‘Small but Beautiful’ Sikkim 14 tourism awards in one decade

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

BY PRANIL SUBBA

GANGTOK, February 27: ‘Small but Beautiful’ Sikkim has not only bagged yet another tourism award but this Himalayan State has also cemented its position as a most sought-after destination in the nation. This actuality is reflected strongly in the phenomenal growth in terms of tourism flow to Sikkim in 2008 and another national tourism award from the Ministry of Tourism that was given on February 24. The award, national tourism award 2007-08 as the Best State for tourism-related programmes was received by the State tourism secretary SBS Bhadauria from Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in the presence of Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni at the awards function held in New Delhi.

 

Speaking to the media here today, Mr Bhadauria said that this was the 14th major award won by Sikkim in the field of tourism in the last decade due to the dedication and enthusiasm of the State government which had been instrumental in achieving the goals. “The award proves Sikkim has been firmly placed in the global tourism scene and we have created our own brand called Sikkim”, said the tourism secretary. He said that it was a proud moment for the State with the unyielding zeal and dedication of all stakeholders and the firm support of the government. 

We hope to achieve as the best tourism destination in the country, he added. It is to be mentioned here that Sikkim has bagged the best tourism-performing State in the Northeast region for six consecutive years the past from the MoT. Recently Sikkim has also bagged the best eco-tourism destination, most picturesque destination, best community-based tourism, emerging tourism state, and best tourism State for adventure from reputed organizations at the national level. 

The tourism secretary said that around 4.5 lakh domestic tourists and 23,000 foreign tourists visited the State in 2008. He said this was about a 25 per cent increase from that of the previous year. In the previous year, around 3.8 domestic tourists and 18,000 foreigners had visited Sikkim. Despite the bandhs and the disturbances in the neighbouring regions, this was a record for the state, Mr Bhadauria said. He also said that as per the analysis, the quality of tourism had also increased manifolds and there was now ‘no off-season’ with visitors coming to the State throughout the year. The tourism secretary claimed that Sikkim today was the most sought-after destination for domestic as well as foreign tourists coming to the country and had made a significant presence on the tourism map. 

The destinations and infrastructure have been developed to a great extent within a short period making Sikkim greatly attractive to visitors, he added. Mr. Bhadauria informed me that a State tourism policy was in the final stages of preparation and the final policy would be put forward to the government in the first quarter of the coming fiscal year. The draft tourism policy would comprise a normal tourism policy for the State and a separate tourism policy for village tourism. 

“The tourism in the state is moving and progressing in a cautious manner so that there are no ills associated, the tourism secretary said. Speaking on the carrying capacity and adequate infrastructure, Mr Bhadauria spelt out that the carrying capacity depended on management. “The tour operators, hoteliers as well as the various committees, involved in the promotion of tourism in the state as well as all stakeholders have put in a lot of effort to make this possible. 

They are working on long-term eco-friendly developments which are sustainable, have minimum effect on the fragile ecosystem”, he said. Mr Bhaduaria said the government was coming up with more infrastructures, creating trained manpower and improving services to provide quality tourism. He said the capacity-building programmes and motivation were being carried out to encourage the sector further.

Mandir bell depict Rongli story

The historic bell (the new mandir is in the background)

I first wrote about this Rongli Shivalaya Mandir bell in 2003, but even to this date, the mere thinking of that bell fascinates me. I never had imagined that a small article would have such an impact that the old mandir was dismantled and the new mandir was set, which is still being completed. More than five years later, when I again decided to re-write an article on this bell, I just wanted to have a first look at that antique metal piece. But this time, I was awaiting more mystery about the bell's whereabouts. I still recall when the century-old Shivalaya Mandir at the heart of the Rongli bazaar was dismantled for renovation in 2004. The relics were kept in Rongli Police Station for safety.

This time, my cousin's brother Praveen and I were looking for that historic bell. Still, to our surprise, the personnel at the Rongli Police Station were somewhat surprised to know that such valuable materials were actually kept in their custody. They, too, were interested to hear about the story of the Rongli Bazaar inscribed at a mandir bell and helped us search at their office, but it was not found. They had never heard about such a bell, and the policemen attending on duty had joined the Rongli Police Station only after 2004, much later than when the mandir properties were kept.

