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.