Super cyclone 29.10.99 hits east Bengal

This denuded palm is a stark reminder of the super cyclone than hit east Bengal on September 29th 1999.  4 months later I cycled here between Puri and Bhubaneswar and the vegetation was non existent – if a palm tree was standing its foliage was missing – the telephone lines had seaweed hanging from them and there were still animal bodies lying in the decimated fields.  A 30 foot wall of salt water hit the coast and moved towards Bhubaneswar 30k inland.  This town was known for its ancient, shade casting banyan trees that lined most roads but when I arrived these enormous trees were lying like great cast whales with their roots reaching up two stories or more.  The winds and the rain didn’t stop for 3 days and except for the Governor’s hotline to the President there was no communication, no electricity, no drinkable water and a mind blowing number of lost lives…Because of the loss of trees the past 35* maximum temperature in the area has increased to 45*.
 
So today I took a taxi to Bhubaneswar and at the roadside breakfast stop photographed a lorry – they are so colourful and the inside of the cab is as good as the outside.  However, if you have ever seen a Pakistani lorry this is a very poor imitation.  I caught a morning flight to Kolkata airport where there was a small exhibition of tribal masks.  Then a lunchtime flight took me to Bagdogra at the foothills of the Himalayas.  From there it was a 4 hour taxi ride up through the foothills to Sikkim which borders China so I have had to get a permit to be here.  I sat next door to an American NGO worker in the plane and he gave me the name of a friend in Gangtok – where I now am – and now I am in a hotel that he recommended.  Unfortunately almost as soon as the taxi reached the foothills it got dark so it was tantalising to think I was missing all that scenery for there were little dots of light rising up the steep mountains either side of the winding road which mixed with the stars above.  Anyway I am sure there will be remarkable sights tomorrow.  So this is my entry for Derelict Sunday and there are more Picasa pics here