Skip to main content

.......(Sikkim) This country is gone

By himalayanreview
I was just surfing an eBay auction website, and there I came across some material related to Hope Cook, the former queen of Sikkim on sale. There is an autographed photograph of former queen Hope Cook, her letter and an envelope in which it was sent to the USA. The three materials cost you 300 dollars.







The heading of the items says:

HOPE COOKE NAMGYAL AUTOGRAPH, Queen consort of SIKKIM

ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECE, VERY RARE, THIS COUNTRY IS GONE!


Just read the last line that says...."This country is gone". Sikkim is no longer an independent country now so it is more often referred as a dead country.

The further description says:

PHOTOGRAPH:
4-1/2" X 6" MEASUREMENTS, BLACK AND WHITE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND SIGNED IN BLUE INK PEN, "HOPE NAMGYAL"

LETTERHEAD:
8-1/4" X 6" THE PALACE, GANGTOK, SIKKIM, DATED 15TH SEPTEMBER 1969 AND SIGNED SINCERELY HOPE NAMGYAL, "GYALMO OF SIKKIM

ENVELOPE:
8-1/4" X 6-3/8" WITH 13 STAMPS FROM INDIA AND 1 BIG STAMP COLORED PURPLE FROM INDIA (INK STAMPED FROM POST OFFICE DATED 17, SEPT. 1969
RETURN ADDRESS IS FROM GYALMO OF SIKKIM, GANGTOK, SIKKIM. VIA - EASTERN HIMALAYAS

HISTORY:

In 1959, Cooke, then a freshman at Sarah Lawrence College, met Palden Thondup Namgyal, Crown Prince of Sikkim, in the bar of the Windamere Hotel in Darjeeling, India. He was then a widower nearly twice her age.

Four years later, Cooke, an Episcopalian, married the Crown Prince in a Buddhist monastery on 20 March 1963, an act which caused her to be dropped from the Social Register. He became monarch of Sikkim nine months later but was deposed in 1975 and confined to his palace under house arrest. The couple had two children, Palden and Hope Leezum; she also has two stepsons and a stepdaughter from her husband's first marriage.

The Chogyal and his wife separated soon after he was overthrown, and she moved to Manhattan, where she raised her children. The royal couple divorced in 1980, and the Chogyal died of cancer in 1982 in New York City.

Today

Cooke is a tour guide and historian in New York City. She lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York. She wrote a memoir of her life in Sikkim, Time Change.

Labels:

Comments

  1. JyotsnaDecember 19, 2009 3:10 AM

    It is quite interesting to read abt the kings and queens who reined sikkim not so long ago!!!!

    I must congratulate you on your blog posts...it has definately managed to reach out many from different nook and corners of the world :)

    Regards Jyotsna

    ReplyDelete
  2. himalayanreviewDecember 23, 2009 12:40 PM

    Thanks Jyotsna.....please follow the blog hope it entertains and educate you.....

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 08, 2010 6:59 AM

    Even after decades, the King and Queen of Sikkim are still present and
    firmly connected with Sikkim. That's wonderful.
    Thanks for all the information and photos.



    7. Februar 2010

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

They wanted to kill me??

By himalayanreview
AN ENVELOPE   A PIECE OF PAPER   LIST OF ADDRESSES INSIDE THE ENVELOPE I was part of a successful newspaper at Gangtok; the weekly newspaper “Weekend Review” was then considered the third party in Sikkim after the Sikkim Democratic Front led by Pawan Chamling and Congress led by N B. Bhandari, former Chief Minister of Sikkim. I had just completed my graduation when I got a chance to join the big-wig WR team. It took me a week to decide, and I was a news reporter. Even then, my primary concern was looking for Sikkim's old history. The new job was interesting, challenging, and more of an adventure. I never knew what I would do the next day or where I would be.  I was only told to file a report to the newspaper office at Gangtok every Thursday. I was associated with the WR team for more than two years till our editor was replaced, and I found it uncomfortable to work with the new editor. His lack of journalism ethics made me leave WR. Within the fol...
7 comments
Read more

The AC3PT: A story of the deleted country

By himalayanreview
BY SHITAL PRADHAN To the amateur radio stations in the world, he was just “AC3PT”, a name that is today counted as a deleted or dead country in the pages of Ham Radio. A "Ham" is an Amateur who receives and transmits on short waves, a fascinating hobby followed since the late 18 th century.  An amateur radio enthusiast AC3PT was very well-known among amateur radio communicators across the world. Being on the map of HAM Radio since 1963, AC3PT suddenly came to an abrupt end on April 9, 1975. “…now Indian troops storming my room…” was the last message that radio amateurs across the world last heard of AC3PT. The distressed caller was none other than Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, the last Chogyal of Sikkim State, sending his last-minute SOS across the world. When I first read about the AC3PT and the ham radio sometime back in one of the chapters of a much sought-after merger book on Sikkim, “Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim” by Sunanda K Datta-Ray I could hard...
8 comments
Read more

JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT

By himalayanreview
This was a national song of Sikkim sung in the Nepali language during the monarchy system. During the merger with India, the song got banned and later re-released. Two words on the 8th para, which earlier said 'Rajah rah Rani,' were replaced with "Janmah bhumi."     This song was dedicated to the King and Queen of Sikkim. The song lyrics were penned by Sanu Lama, and the music was composed by Dushyant Lama.  The song was first sung on the birth anniversary of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal on April 4, 1970, at Gangtok by Aruna Lama, Dawa Lama, and Manikamal Chettri.    JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT,  JAHAN KANCHENDZONGA SEER   YEHI HO HAMRO DHANA KO DESH,  TAPAWAN HO PYARO SIKKIM     INTERLUDE     PHULCHAN YEHA AANGANAI MAA,  CHAAP , GURAS, SUNAKHARI   SWARGASARI SUNDAR DESH KO  HAMRO PYARO PYARO JANMAHBHUMI     JANHA BAGCHA……     BATASHLE BOKCHAA YAHA,  TATHAGAT KO AAMAR WAANI ...
16 comments
Read more