I owe this to Sikkim Express!

I owe this to Sikkim Express. Ever since the oldest running daily newspaper from Sikkim, the Sikkim Express gave me an opportunity to write a column on Sikkim History there has been no looking back for me. Over the last 20 months, I have written over 100 articles under the column “Himalayan review” that have helped me grow as a student of Sikkim History. Sometime around I am being referred by Sikkim Historian by my well-wishers which I find very embarrassing. 

The history of Sikkim is very vast and over the last half a dozen years I have dedicated myself towards understanding Sikkim and yet I feel there is still a time for me to be called a Sikkim Historian. My friend tells me, to become a historian one needs to have a will and a desire not the degree of the certificate. But sometimes you get unnoticed when you do not have a formal qualification. I am in a learning process and I feel better calling myself a student of Sikkim History’.

Being a Botany Honours graduate from Sikkim Government College at Tadong and to be interested in the glorious past of Sikkim was something even my close one never expected from me but ….(what a big but ?) I believe destiny had another plan for me. I still say I am nothing, there are many people in our state who are more qualified than me and I consider it should have been done by them. Whatever I write is information that is around us, just that we never gave ear to them nor we listen to them. Or it could be that people don’t have time to care about history which has always been considered a boring subject. I am aware that sometimes I might be wrong in my information but I limit myself to make it happen to its lowest. 

Sangharsh NGO from Rongli felicitated me a few weeks back along with other 9 personalities that included Prashant Tamang, Indian Idol 3 in a musical ceremony that was held at Rongli Bazaar. It was a pleasant memory to receive my first award for the small effort I had been putting into writing about the history of Sikkim more precisely the ancient Sikkim. I am thankful to the trio of Praveen Pradhan (President), Biren Gurung (General Secretary) and Kushal Pradhan (Joint Secretary),  and other members of the Sangharsh NGO for considering me for the honour.  Sikkim Express gave me a much-needed platform that helped me spread my little knowledge about Sikkim to people around me. 

I received calls from every corner of the state about the reactions of people to my article.  I am happy to hear most of my readers are students. I always believe it is this i.e. young generation that is needed to be taught about our glorious past.  We call upon preserving and conserving our glorious past and yet we never think of the huge mass of students that needs to be introduced to Sikkim History in their school syllabus in their early schooling. I request the higher authority through this medium to come up with an introducing lesson on Sikkim History in Government schools.  

  

Today I have my small yet intriguing identity which was not possible without Sikkim Express and the host of another newspaper medium that includes Now, Samay Dainik, and Voice of Sikkim others that have always supported me. I am thankful for all of them. Facebook, a social networking site is the other medium that helped me introduce to my readers, and today at the moment of this writing I have over one thousand fans that follow my blog “Proud to be a Sikkimese”. 

The amount of love and the warm response I received from people across the globe shows that people are still interested in knowing about Sikkim and that is very signed encouraging for me. My blog “Proud to be a Sikkimese” has been viewed by 64848 people around the globe with 100 subscribers directly subscribing to their email address. 

This is just a small beginning and I am sure the love and warmth I received so far shall be with me in days to come too.