In Memory of SIR ALAN RICKMAN

14th Jan came as a shock to me as I heard of the unfortunate demise of my favourite actor, Sir Alan Sydney Patrick Rickman. Actually he was not only an actor for me, He was one of the most significant part of my childhood.

I don't remember getting attached to any celebrity or actor or anyone in a such a way. I thought I am that kind of a girl who doesn't have silly emotional bindings with celebrity who obviously are ignorant about my existence.. I always find these kind of attachments silly and childish.. But now I realised that the child inside me is still alive. the child who once eagerly waited at her 11th birthday for the letter from Hogwarts. May be that child is still waiting for that letter.

The character of Professor Snape had caught my eyes since his introduction in Harry Potter.. back Then I hated  "obviously" him.. He was full of dark shades yet every time he astonished us with all his efforts to save harry in one way or the other without even admitting it.. He taught to control our emotions and control our minds. He showed us that having a stone face helps in deceiving not only the one's we hate but also the helps protecting the one's we love. with every Harry Potter book he taught us that you should never give up the passion for your favourite subject. He taught us that "life isn't fair". respect and reverence got etched in my heart for him as he taught our generation and many more generations to come the most beautiful thing in the world (be it magical or the muggle world) - love... 

He constantly taught us many great things all through the past years, yet all the Potterhead community never failed to hate him until he gave a new meaning and dimension to the word "Always". in fact it isn't a word any more.

                               

All these attributes and credits belong to Professor Snape but the reason I am mentioning this here today is that it was because of Alan Rickman who immaculately portrayed Snape in the movies that gave us a perfect face and aura to the character which was etched in our minds through the words by J.K.Rowling.. No one else  could have  portrayed Professor Snape impeccably and with such precision , better than him.. 

He made that fictional character immortal and more believable, more than the effort invested by J.K Rowling when she was sketching the character through her pen..

After I fell infectiously in love with not just Professor Snape but Alan Rickman, I watched his other movies as well. The one that was an adaptation of a novel by Jane Austen "Sense and Sensibility" were he portrayed Colonel Brandon.. I never thought I would be ever be able to appreciate him in any other role other than Snape but I guess I was wrong. He again was successful to make me fall in love again.. If any villain who became the most memorable and Die Hard rival of John McClane in the whole of  "Die Hard" was none other than Hans Gruber. He was the man, who in all sense, taught us to die hard. i am yet to watch his other appreciated works.. 

Coming back to my childhood fantasy Harry Potter Series, which I believe will stay like that for life.  I never thought that death of any fictional character would made me cry but when Snape died I cried for days.. And i am still crying while typing this as I am again reliving all those childhood moments I have spent reading Harry Potter books, talking non stop about Harry Potter and thinking and musing about Harry Potter.. His demise has left a strange void in my heart..

When I first read this I thought ,"Hey! He thinks like me". Today when I am reading it again I realise how unrealistically unpredictable life is.

Yes Alan, you aptly put your portrayal of the character of Professor Snape in words.

Not to forget his voice which will linger on our minds even when we will be reading  Harry Potter for the umpteenth time sitting on an armchair for our grandchildren.

Alan Rickman, you will be remembered as "one of the bravest man anyone knew".

Alan Rickman, you will be remembered as one the greatest potion master and then headmaster Hogwarts ever got.

Alan Rickman,you will be remembered as our half blood prince and "obviously"as the king one liners which consists only one word Always..

Alan Rickman, you will live in my heart Always..

GURUDONGMAR LAKE

AN ACCESSIBLE ABODE OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY

The Gurudongmar Lake

Suddenly the car came to a halt. I looked up from the map I was looking at and realized that finally after an hour-long drive (from the last checkpoint) through the barren Himalayan deserts we reached our destination. After folding the map I stepped down from the car. The fresh, chilling air caressed my cheeks. I try to gulp in as much air as I could. It was but difficult, after a few minutes, it felt nauseated. It was because of the paucity of oxygen. It’s a common phenomenon where I was standing. After all, I was standing on a barren landscape facing an emerald blue lake at an altitude of 17100feet above sea level. I was at Gurudongmar Lake. The view was breathtaking. On one side were the majestic snow-capped mountains and the glacier across the partly frozen lake which shares the same name as the lake. The other three sides of the lake were surrounded by slightly elevated barren desert. The clear blue sky was without a hint of clouds except for the few patches near the mountain peak. 

