Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Amazing twin tailed lizard



Two-tailed ‘house lizard’ gave me a surprise that evening, almost making me. The small reptile more commonly a house lizard is no new species to me but in all my years I have not come across anything that I saw at my home at Shantinagar on the evening of August 12, 2018. A whitish lizard, a bhitti was moving on the wall next to the dining table.

At first glance, I considered it to be just the usual lizard until I saw something strange at its tail. I stood up and went near the wall to have a closer look - just to find that the lizard I was watching had two tails instead of a normal one tail. I took no time to pick up my mobile and took a few shots.

Shedding off a tail is a common thing, every internet article on the tails of lizards writes. But in some cases, the new tail regenerates along with a new tail from the broken tail. Thus making a twin tail or sometimes even three tails is not uncommon. I even found an article published in the Singapore Post in 1960 that says the two-tail lizard brings good luck.

Monday, August 27, 2018

SIKKIM CRICKET ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING


Gangtok, 26.08.2018: Special General Meeting (SGM) was called by Sikkim Cricket Association (SCA) a day before the trials. The meeting was attended by Office Bearers, Support Staff, Players and Stakeholders of the association.

Among other agendas of the meeting, the key highlight was to inform that SCA has been recognized as one of the “Full Members” of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) among 34 other full members. As a full member, SCA will have a voting right and is also eligible for all the other benefits.

During the meeting, Sonam Pladen Bhutia (General Secretary) gave an overview of the current working of the association and the details of the upcoming tournaments that Sikkim will be playing in different categories. He also informed that BCCI will soon be releasing funds for constructing a cricket pitch and improving of the Mining Cricket Ground. Lodha Commission has been accepted in TOTO during the SGM, said Mr Bhutia.  

It was also decided that General Membership will be opened for one and all after the guidelines have been drafted by K. C. Sharma, Vinod Gupta, Mukesh Agarwal, Chewang Lama, Nayan Tshering Bhutia and Rinzing Bhutia. The 5 Adhoc Members of SCA have also been made full voting right members in the meeting.
Lobzang G. Tenzing, President of SCA during his speech congratulated all the stakeholders of SCA for being the full member of BCCI. It is all the hard work and dedication of Northeast Cricket Development Committee (NECDC), that today we have been given the privilege of a Voting rights member, he added. He also suggested that 2 members each from all four district bodies, players association, support staff, and women's unit should be given voting rights in SCA. He informed me that old constitution of SCA will be redrafted and submitted to State Law Department for registration before the 22nd of September 2018. He offered best wishes to the players for the upcoming trials and cricket season.

The Sikkim Cricket Players Association felicitated the President of SCA for his tireless efforts and contribution to cricket in Sikkim. The meeting was concluded with a vote of thanks to all stakeholders by Rinzing Namgyal Bhutia, Joint Secretary of SCA.

Friday, August 24, 2018

Here are the judges : Temi Tea MR. Sikkim 2018 Manhunt

So, with excitement, we have the announcements of the judges for the prestigious Temi Tea MR. Sikkim 2018 Manhunt. There are around 200 aspiring models giving tough challenges to their counterparts to be the best and get the mega title of Mr Sikkim. It is good news for the state that within a short period of time, we had received a huge morale-boosting result.

So, guys, the stage is all set at Hotel Denzong Shangrila, Gangtok on August 25 and 26. The Temi Tea Mr Sikkim 2018 Manhunt has a proud association with GBT Entertainment, The Accelerator and Sikkim Chronicle.

Here, we are…meet the judges !!


Karishma Pradhan, a model and winner of Sananda Miss Tilotama 2007. She is one of the top 5 finalists for Miss Pune 2006. She was the brand ambassador of RENE, a popular brand in Kolkata. The brand promoted and named its Diwali collection ‘Karishma Collection’. She was also featured in a video ‘Angel’ by Girish and the Chronicles which was aired on VH1, and MTV. She is an entrepreneur and is engaged in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Sonam Barphungpa is an actor and model from Sikkim. Winner of Mr. Vibes 2015-16 Sikkim, the first runner-up of Mega Mr Northeast 2013 and also the winner of subtitle ‘Best Personality. He made his Nepali film debut with Dilip Raimazhi in Kahi Katai. Barphungpa is a brand ambassador of Hill Bike, Sikkim and Pasal, Sikkim. He looks forward to launching a clothing brand ‘Meraki’ with Mac Donald Dhungel.

Rinzing C Bhutia, a fashion designer from Sikkim. She started with a Genet fashion show at Kamani auditorium Delhi in 2009 with Miss India 2008 as the showstopper. From, 2012 to 2018 she represented Sikkim in many fashion events like Northeast Fashion Week, Northeast Fashion Fest, and Celebrating Northeast. She too has exhibited her collection in Singapore. She organises a fashion show, designs costumes for the girl band Genesis of Pink, and judges fashion shows.

Nirmal Mangar is a popular face in the Sikkim media. He is the Editor-in-chief of Sikkim Chronicle. In a career spanning almost seventeen years, he has worked with Nayuma TV, Sikkim Express, and The Telegraph. He has been conferred with State Award, Lagansheel Patrakar Award, Ram Patro Memorial Award for promising journalist and many more.

Tenzing Dadul Bhutia, an entrepreneur from Tinkitam, South Sikkim. He along with his friends Girmee Sherpa and Bikash Rai founded GBT Entertainment in 2017. ‘Imperial Talkies’, the first movie theatre in Namchi. is one of the successful ventures of GBT Entertainment. The trio had also initiated a venture ‘GBT Recycle’ in the year 2014 which basically dealt with the recycling of waste and unused products. Dadul’s dream project ‘ Medicinal Retreat’ will be inaugurated soon at Tinkitam. GBT Entertainment is the prime organiser of Temi Tea Mr Sikkim 2018 Manhunt.

Pragya Parameeta Satpathy Gurung,  Founder and Creative Head of The Accelerator. She completed her law in Bangalore and later worked in High Court and Supreme Court. She also worked as a legal advisor for Sikkim University in 2010. She along with her husband Bhupendra Gurung started “The Accelerator”, a NE career guide magazine in the year 2013.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Know your Sikkim 01: Dro-dul Chorten




Dro-Dul Chorten is a stupa in Gangtok built by Trulshik Rinpoche, head of the Nyingma order of Tibetan Buddhism in 1945. Inside this stupa, is a complete set of Dorjee Phurba, Kangyur relics (Holy Books) and other religious objects.

Around the stupa are 108 Mani Lhakor or prayer wheels. The stupa is surrounded by Chorten Lakahang and Guru Lakhang, where two statues of Guru Rinpoche are present. The Chorten was recently in news for the miraculous water dipping from its top on a clear sunny day.