We were too surprised to find those materials and said that the New Mandir Committee might have taken them back and kept them secure. It was rather more than a couple of hours later, to everyone's surprise, that we learned that the century-old Mandir Bell was being hanged at the corner of the Hanuman Mandir in the heart of the Rongli Bazaar. Even the Mandir Committee members had forgotten about it.

When I took that metal piece in my hand, I could feel the breeze of air of that era when the inscription was being done. Still, more than five years after I last saw it, the faded blue oil paint was partly found scattered around the bell, making the inscribed words indistinct for reading.

I recall an article I wrote for a weekly newspaper, Weekend Review, published in Gangtok in 2003, about the century-old mandir at Rongli. This article had an impact, so the renovation and beautification of the new mandir got underway.

“How often do we hear a story of a place being depicted in a bell? But this holds true at Rongli, a two-hour drive from Rangpo via Rhenock. It was Chattra Narshingh Shakyansh who, in the year 1970, in one of the issues of Sikkim's first Newsmagazine, ' Kanchenjunga,’ first told the story of the then small Rongli bazaar inscribed on the bell of a century-old Shivalaya mandir at Rongli. 

With time and development, the tiny hamlet changed, but even 30 years after publishing the article, the bell can be found at the Rongli Shivalaya. This year saw another development in Rongli bazaar. The old mandir was demolished, and a new mandir was constructed. If there is one thing that holds its breath even now, it is the bell and its inscription. 

Bell hanged at old Rongli Shivalaya Mandir (2003)

The inscriptions in Nepali say that: "Rongli was a dense forest in the early days, which had a small path that led far to Tibet. The fierce environment of the forest, the moving of the wild animals even in daylight, and the rage of the ever-flowing river made the people name this place Rongli-Chu or simply Rongli or Rangel. It was in 1896 that a handful of Nepali and Bhutia groups were granted an order to clear off the forest and establish a bazaar by the then Chogyal (King) Sir Thutob Namgyal. Bhim Narshingh Shakyansh was the first to construct a house and open a small shop. In 1901, a Shivling was established for religious activities and in 1917, on September 29, a temple was erected where the statue of lord Ganesha was also worshipped. There are numerous other idols inside as well.

After the British sent an expedition led by Col. Younghusband to Lhasa via Jelepla in 1903, a trade route through Rongli developed and led to many more people settling there and opening shops. The youngest son of Bhim Narshingh Shakyansh, Amrit Narshingh Shakyansh, along with the Rhenock Kazi Sonam Dadul and a few other senior citizens, were granted permission from the Sikkim government to organize a weekly haat on Sunday, which still meets every week. Selling food from mules was the chief source of money at the time when the trade route through Rongli to Jelepla functioned. Apart from these, cardamoms and potatoes were also in great demand.

On August 18, 1939, Rongli Bazaar witnessed its first-ever landslide, followed by a much larger and devastating one on October 4, 1968. The landslide of 1968 changed the entire landscape of Rongli bazaar. The rocks, trees, and mud entered the bazaar, and the government haat ghar. Later, the rocks were blasted into pieces, and bulldozers were used to clear up the space that now houses the present Rongli bazaar. The death toll reached 12; the bodies of eight women and four children were found. But to date, the washerman's family is missing. All this is inscribed in the bell of the mandir.

It has been over a century since the small path through the jungle of Rongli Chu was used as the route to Chumbi Valley. Areas of Rongli that were more prominent were in Gnathong, which in 1888 saw the defeat of the Tibetans. Many wars were fought between the British and Tibet. The ruined forts and the war memorial witness that these army men travelled through the thick, fearsome jungle of Rongli to raise the British flag, a landmark in history.

I sometimes wonder if we have done justice to the works of those who have shaped the outlook of Rongli Bazaar to its present.

Sikkim University's VC meets President

The Vice Chancellor, Sikkim University, Prof Mahendra P Lama met with the President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, who is also the Visitor of Sikkim University.

As Visitor of the University, the President of India may from time to time, appoint one or more persons to review the work and progress of the University, including Colleges and Institutions maintained by it and to submit a report thereon.

