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

War objects found at Tumlong Palace ruins Little is known about the collapse of the Tumlong Palace, the third official capital of the kingdom of Sikkim but the findings of few war-related objects from the ruins of the site have added some exciting tidings. Found from the Palace ruins are cannon balls, musket balls and an iron gear. These objects could probably be looked upon as a new era of warfare that was brought to the Himalayan land of Sikkim by the British. These materials are presently under the preservation of Archives Department, Gangtok. After Rabdenste, the second capital of Sikkim was repeatedly attacked by the Nepal royal army, Tshudpud Namgyal, the than Chogyal of Sikkim shifted his capital from Rabdenste to Tumlong in 1793. Tumlong was the capital of Sikkim till 1884 when Chogyal Thutob Namgyal shifted his capital to present day Gangtok. Musket balls Cannon ball

From the page of National Geographic (1965) The photograph was taken during the coronation of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal at Gangtok (1965).

As it is often said.....show must go on.....life has to start off, despite irregularities. So, despite several failures in regaining the password of my old blog "Proud to be a Sikkimese", i am hereby starting a new blog with the same motive as i had in my earlier blog...helping people understand the beauty and the mystic beyond the Sikkim. Through my blog i had always tried my best to spread my small learning about my Sikkim but i believe some hackers did not liked my contribution. Nevertheless....i am here again doing the same old job...enriching people about me, myself and my Sikkim. I am sure my readers shall continue me that love and support which i had in " Proud to be a Sikkimese".

From the pages of National Geographic Magazine (1965).

Ok..lets see. Guess this very popular place in Sikkim?

This page is scanned from the book Coronation published in 1965. The book show case the scenes from the Coronation of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal. Below is the copy of the speech given by the Chogyal after his coronation.

The excitation to witness the longest solar eclipse of this century thrilled the people of Singtam today. The natural phenomenon that hide the sun for little over a minute past 6.30 am this morning had an awe-inspiring experience for people out here. Since the crack of dawn people had been enthusiastically waiting for the early morning extravaganza. Late night shower did try to let down the expectations of the thousands out here but it was not to be. The event was looked upon with curiosity, fun and some even feared. For few days, news of the sighting of this rare instance had been the talk of the town. The picture perfect shadows of the different positions of the eclipse were not visible due to heavy clouds but people did observe the early morning shroud into darkness. The vehicles moving in the National Highway were also noticed moving with their ‘head lights’ on during that point in time. Speaking to SE , Indira Rizaal told that she was in high spirits just to come across such r...

from Sikkim Reporter Gangtok: “Fear Lies Within”, an Art Movie of little over 13 minutes was released by noted journalist Subash Deepak at Press Club of Sikkim on Monday. The movie was shot in Gangtok under the property management of S K Audio Vision. The movie directed by Mr. BP Bajgain, editor Haalkhabar, is unique in the sense that it is without any dialogue, even though it has Mr. Rounak Somani and Ms. Pabitra Bhandari in the cast. The director is also the producer and scriptwriter, and he himself has handled sound and light management. Casting is by cinematographer, Kalyan Burathoki. “This movie has tried to describe a particular psychological phenomenon – it is a perfect blend of art and psychology”, Mr. Bajgain says. The movie will participate in Agyaat Short Film Contest declared by Ram Gopal Verma, UTV Motion Pictures; 11th Mumbai International Film Festival for documentary, short...

SINGTAM, July 18: East Point Senior Secondary School at Golitar, Singtam does it again. For the last few years in succession, the students of the Class X CBSE board examination from East Point School had been successfully notching up ninety plus scores in Mathematics as well as in other subjects too. Navneet Chettri This year three students succeeded in scoring above nineties in Mathematics out of which Navneet Chettri came three marks short of what could had been a perfect 100 upon 100. Chettri went on to score marvellous 97. Following up closely was Ansu Gupta who achieved 95 marks and the third member of the ninety plus group Ayushi Agarwal went on to add 91 to her total marks achieved in the toughest subject. Ansu Gupta Speaking to SIKKIM EXPRESS, Ansu Gupta ...

