Bandra Terminus, to go to my sister’s home. The ride upto Bandra station was fine. Bandra station to the terminus was unspeakable misery – garbage & debris piled up on one side of the road along with a partly constructed bridge. There was no road nor road rules here. Vehicles, birds, animals & humans were jostling in this chaos, with edge-of-the-seat thrills!

Relief loomed large once we reached the platform. One had to of course stay clear of luggage carts pushed noisily by the coolies, who seemed to be in a tearing hurry. Once the train was in, we found to our chagrin that we were in a chaircar – facing each other. We were stepping on each other’s toes, literally! There was a small sliver of wood fitted in between, which was to serve as our table. We made full use of this scarce real estate!

Baroda arrived at night. We had finished dinner in the train itself and retired for the night!

The next day was warm or should I say hot! It was hot by all standards, though inside the home, it was still comfortable. Venturing outside during daytime was strictly on a need basis. My sister was talking very highly about a eaterie on the periphery of Baroda called Plazo, which we decided to patronize that night.

We decided to seek some thrills before dinner and went to the inviting Inorbit mall. They seem to have sprouted all across the country! This was a commodious affair, as Inorbit malls usually are. We headed for the gaming area and tried a hand at bowling and pool. After lightening the purse somewhat, we decided to dash for Plazo.

It was more of a circumambulation of Baroda itself, that halfway down we despaired why we embarked on it at all! Then we were at the portals of Plazo and the hunger pangs started asserting itself! We had a good meal there & returned to the home and hearth of my sister.

Since Vadodara was so hot, it was only in the evenings that we slinked out. The exception was our trip to Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the erstwhile seat of the Gaekwads, which had to be in the morning. I was not a great fan of looking at the relics from the past, but kept and open mind and went anyway.

I’m happy I did.

Lakshmi Vilas Palace is grand by any standards. It is supposedly the largest private dwelling today – four times larger than Buckingham palace! The grand & imposing palace is set in 700 acres of land, has hundreds of rooms and the palace- itself an eclectic mix of Indian & European influences. The royal family stays in the palace till date, in it’s upper reaches.

The current royal descendant also talks in the audio tour… he talks of how the palace has always been his home and how they used to drive their bicycles in the corridors as children, bouncing them off the walls! He described his house as a big house! Enviable…

 It occurred that we have atleast one advantage over the Maharaja - we will never have any confusion about the number of rooms in our home!

We were given an audio tour of the palace and thanks to that, we got to know many details which we would have otherwise missed – like the peacock urn. Or the statue of the maharani in marble, where the pearl necklace was showing through from under the saree!

The European masters were tasked with many installations – Michaelangelo & Fellici had done work for the Gaekwads! So was the celebrated Indian painter - Raja Ravi Varma. His famous paintings of Godesses – Saraswati & Lakshmi, were there at the Durbar hall. Hithertoo, I had only seen the reproductions on calendars & lithographs!

There was the Armoury with their collection of swords, scabbards, knives, shields etc., in profusion. Interestingly, there was a contraption which could deliver chakras at opponents, a la Lord Vishnu!

The grandest was the last – Durbar hall. This hall had the crest of the Rajah – SRG – set on the floor. The floor was inlaid with semi-precious stones. The ornate ceiling was beautifully crafted with exquisite floral work. There were 15 feet stained glasses with Indian Motifs, which looked grand with the light streaming from behind. This palace is supposed to have the maximum number of stained glasses of any palace!

There was a courtyard with fountains with a couple of installations of Michaelangelo. The Mosaic painting ( made fully of small tiles ) on the outerwall of the Durbar Hall was awesome. See for yourself.

The palace was awesome. After some lunch we went home. 

One of the evenings we went to Sayaji Bagh, a sprawling garden, which houses a museum, zoo, amphitheatre, planetarium etc. That day the park was super crowded. We spent sometime there.

After dinner we went to a famous joint that sells the best sodas in Baroda – I had a Green apple soda. Nice!

End of the trip now. Mumbai beckons… we boarded the Swaraj Express, which offloaded us at Bandra Terminus. We were home in another 30 minutes. Holidays over… but we were happy to be back in Mumbai. Home , sweet home!

- A roundup of the trip to Baroda a week ago – Suresh Sadagopan 

Also Read: The meeting that was three decades in the making!