Perfect Blend of Incredible ambience and delicacies

The last place between India and Bhutan has a small hamlet named Bindu with a dam. This is one of the oldest dams in Darjeelin...

The last place between India and Bhutan has a small hamlet named Bindu with a dam. This is one of the oldest dams in Darjeeling which is situated on the Indo-Bhutan border and built across the Jaldhaka River. Get ready to explore this beautiful place.

This place is surrounded with the sky-scraping mountains with Jaldhaka River running through the valley making a natural border between India and Bhutan.  The river is famous for rubber plantation or cultivation. Places near this dam that are worth visiting include the Cardamom Curing Centre at Godak. India’s best cardamom is processed here before export.

Bindu is positioned at an altitude of 2000 ft. and is surrounded by impenetrable and opaque forests and mountains. Sited at a distance of 107 km from Siliguri, it takes about 4 hours to arrive at Bindu Dam by road. The dam is also used as a foot bridge to enter into Bhutan and take a glorious view of the Himalayan ranges. There is no restriction for locals of Bindu and Bhutanese of nearby areas to cross the border and buy essentials from the local market. Lodgings in Bindu are accessible at a few budge hotels that offer fundamental but homely atmosphere. Located on the bank of Jaldhaka, the hotels offer a spectacular view of the valley. The affectionate hospitality and the scrumptious food is to stay in mind as a sweet memory of the visitors.

That’s not all! The inhabitants are not showy, but they amazingly decorate their houses. Some houses are made of tin or wood and are built 6/7 ft. above the ground with the help of wooden pillar to prevent the attack of wild animals especially elephant, who are named as ‘Mahakal’ by local dwellers.

Bindu is typically a mountain village. Tiny roads with acclivity and declivity go through the village along with houses on its two sides. On 5thFebruary 2015, around 1 pm, I reached Bindu. On that very day, I happen to witness the ‘Haat’- where I saw Alpines, Elephants and many other exciting things. I was moved with the culture, ethnicity, colors, outfits and above all the purity and innocence of the people of Indo-Bhutan. I was able to differentiate only those Bhutanese from Indians who were in their national dress. Men were dressed in Gho and women in Kira. (I came to know the name of the dresses from my driver. He took the responsibility to apprise me of each and everything of the place and people.)

As a food fervent, it was time to explore the food available in the Haat. Dry fruits, jaleebi, dry sweet with stuffing and sweet samosas were the first few I could find out. The most amazing thing I found out there was chhurpi which was made out of milk of chamri gai or yak. It is white and neutral in taste. There are two types of chhurpi – soft and hard. Dwellers prepare it at home from buttermilk. It tastes somewhat like Italian ricotta and melts in mouth, delighting the taste-buds to the core.

With the intention to taste some delicious lunch, I reached a small food joint/shop run by a family of locals. The place was inundated by people. I was enchanted with the smell of the place. This food joint served all possible things which they can arrange at the last point of our country. They served rice platter called thali like veg thali, egg thali, chicken thali, pork thali. In the thali – rice, daal, one curry, home made pickles are common and one can choose from egg/veg/chicken or pork. Along with thali they also had hakka noodles, steamed and fried momos and thumpas. I ordered Hakka pork noodle and Steamed momos.

Momos were so affectionate that they can easily made a delicious place in my heart. They served it with home made garlic chili-chutney, tomato sauce with coriander paste. The combination was heavenly. With momos, they also served soup. It was some thing between chicken clear soup and sweet- sour veg soup.

Noodles were fabulously tender and smooth. This dish was prepared with so many ingredients from which I identified crashed nuts, onions, garlic, carrot, cabbage, spinach leaves, black pepper, sauce, egg and pork, chili, lime juice. So much amount of pork was available in the dish that I hardly miss a spoon without pork piece. Pork was so flavorsome and juicy, it just melted in mouth.

Chilled bear, local country liquor, cold drink, coffee and others were also available here. The flavorsome coffee was a mood enhancer. When I had my launch, it starting raining. It was splendidly wonderful experience to relish a smoky hot and delicious lunch in a place encircled with dense forest and mountains in a cold, rainy weather.

With the heart full of splendid experience, I also brought Chhurpi with me as a token of love from Bindu. This place is a platter full of nature rich in forests, river, dam, culture and cuisine. Please visit the place and let it be in your heart forever.

This article of mine published in the esteemed magazine named pioneerchef.com