from Sikkim Express Sikkim commits ten minutes to world environmental security Forest minister thanks all for making ‘Ten minutes to Greenery’ a total success GANGTOK, July 15: Sikkim today inked a new chapter in the environmental record books of the world by planting more than 6 lakhs saplings throughout the hill State in ten minutes during a special campaign ‘Ten minutes to Greenery’ as the clock ticked 10:30 am. Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh and Chief Minister Pawan Chamling led the campaign from the forefront as thousands of Sikkimese people, army personnel, and paramilitary forces came forward and planted more than 6 lakhs saplings in any place of their choice today. The whole campaign was facilitated by the State forest department. Speaking to the media after completion of the campaign, State forest minister Bhim Dhungel said that an international and national record has been created by the people of Sikkim by planting the 6 lakhs ...

SINGTAM: The effort of the mass plantation drive throughout the state of Sikkim was supported by the Burung Primary School here today. The entire students of the school along with staffs planted saplings across the school premises. In one of the rare greenery mission conceived by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, the state Government has aimed for a world record in planting six lakhs sapling in 10 minutes. Speaking on the occasion NT Bhutia, Headmaster Burung Primary School told that he is pleased with such mission and hope that globally such initiatives shall benefit the human race. Bhutia also informed the gathered students about the importance of plantation and urged the students to help preserve environment. Similar plant drive was also reported from Shantinagar, Singtam by the Singtam Civil Defense along the river bed region that was heavily affected due to recent rise of river.

from Sikkim Express GANGTOK, July 14: A cell has been constituted by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in Kalimpong to facilitate the movement of people from Sikkim for urgent works during the bandh period. People from Sikkim having emergency or urgent works and need to reach Siliguri can contact GJM in-charge of NH 31 A, Sunil Pradhan who has been authorized by the party high command to make necessary arrangements for the people of Sikkim. Mr. Pradhan can be reached at 9933947288. The GJM has stressed that this facility for Sikkimese persons is only for emergencies and proper documents or travel tickets are a must. Speaking to SIKKIM EXPRESS, Mr. Pradhan asserted that the bandh has not been called to disturb Sikkim. We are fighting for our identity and the highway (NH 31A) is like our front y...

Danny Denzongpa is playing a character by the name of Lakhan Tamang in the latest Hindi movie "Luck".

How about that an orchid variety "Brasso Laelio Cattleya (Blc)" made by Mr. K.C.Pradhan who is creator of the Hybrid orchid, which is registered with the International Registration Authority for Orchid Hybrid, UK is named after Miraya Vadra, daughter of Priyanka and Robert Vodhera and the granddaughter of Sonia Gandhi. Upon the consent of Mrs. Gandhi, the hybrid orchid was renamed as "Miraya", Brasso Laelio cattleya(BLC), in the name of her grand daughter. The flower exhibition held on 26th Sept, 2006 was attended by Dr. Pawan Chamling (CM of Sikkim) and Tika Maya Chamling, Mr O.T. Lepcha and five girls from Deorali Sr. Sec School along with Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka and Robert Vodhera.   Earlier in 2003, another hybrid orchid was named after the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during his visit to Sikkim. When asked to suggest a name for a second orchid, a Dendrobium hybrid, Vajpayee named it Kalpana Chawla after the Indian astronaut who was killed in...

I had a wonderful experience two days back at the Archives Department at Gangtok. I came across a personal file of Stephen Smith about how he proposed his 1935 Sikkim Rocketmail Experiment. The files contain letters and the process of his permission to the small kingdom of Sikkim. Right now, I am going through them, and those letters are really interesting to read. Myself with the Stephen Smith's personal file in the Archives Department In one instance, after the Sikkim Rocketmail Experiment 1935, Stephen Smith had sent three photographs of the event to Chogyal Sir Tashi Namgyal, the King of Sikkim, but for some unknown reason, those three photographs were returned back to Stephen Smith. There is a letter in the file from an American stamp collector asking the Chogyal about the items of Sikkim Rocketmail, to which the Chogyal had directed to talk straightly to Stephen Smith. A Letter from the file According to the letters in the file, two separate events were held at Sikkim...