The journey towards this paradise, located at North Sikkim starts from Siliguri, where innumerable options are available to reach Gangtok (the capital of Sikkim). It takes almost 6 hours to cover the 114kms journey from Siliguri to Gangtok. Then another 176kms from Gangtok to Gurudongmar Lake via Lachen. Sikkim is an eastern state in India.

I took a shared taxi which left Gangtok around 10 o'clock in the morning from the vajra taxi stand. It’s a taxi stand specially allotted to the taxi for the north Sikkim trips. The first day was spent to reach Lachen were I stayed overnight only to resume my journey towards Gurudongmar Lake the next day. Next day started quietly early that’s 3 in the morning. Around 4:30 we all left for our final destination. 

Road towards Thangu

It took us almost 2 and half hours to reach Thangu. It's a small village where we were served the breakfast and also hired some heavy woollen garments as the temperature was going to drop to sub-zero from then. Thangu is the last civilian village to our destination. It's also a checkpoint where army officers check whether tourists are able to cope with the extreme weather conditions. I noticed that two vehicles were not allowed to go further as there were children and aged people who were not feeling well. Thank god my taxi didn't face any such problems and we continued towards our destination. For the next one hour, I didn't notice even a single shred of grass. It was all barren and rugged. I had never seen such latitudinous landscape of nothing except solitude and void before. What surprised me more was the idea of such a heavenly bliss hidden beyond this desolate terrain. 

Way To Gurudongmar Lake

The spell bounding view kept me stuck to the spot where I landed after the car stopped. The spell remained but I felt unbounded after (which I thought) a long time.

I hardly took a few steps towards the lakeside when I heard a young man vomiting (Yes heard. Cause he was vomiting hiding behind another car). That’s another side effect of high altitude. To avoid such consequences one should continue chewing popcorn all through the way. 

Never mind. I decided to visit the religious enshrine situated just a few metres away from where I was standing. It was a small structure which is known as ‘Sarv Dharm Sthal’ (religious place for all religion). Photos of all gods and goddesses could be found here. Not only enshrine, but Gurudongmar Lake is also highly revered particularly by Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. It a little warm inside, felt soothing. According to legends, this place is guarded by the spirit of an army officer served in the Indian army. He fought during the Indo- Chinese war and sacrificed his life to save other soldiers. There’s a belief that the officers serving here safe because they have guarding spirit around them to protect them. 

The Enshrine

After offering my prayers I went out to endeavour my senses in the ever magnificent beauty of this heavenly place. Around the lake, there were many coloured religious flags where religious inscriptions are written. I walked towards the left side of the enshrine and took the stairs towards the lake. The railings of the stairs were all full of colourful religious flags. There are few things in life which we don’t understand or not know the meaning of but still, they remain coherent to you. These flags are one such thing to me, very close to heart.

Gurudongmar Lake

The lake was mostly frozen. The temperature was sub-zero. I was shivering with all my sweaters and jackets and whatnot. The view was what made it worth it. It was so pleasing that it gave me a sense of tranquillity. The best part about this part of the earth is that the phone doesn't connect here. In this era of technology, it’s sometimes a bliss to keep yourself away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday life and this is enough to give you the feeling of tranquillity. Haha. On a serious note, I was standing in front of a pristine lake which engulfed all my worries and tensions for some time. What else do you want from life, few moments to relax your senses and recharge your cells for all the struggles that lie ahead.

Gurudongmar Lake is located in the north district of Sikkim. It is 5kms away from China (formerly known as Tibet) and lies on the northernmost part of Kanchandzonga mountain range. This lake and its surrounding area are very sensitive due to its proximity to the Chinese border (as I already mentioned no cell phones, haha). Thus entry to this region needs special permission from the Indian army. Not to worry any travel agent will look after the documentation required but make sure you contact a trustworthy travel agent (ask the locals or hotel you are staying at). The best option is to contact the tourist information centre located at the M.G. Road in Gangtok. I did the same when I visited Sikkim for the first time.

Even if you don't ask I would say this should be a "must visit before you die" destination. I have been there twice and the charm of this paradise lives in my memories as fresh as the fragrance of a flower that presently blossoms in my garden.