Nicholas Roerich's Sikkim

Over 70 years ago, Prof. Roerich wrote about Sikkim: "This blessed country, full of reminiscences of the illumined leaders of religions, leaves an impression of great calmness. Here lived Padmasambhava, the founder of the Nyingma sect. Atisha, who proclaimed the teaching of Kalachakra, crossed this country on his way to Tibet. Here, in the caves, dwelt many ascetics, filling space with their powerful thoughts. It is a whole snowy realm, altering its outlines with every variation of light!

Verily, it is inexhaustible in impressions and unceasingly evocative. Nowhere else on earth are expressed two entirely different worlds. Here is the earthly world, with its rich vegetation, brilliant butterflies, pheasants, leopards, panthers, monkeys, snakes, and the innumerable other animals that inhabit the evergreen jungles of Sikkim. And above the clouds, in unexpected heights, shines the snowy kingdom, which has nothing in common with the busy ant-hill of the jungles." And his words are as relevant as ever, beckoning and summoning the people in a quest to quench the thirst for adventure, knowledge, wisdom, beauty, tranquillity, and spirituality.

                                                                       Rinchenpong, 1924

Sikkim, one of the most beautiful states in India, is yet to be discovered by tourists from my country and has a great deal to offer the inquisitive Russian soul. There is also every potential to turn this land into an alluring world tourist destination. The gorgeous Himalayas with magnificent Kanchenjunga, the waterfalls, rivulets, lakes, unique fauna and varied flora with the abundance of orchids and rhododendrons, ancient Buddhist monasteries - they all make this Himalayan state "the land of the hidden Paradise".

The region has gradually become accessible to foreign tourists mainly due to the efforts of the Sikkim government. I am confident that all endeavors by our Indian friends to project the state as the best eco-tourism destination, improve and develop tourism infrastructure in the state, and include Sikkim on the world tourism map will be spectacularly successful.