Scattered Thoughts | ചിതറിയ ചിന്തകൾ

  “Do I need to take my passport to come to Sikkim?” I asked Subecha. It was a basic question that reflected my lack of prior knowledge before undertaking one of the most pristine memories in my travel diaries. I reached Gangtok on February 26, 2026, in a car that carried the nine of us from Darjeeling Chaurasta, aka the junction. I landed at Bagdogra Airport on February 23, 2026, and over the next three days, I fell in love with the people of Darjeeling. I also empathized with their daily struggles, which included working at tea gardens for as low as Rs 300. The Himalayan Zoo, as well as the Mountaineering Institute, were fascinating, and the museum offered a how-to guide on mountain climbing. I also bought a small backpack travel bag from there as a memory of that trip. However, I was a bit concerned about paying Rs 1,000 for the toy train joy ride. Despite that, it offered a round trip from Darjeeling Station to Ghoom Station. The fact that we travel by road while covering this ...

  March 15, 2026. I was walking towards Kanhangad on a hot Sunday evening when I met a smart woman. She was selling fish while sitting confidently at the nearby bus stop. She looked close to 50, was wearing a nice saree, with matching gold jewelry, and a bindi that suited her face. Beside her, there was a cat who resembled Pinki, a street cat that I have been interacting with since 2023. I have this habit of talking to people who are simple by nature. So, I started talking to Aunty as the bus was supposed to reach only by 5:15, and we had 30 minutes left on the clock. We initially started noticing each other when I touched that cat. “Does she have any children?” I asked Aunty. “They all got killed in different accidents,” she replied. Indeed, the number of street cats that die in accidents is a high proportion. One of the street cats that we raised, Pinki, also died in an accident two months ago. I glanced at the cat once again. It had a slightly louder voice than the Pinki I used ...