Pasting busty; where Lord Shiva blessed

BY SHITAL PRADHAN

Discovering Sikkim that has its own rich heritage, culture, its legend and many mysterical phenomenons has always been my passion and to learn that was something unknown to most of the people makes me a happy man. Some time back I was to a place called Pasting, a small village with 45 houses in the forest region when this time around the white chaamp flower is to its full bloom.

I was born in Rongli more than two decades ago but never could have I gone beyond the place of Lingtam that is just a half an hour drive. Sometime back, I was at Rongli along with my father to visit my grandfather cardamom field at Pasting. Since grandfather was staying at Pasting for couple of week so we were four to visit him, kaka, nini, father and myself.

There was a drive till the small bridge near the Lingtam. Thereafter there was a walk for half an hour across the jungle and finally we reached our destination. After taking rest grandfather took four of us to show the cardamom field. It was strange till that day no one had ever visited the whole cardamom field apart from grandfather. The field was really big. The flowering buds of cardamom plant were starting to bloom. He showed the varieties of disease that affects a cardamom plant. He narrated there was a time when the very field would yield 14 to 16 maund of cardamom but this time around one has to satisfy with one to two bora.

We all were looking at his face. After some climbing to the hills he showed a big stone and told that he would let us have a surprise. As he went near the stone, I hurriedly followed him; I finally thought I have something to cheer. He cleared the spider webs and weeds from small hole and pointed to it and said this is our Devithan (worshiping place). He then pointed to a small mark at the stone above the hole and said this is a footprint of Shivji. I asked Lord Shiva! He looked at me and said yes. Since centuries people has been worshiping this “foot mark” during purnay and aaushi. He went on to say; time immemorial there was a fight between Shivaji and a demon. Lord Shiva had stepped at the stone and leaped, so this is his footmark. I looked with a curiosity and asked how you knew it. He told he had heard from his father.

We made to the house of grandfather, but I was feeling restless. I was in two minds, I had heard about the sighting of Shokpa, local name of now popular Yeti. I could have easily believed if the mark were in contrast with the yetis.