The various appointments to the highest offices of the University, like that of the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor are made by the President of India in her capacity as the Visitor of the University.

The Vice Chancellor in his meeting with Madame Patel, the President of India briefed her about the progress made by Sikkim University in these 19 months of its existence.

The President was deeply impressed by the progress made by the University and expressed her deep appreciation. She showed great interest in the affairs of the various Colleges and enquired about the students and faculty members, of both the affiliated Colleges as well as the Post Graduate Programmes being run by Sikkim University.

Shrimati Pratibha Singh Patil took this opportunity to send her best wishes to the students and teachers of Sikkim University.

Have you ever seen a boy with two head?

Such is the miracle of the world that I came across a boy in a Mela at Pulbazaar (Bijanbari), Darjeeling who had two heads joined to his single body. I paid him ten rupees to watch him, he was the highlight of the fair...(04.02.2009)

Zaluk Yeti Search Photo Feature

Zaluk

The valley where the animal man was spotted

Nar Bhadhur Sunar (eye witness)

The team we had L.T Bhutia, Swarup Rai,Nar Bhadhur Sunar, Pranay Pradhan, Beren Gurung and Praveen Pradhan (Well i was the photographer here)

Yeti sighted at Zaluk, Sikkim in 2004

 

BY SHITAL PRADHAN

I was at Zaluk last Friday, the day most of the couples across the globe were busy celebrating Valentine's Day. More or less an exciting adventure was awaiting us when we came to know that there was a Yeti sighting at this remote place in 2004 in April. Zaluk is a small place where the population is below 300 and the world-famous Changu Lake is an hour and a half drive from Rongli Bazaar. We were a five-member team myself, Praveen, Rocky, Swarup, and Beren.

The video above is a short interview I took where the prime eye witness Nar Bahadur Sunar confirms that he along with other 10 labourers and a GREF Officer had come across a Yeti in April of 2004 while going for daily work. Sunar a farmer now was working as a baidar then. They were in a vehicle and the "animal man" as he was called was on the other side of the road along the Valley walking on two feet along with the bushes of pareng ( a bamboo variety). The distance between them was around 200 to 250 meters. They saw the back portion of the animal for over half an hour and suddenly it vanished around the bushes. It was noted that for over a few days, the army helicopter did have a vain search over that particular region but nothing more could be known.

Such an incident was not known till then and also not heard after that but the people of Zaluk also have confirmed that at particular times they do hear strange voices coming from the nearby valley. Well, the people who saw it claim it to be a "Sokpa" as Yeti is better called in this part of the land. For them, that animal was not a bear as it is commonly found in that region and they could identify with it. Another interesting part of the story is that a few days after the incident, the villagers did find footsteps on the marshy land near the overflowing water that was measured as something like "from an elbow joint to a fingertip" long. Nar Bahadur Sunar said a water pipe was recovered by the villagers along with the bushes inside the forest that were crushed and thrown away from the water source so that no man or any other animal could do it.

We talked with Jeena Chettri, daughter of Nar Bhadhur Sunar who added that the the animal was dragging his feet as such they could not realize whether the animal had its feet on the opposite side as it is normally believed. The "thing" had black hair covered all over the body and the length of the hair was as such it looked as if a woman had let free her hair, told Jeena in her own words. Those GREF workers whistled and made a sound to that animal that it hurried inside the bushes, she added. Well, it is too early to say that the animal man those people claimed was not the mysterious Yeti that the whole world is searching for.

I had gone through the wrinkled face and the piercing eye of the man who was in his mid-sixties and believed in his word that the thing he saw along with his daughter and his fellow workers was a Yeti. I do believe him that he could differentiate a bear from an animal they had never seen before that they believed to look more like a human.

Do you know them?

Ok...this was an interesting photograph i found in Corbis website can you say who are they?

Thanks Uli, for AC3PT informations.....

Well Uli i am sure without you my article on late Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal and his adventure with Ham radio was not possible. So when i get it printed on this monthly magazine from Gangtok i dedicate this article to you. I shall ever remain grateful for the help you provided to me along with those numerous scans. I also thank Rajesh Verma for his inputs on being the only post merger Hams from Sikkim. This article is published in the February issue of Talk Sikkim monthly magazine printed and published from Gangtok.

