Vikram Patil 1 David stepped off the bus into the crisp, mountain air of Pelling, a small town nestled in the Sikkim Himalayas. The journey from Delhi had been long, but as the sun set behind the towering Kanchenjunga range, the sight before him made the weariness fade away. The town, draped in mist, seemed almost ethereal, its narrow streets lined with small shops selling colorful fabrics and local handicrafts. The houses here were built from stone and wood, their sloped roofs covered in vibrant moss. It was a world far removed from the chaos of his life back in…