KALEZ VALLEY CARNIVAL BLENDS CULTURE AND ECSTASY

via Sikkim Express

HEE BERMOIK, May 11: Torrential rain – clumsy weather, yet spirits high at celebration premises. So came the second day of Kalez Valley Heritage Festival 2007 here at Hee Kyang Bari marking the inauguration of the impressive Chaya Tal Lake.

As against Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s failure to attend the second day of the fest because of ill health, the Chaya Tal Lake was formally inaugurated today by the chief guest SB Subedi, Minister for Forest accompanied by area MLA NK Subba. Chaya Tal is reportedly the second artificial lake in Sikkim after Lampokhari at Aritar attracting mammoth numbers of tourists lately.

“We are heading towards a sustainable tourism development, simultaneously solving the problem of unemployment. The boats in the lake will add an extra boost to our vision” said NK Subba speaking to Sikkim Express today.

Meanwhile, the chief guest SB Subedi voiced Hee-Bermiok as a perfect place for village tourism with other value-added tourism activities. “Nestled in the lap of bountiful nature, undoubtedly this place will be an ideal tourist destination in future,” he said. Calling for sustainable development with equal emphasis on the conservation of the environment, Subedi remarked the three festivals were a perfect blend of culture, music and joy.

A ceremony today witnessed the presentation of appointment letters to the four newly selected advisors for Hee Bermiok Tourism Development and Heritage Conservation Society, TR Poudyal (former Secretary), SD Dhakal (JS Culture), Raj Basu (Tourism) and PK Dong (Executive Director to Tourism).

The chief guest also handed over cash payment for vermin-compose, compose pit, water harvesting tank and terracing along with the distribution of work order for the greenhouse. The winners of the marathon were also handed over with trophies, cash prizes and certificates.

A colourful cultural presentation on traditional themes was made during the event today by students of various schools. Delighted at participating in the festival, a tourist from the USA Mark Taylor summed up the fest as, “A perfect place to be with an enterprising development in tourism expansion and tradition conservation”.

The last day of the festival is scheduled to witness one-of-its-kind adventure sport – Mountain Biking.

This was seen on the second day of the Kalez Valley Heritage Festival 2007 here at Hee Kyang Bari under Hee- Bermiok constituency. The Chief Minister Dr Pawan Chamling who was supposed to consent to the second-day celebration could not make it out owing to his ill health. Organized by Hee Bermiok Tourism Development and Heritage Conservation Society for three consecutive years SB Subedi, Minister for Forest along with RB Subba, Minister for Tourism attended the festivity as chief guest and guests of honor respectively.

Rongli my birthplace

BY SHITAL PRADHAN A small hamlet in an eastern side Silent raush on its way, The old silk route, More older it look Upon which I stay, Hey that’s Rongli, Rongli my birthplace Years went by, years dried up, Yet the small village is as it was, Silent, peaceful and introvert Today’s picture of Rongli, Houses as station bogie, Looks a cradle, from Chujachen, Upon which the blue sky, As if I can touch thee, Roaring River, As the legend we hear, Still watch with glee, The terror of 1890 somewhat forgotten, Yet another terrorizing moment, 68 was the year… 1968, When sky too wasn’t pleased. That was Rongli, Rongli of the past. Playing along the Baar-Pepal tree, Hiding in the Shivalaya, Watching videos and aloft Is a decent memory, now? Sweet time in treasure, Yet when I am in Rongli, I am happy, in whither sweet. Rongli my birthplace !

India’s illegal occupation of independent Sikkim has to be reversed

Extracted from Pakistan Defence India’s “Chief Executive” in Gangtok wrote: “Sikkim’s merger was necessary for Indian national interest. And we worked to that end. Maybe if the Chogyal had been smarter and played his cards better, it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did.” It is also said that the real battle was not between the Chogyal and Kazi Lendup Dorji but between their wives. On one side was Queen Hope Cook, the American wife of the Chogyal and on the other was the Belgian wife of the Kazi, Elisa-Maria Standford. “This was a proxy war between the American and the Belgian,” says former chief minister BB Gurung. But there was a third woman involved: Indira Gandhi in New Delhi. Chogyal Palden met the 24-year-old New Yorker Hope Cook in Darjeeling in 1963 and married her. For Cook, this was a dream come true: to become the queen of an independent kingdom in Shangrila. She started taking the message of Sikkimese independence to the youth, and the allegations started flying thic...

The coinage system of Sikkim

It is more or less a forgotten part of the development process of the then-small Himalayan kingdom, Sikkim . The introduction of the coinage system in Sikkim ceased the way it started. A study of the coinage system of Sikkim sheds light on the socio-economic and political history of the then-small state. The coins of Sikkim ended the way they appeared; they came from nowhere, and finally, they got lost out in the darkness. A handful of people around Sikkim and in the districts of Darjeeling now have these rare items in their collections. The coin of Sikkim is much sought after by numismatists interested in countries that no longer exist today. Before the British invasion of the land of Sikkim, the capital revenue system was never heard. Sikkim, being an agricultural foreground, had some parts of food grains given to the king as tax. Trade was carried out where things were exchanged between individuals. This system was prevalent even in the mid-19th century; oranges were exchan...

Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

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