Sikkim’s Jiwan Mishra bags silver medal in Special World Winter Games

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

Jiwan Mishra, one of the participants in the Special World Winter Games from India has bagged a silver medal in Alpine Skiing under male category.

The 16-year-old hailing from Maney Dara in South Sikkim was one of the six participants from India. The sport event was held at Boise, IDHAO, USA from February 9. He was accompanied by his brother Kapil Mishra and his teacher RP Dhakal. Jiwan, who is studying in Class VI, suffers from mild mental retardation. Expressing happiness on the achievement of Jiwan Mishra, the area director of Special Olympic Bharat, Sikkim Chapter Dr BP Dhakal said, we are really proud of Jiwan as he has not only brought laurels for the state but also for the country. He managed to bring a silver medal despite little training on Alpine Skiing at Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh. 

“Nirmal Dahal (the gold medallist) and Jiwan Mishra are a beacon of hope for many physically challenged children,” he said. It may be noted here that Nirmal Dahal from Sikkim had bagged a gold medal in the Special Olympic held in China last year. Special Olympic Bharat, Sikkim Chapter has planned a rousing welcome to the silver medallist on February 20 at Rangpo, Dr Dhakal added.

Turning back the clock of Singtam-2

Singtam Bazaar at late-80s

BY SHITAL PRADHAN

Singtam at the moment is the busiest town among the four districts and its Friday haat one of the most popular in the entire state. But eight decades back the story wasn’t the same as these days. Those days it was the small siru bazaar of Sirubari (Sirwani) that was well known. People would never mind walking all three days to reach to this place to collect siru. This was the period when bazaar at Singtam was little heard off. But all of a sudden under mysterious circumstances the then popular Siru bazaar came to a halt and today stands an isolated Sirwani that helplessly gape up at vehicles passing by!

Jay Dhamala in his book “Sikkim koh Ithihas” speaks about of a place called Shichuthang that was visible from the Bermoik Kazi kothi. The name Shichuthang is present day Singtam, marked the writer. It is familiar that on a clear weather Bermoik Kazi kothi is noticed from this town but it must also be mentioned that the other little known bazaar of Manglay (now also called Sainotar) some 14 km from Singtam towards Timi Tarku is also called Shichuthang. Si means forest, chu means water and thang means scattered explains the writer describing the anatomy of the name of Singtam.

Tracing back the meaning of the name Singtam; in other way it is also believed to be a Lepcha word which means “collection of logs”. Singtam’s Lal Bazaar the present haat ghar was more of a sand depository and wild bears moving freely across the river banks had been witnessed by many folks. The river Teesta would carry out logs and deposit at the river banks. The logs were collected in huge extent such that it was sold to other place of necessity. Thus came the name Singtam i.e. collection of logs. “Kanchenjunga” magazine published from Gangtok in the early 1960s in one of its issue carried an article on Taksaari Chandrabir Pradhan, the same man behind the introduction of Sikkim’s coin system. It said it was Taksaari Chandrabir Pradhan who got the royal order from the Chogyal to cut down the jungles and set up a dweller at Singtam. He further went up to establish Rangpo and Pakyong too.

The earliest mention of the name of Singtam is found in 1888 Lepcha-Bhutia Grammar book where the town of Singtam was among the ten popular places in Sikkim. A travel book published in early 1940s mention Singtam to be a small river-side town with a Post Office. What was more fascinating was the fact that it was not the present business capital of Singtam that was sought-after marketplace more than half a decades ago but a little heard of Sirubari now angelized Sirwani that was more popular than Singtam and people far across the remote corner of the state would walk down to Sirubari to buy or say exchange “siru” with their belongings.


Prior to the present U-turning around Bhanu Park the original direct route was from the now left little short-cut leading through the narrow stairways of the King George Academy that would meet at the road below PWD office. The road then was very stiff much similar to the one leading the Denzong Cinema Hall to the M.G Marg. Much like the taut road at Gangtok that was in latter years converted to long stairs; the road at Singtam was stretched with a U-turning along the Bhanu Park.

