The lake with no withered leaves

Sikkim has a number of sacred lakes and has a religious tradition of worshipping the lake. We were on our way to the Khechiopalri Lake, of West Sikkim, also called the heart of Guru Padmasambhav. Guru Padmasambhav, the Buddhist preacher, who introduced the Vajrayana Buddhism and has the highest religious influence among the Tibetan Buddhists. The Khechiopalri Lake, with the shape of a foot impression, was never discovered with any shrivelled leaf on it from any of the surrounding trees. The Buddhists believe that the religiously venerated lake has the power to extricate the sins. It sounds uncanny; to listen to the story of such an upstanding place resembled a fairy tale. The lake also considered as an “unpredictable landscape” and would be shifted to a different place, if the holiness and cleanliness is not maintained.

To the lake

The Khechiopalri Lake has been a very popular tourist destination of West Sikkim, many unusual stories and mythological beliefs were associated with the lake. Peoples, irrespective of religious belief consider it as a wish fulfilling lake and believe that lake water has, miraculous power of healing. Surrounded by the grove of upright trees, as we ambled to approach to the lake through the unstudied woodland, it was like entering into a silence zone. In the ambient of thickly dense trees, the perennial lake added an extra glamour of an unbounded vista to the vicinity of eternal composure. It was like an exploration of the vocal message of the silence or to a have a communion with the perpetual silence.

The Lake in the landscape of greenery

The gleams of the Sun were dancing on the tiny ripples of the lake water. My vision leaped afar and it was very surprising that the lake water were absolutely free from withered leaves, small colourful fishes could be seen in the water. The approach road was nicely decorated with the prayer drums, having colourful inscriptions of hymns of Buddhism. The serene surrounding of the lush greenery in the backdrop of an autumn sky created a very magical environment mystically attracted me to just sit and have communion with the silent messages of peace.

The Khechiopalri Lake

The local villagers take utmost care to keep the surrounding of the lake clean as a part of their ritual and religious practice and through such noble duties of maintaining cleanliness I felt the picturesque landscape of lush greenery has a very safe future and the positive approach of the villagers through these practices will ensure the conservation of the biodiversity. In the present age of appeasing modernization, the piece of landscape of the Khechiopalri Lake would surely stand like a symbol of exception guarded by the awe of ritualistic bindings.