This picture was taken in Sikkim on the banks of Tsomgo Lake which is at an altitude of 3753 mts. The locals call it Changu lake and worship it as a holy place. In the olden days, Tsomgo Lake was an important stop on the Gangtok-Lhasa trade route between Sikkim and Tibet. It is a popular tourist destination in Sikkim and is not close to habitation today. A three hour ride on a rocky mountain road from Sikkim gets you to Tsomgo Lake.
It was a December when we visited the place and despite the afternoon hour, it was freezing. There was a cold wind blowing and all my focus was on keeping the baby warm. Suddenly, we heard voices… voices rising together in the sweet melody of songs. I could not recognise the songs or even the language they were sung in. I have no clue if they were being sung in worship of the lake, of mature or merely the music. All I know is the songs helped us focus on something else other then the cold and then we began to enjoy the beauty of the place.
At a holy lake, in the middle of nowhere, we reconnected with nature… thanks to these singers…
When I saw The Daily Post photo challenge for this week, I wanted a photo with a different type of gathering… one we do not see everyday. Then I remembered this picture and said to myself, this is it!
This post is my entry for The Daily Post, Gathering, Microblog Mondays and Monday Musings
Nice pics and Thanks for your post 🙂
Music and nature is such a magical combo! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!
Great photo!
Thank You Traci 🙂
Its such a beautiful lake . Had been there in month of Dec when sheets of ice were floating on the lake.
Thank you for taking us here, a place I would have never gotten to virtually go to otherwise.
Mel
Can imagine… glad you enjoyed this little outing with me 🙂
Very nice picture Anks . The story was also something which I didnt know
Thanks Ani… just hoping I get to hear the rest of it someday…
Wow! Never heard of that. Thanks for sharing. That picture does total justice to the Daily Prompt’s Weekly Photo Challenge.
Beautiful lake, very serene.
Wow, that’s interesting info…
Thanks for sharing..:)
Very interesting and the singers are quite a novel thing to have come across. I’ve been to the Tsomgo Lake while on a trek to Sandakphu many years ago and still recall how difficult it was to reach the place! Nice post.
Quite an interesting ritual!
Wow! That is so interesting. I don’t think I have ever even heard of something like this. Just goes to show how little of the world we come across, and how much more there is to know.
True… also made me realise that when we travel and do the touristy stuff, the little things that are elemental in defining the character of a place are actually left out
Interesting ritual. I haven’t come across anything like this anywhere else. Reminds me of flash mobs, albeit subtler and deeper than that.
Neither have I Maliny. Made me wonder what they were doing. Unfortunately, those giys packed up and left before I could settle the baby and go talk to them..