I have often found people of Singtam get surprised by the hill of sands that are found below the forest office next to Goskhan dara. It clearly point forward that the present day Singtam River that flows from Ranipool had its earliest route from the main market road! I was once told, the entrance gate of the then Malaria Hospital at old Hospital Colony (now Shantinagar) was inaugurated by the Chogyal Tashi Namgyal in mid 50s. More than fifty years later now there rest only the dilapidated gate racing with the pace of time. Often I had heard people discussing to break down the gate because their trucks and other vehicles could not pass through it. I would say how many such structures are their inside Sikkim that are associated with the Chogyal dynasty?

Turning back the clock of Singtam-1

Singtam from Google Earth

 This is the updated version of the earlier article I wrote about the early days of Singtam...

When I first read a short biography of Danny Denzongpa in one of the national Bollywood magazines a decade ago, where he mentioned he saw a bus for the very first time in Singtam Town, I was very glad to read the name of my hometown. I never found anyone writing about this place that gave Sikkim its first Nepali novelist in Late Ganga Kaptan. Singtam was once a popular centre for oranges and equally for its weekly Friday haat, but today it is limited to one of the hottest places in Sikkim. Being brought up in the small town of Singtam, it was understandable that I would come across its early history someday.

I had heard old folks talk about those pre-merger days in the early 70s when the gathered crowd in Singtam blocked the road near Bhanu Park and stopped the on-the-run Crown Prince in his motor vehicle, forcing him back to Gangtok. During that instant, the pro-merger activists were caught, made captive, and kept at Thakurbari Mandir! The town of Singtam is also mentioned in world postal airmail history when, in 1935, a series of eight rocket mail firings were conducted over the Singtam River.

To its geographical reach, the town of Singtam is located at 27.15° N, 88.38° E, and has an average elevation of 1396 metres (4580 feet). I still have fresh memories of bullock carts visiting this town in the late 1980s, before I had stepped into my teens. Late in the evening, there used to be rows of bullock carts in front of today’s Om Himalayan Medical Shop. The playgrounds where I have enjoyed playing cricket are now shopping complexes. Well, to some extent, we can read that Singapore too is following the growing demands of socio-economic changes.

From a small inn bazaar to a business town, the few things that remain frozen in time in Singtam are the old British period Iron Bridge, built in 1929 by Burn and Company Limited, Bridge Builders, Howrah, as it is clearly written in its nameplate hanging atop the front and back sides of the bridge, and the only motorable tunnel of Sikkim at Toppakhani. When I look at the age-old mango trees grown along the roadside leading to Singtam Bazaar from the old Iron Bridge, it makes me feel nostalgic. I could feel the thoughts of the people who had planted it. We were taught in schools that if you want to be remembered for a long time, sow a tree.

True to its word, those people who first sowed the mango seed were the first to have thought to beautify this then-small-time riverside community. These trees are, no doubt, heritage trees. The reason for giving added emphasis to these trees in this topic is to bring forth my personal views that there are or were talks that all those trees around Singtam Bazaar would be cut down to spread out the size of the town and help beautify the town. These heritage trees are part of Singtam's history and have gone through many ups and downs to reach their present existence. Destroying those trees means juddering up the past existence of the most happening town in the state. I had read in the pages of old Kanchenjunga magazine that in the early 1960s when there was political unrest between India and China on the Nathula frontier, every Indian Army entering and leaving Singtam was given free orange juice at this very particular old bridge.

Even the construction of the Toppakhani tunnel was carried out around the same time as this iron bridge was put up. I have an interesting account of the Toppakhani tunnel, though it was never recorded in the pages of history but followed from one generation to the next. During the first day of the construction of the Toppakhani tunnel in the late 1920s, the labourers working at the site killed a snake, most probably a cobra. Call it a mere coincidence that from the very next day on, the small inn bazaar of Singtam was surrounded by the mysterious disease still remembered by the old folks as "kalo zoro". Even to this day, when those old folks recall that period, they say Singtam was a desolate town, and a popular phrase related to that endemic was the talk of the state: "Even the crows would not stay at Singtam". The first contractor of the Toppakhani was a Bihari by caste who fled Sikkim after the incident, while the latter construction was completed under Palaram Sardar in the 1930s. I was told there used to be a song written on Palaram Sardar, which I hope someday I will collect.

I was brushing up on the old records of the Annual Administration Report for the years 1923–24. I was surprised to find the name of one accused, Chimi Bhutia, from Singtam, who had gone into hiding after committing theft in Sikkim. In those days, the cases were under extraction between British India and Sikkim, and Chimi Bhutia was caught and handed over to the Sikkim Durbar for trial. The accused was sentenced to six months of rigorous imprisonment, thus making him on record as the first culprit from Singtam.

Opposition parties in Sikkim unites

United Democratic Front (UDF) is the name of the new party formed on February 15 that has the Opposition parties in Sikkim joining hand together for the forthcoming election. The parties include Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC), Sikkim BJP unit, Sikkim State CPIM Committee, Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad (SHRP) and Sikkim Gorkha Pratantrik Party (SGPP).

pic: Sikkim Express

KAPIL THAPA with Kapil Thapa Fan Club at Delhi

KAPIL THAPA with Kapil Thapa Fan Club at Delhi

Pictured shared by Bishal Rai 'Kirath'

KAPIL THAPA FAN CLUB – DELHI

'History repeats itself once as a Tragedy and Second Time as a Farce"

The ultimate reunion of Gorkhas once again in a quest for identity was dealt with severe torture, hard work, dedication and perseverance.

The integration of Gorkhas dates back to 1835 AD, but it repeatedly failed due to catechism.

Thus, in an age of realization, an age of McDonald's and Coke, all our young Gorkhas were driven into a world of Modernization and, of course, into the threshold of a corporate world. By virtue of being Gorkhas, we live as Gorkhas worldwide.

The world of Gorkhas was never invaded or conquered, and there will be no will to do so in the future. Alexander 'The Great' failed, Napoleon III had a signatory agreement, Hitler had all the praises, and Joseph Stalin paid the homage, not forgetting the British were always in good relations with the Gorkhas.

In the history books, Afghanistan was under Gorkha's control, China was, Burma was, and the whole world was. But today, when the euphoria of the aftermath of Indian Idol creeps in, the Gorkhas must unite once again. No one will come for unification, but the community must stand by the side of the Gorkhas as a whole.

Kapil Thapa, the 'Gorkha' army men, will rule and will have to win. We are the conquerors, and we will rule again, this time once again in the form of a melancholic tune so soothing in the heart of a million Gorkhas worldwide. Gorkhas Came! Gorkhas Saw! and the Gorkhas will conquer once again.

Furthermore, on January 14, 2009, the Kapil Fan Club, Delhi, was formed on Maghay Sangrati to mobilize the cause.

The executive body members are:

Y.K. Shrestha, President

Robert Tamang, Vice President

Deep Lama, Secretary,

Vishal Kirat Rai, Media and Publicity

Nelson Pradhan, Co-ordinator

Kamal Prahdan, Co-ordinator

The Executive body has requested people from every walk of life to support the generous cause.

Also, Kapil Fan Club, Delhi, would like to thank Ms. Jyoti Thapa Mani for her support.

For further details, please contact: raisforte@yahoo.com

Cold Desert from North Sikkim

Photographed by Subhash Ranjan

Photographer's note

"On my way to Gurudongmar lake the land beyond Thangu, North Sikkim became absolutely desolate with beginning of the Himalayan rain-shadow zone of cold desert that merges with Tibetan plateau. The mountains were painted heavenly with the beautiful tones of colors reaching the altitude of almost 20,000 to 25,000 feet ASL. Surprisingly I could see snow on one the side of the peaks only with local yak population grazing in the open pastures located on the steep slopes.

I present you this peerless landscape for strange biodiversity India carries with its topography."

pic: www.treknature.com

Is it not fascinating.....

When i first read this letter, or the so called shop license of the shop at Singtam. I could not hide my smile....I found it interesting....did you?

This letter dates back to 6.1.1928 send from the Sikkim Durbar, the king then was Chogyal Tashi Namgyal and on record this is the oldest shop in Singtam bazaar.