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

Last Friday i was at a house of one of my student out at Burung. Actually i had gone to visit her father since i had heard little earlier that he had some strange looking stones in his belongings. The man did hesitate to show up but i made him convince that i just wanted to see it and take some photographs. Then he showed me some...those stones according to him was gathered from the forest when he had gone for collecting woods...The one that really caught my attention was a small quartz!!

His boxing ring performance put in the picture more than his age, ten boxing gold and three bronze medals from 14 national and international tournaments that he had participated in can make any sports lover go crazy. But it isn’t in the case of Shiva Thapa, a 16-year-old promising boxer from Assam still in his teens. From his haul of 13 medals, three had been achieved in foreign soils representing India.  A gold medal in 50 kg category representing India at Hyder Aliyev International Boxing Championship held in Azerbaijan, Baku (May 2008) while two bronze medals were achieved at The IV International Sports Games "Children of Asia" held in Yakutia in 50 kg category (July 2008) and AIBA World Junior Boxing Championship held in Yerevan, Armenia in 52 kg category (May 2009). Shiva Thapa Ranked world number two after Sergey Krasnitsky from Russia in Junior World Male Rankings in 50 kg/110 lbs Flyweight Division, Shiva Thapa is in Gangtok along with his father Padam Tha...

FROM MY COLLECTION THE VOICE OF SIKKIM VOL 1/No.28 21 August 1983 GANGTOK Editor /Publisher Navin C Gurung

Old photographs do take you to those bygone days and one such moment was when Tashi Lama, one of my very good friends from Singtam sent me an old school photograph. He was a class junior to me at East Point English School at Singtam now more famous and upgraded to East Point SSS. Tashi sent me two photographs and both of them were more than nostalgic for me and I do remember that particular moment. The dance program was performed by the school students during the 1990 Independence Day at Singtam Mandi Bazaar. The ground is no more here, instead a shopping complex has been erected. In almost 19 years I have forgotten the names of a few guys who were dancing then. The two people that really excited me in the photograph were Sapna Verma and Pem Tshring Bhutia. Thanks to the internet, I came across Sapna after more than 18 years this late winter and it was more than pleasure exchanging scraps with her. With Pem Tshering, we studied from Nursery to class xii after which he left for veterina...

I had been planning to set up a personal museum at Singtam for some time and for that I had been collecting stuff. My dream museum shall hold a library, photo gallery, stamps and bank notes exhibits, antiques, old records, different newspapers, autographs and others. It might just take some time to hold my dream come to reality but for people who appreciate my work, I shall share some of that stuff. 1938 London printed Reader Digest

My three and half year old daughter Sristikaa prepares for her school fancy dress competition.

SINGtAM:  They came, they saw, but they did not conqueror, and yet they were winners of their own rights.   The first round exit from the audition of the Nachyo Babari held at SDF Bhawan in Gangtok on September 13 did not deter the minds of students of Burung Primary School near Singtam.  The mere opportunity to perform at the stage of the state-level competition was more than a lifelong experience for them.  Burung Primary School, in its twenty-fourth year of establishment, broke their jinx when it sent its five students and its choreographer to participate in the dance competition. All girls’ group dance participants included students of age groups fourteen and fifteen. All the students were visiting Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, for the very first time. The student group presented their dance performance from Uttam Pradhan’s Nepali debut film “Darpan Chaya”, who was one of the three judges along with Kamal Rai and Pema Tsedun.  The three judges did apprec...

The first revenue stamp of Sikkim (1917)

Identify this place.....

I am participating at the National Single Frame Philatelic Exhibition to be held at Vadodara. The theme of my exhibit is " Sikkim through Philately". My participation is accepted after i saw the name of my exhibit posted on their web site.

This photograph is really interesting from Fun Enclave, watch the three countries lying side by side and separated by the river. The countries are Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

A stone tablet found at Pandam Garhi Pandam Garhi is one such place that has always fascinated me. Several stories stay behind the backdrop of its origin, drawing interest among the common man for ages. I had heard a few war narratives related to the Pandam Garhi (fort) and Teen Jhurrey fort, where the armies from opposite camps used to throw round river stones towards each other. This age-old method of throwing stones is more of a legend, webbed in stories transferred from one generation to another. I am told that people discovered rusted arrows, cannon balls, and a ‘ jhatoa’ used for grinding grains and other objects in recent years by cattle grazers and by people moving to the jungle in search of wood. But this summer, the discovery found underneath the shifted rock boulders and muddy debris of Pandam Garhi has excited the local people out there. Stone tablets, pottery pieces, and a few other bits and pieces of history related to the region were found by the locals at the recent...

Photo Feature of Rongli-Kupup region

My philatelic collection of Darjeeling Toy Train

Photo shared by Karma Bhutia Chogyal Tashi Namgyal standing behind his wife Maharani Kunzang Dechhen. Children in front from photo's L-R: Crown Prince Paljor Namgyal, Chogyal P.T.Namgyal, Princess Pema Tsedeun Information shared by Tina Tashi

From ILAB > click here to see the full size image. "Original lithograph, handcolored in outline. Detailed map of Sikhim and Eastern Nipal with the neighbouring Tibet and Mt. Kintschin-Djunga based on the expeditions of Dr. J.D. Hooker. The map provides pretty good information on elevations, various woods, mountains, rivers, glaciers and monastries. In the lower right corner a small inset map to the ‘Sikhim-Himalaya’. In excellent condition. Gotha, Justus Perthes. 1861 (24,4 x 19,2 cm) Condition: Excellent [Stock No.: 18524]"

From Sikkim Express Rakesh Verma [ASSISTANT ENGINEER( MECH ) ] Energy and Power Department Government Of Sikkim. An old Turbine and generator is kept in the Diesel Power House in Gangtok under the energy and Power Department. The Turbine in question pertains to the old Power House at Ranikhola which was build in the year 1932. This was considered the first and one of the oldest Power Houses under the state power Department during those days when Sikkim PWD and power department were considered as one Department. This Generator’s capacity was 50 KW, manufactured by English Motor Electric Co England. It may be mentioned here that the power generated from this Power House use to be transmitted by the ways of 3.3kv line to serve the entire town as well the Royal Palace. The old Darjeeling toy train of narrow gauge has been given due recognition from UNCESO as a world heritage site. Similarly, if the State Government, especially the Power Department, is interested, it can also provide a...

Here i am sharing few photographs related to Royal family of Sikkim from the collection of a gentleman from Australia named Harold. He was kind enough to let me share his collection that also includes letters send by Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal. He writes for his blog Radical Royalist, that speaks of the volumes of his love for Royal Monarchies across the globe. To speak off he does have a nice collection of write ups and photographs of monarchies that have lost to the wheel of clock. To start with, below is the photograph of Crown Prince Tenzing of Sikkim, son of the 12th Chogyal and Sangey Deki, daughter of Yapshi Samdu Phodrang of Tibet. The Crown Prince died in a car accident on 11th March 1978.

Can you guess the child in the centre.........

This boot was presented to Milwaukee Public Museum, USA by Hope Cook, the Queen of Sikkim in 1966. The display to its right say : REAL LIFE FAIRY TALE "In 1959, Hope Cooke, an American student, met Palden Thondup Namgyal, the Prince of Sikkim, at a hotel in India. They fell in love and in 1963 their fairy tale wedding enraptured the American public. The Prince was named Chogyal, or King, later that year, making Cooke the Gyalmo, or Queen of Sikkim, the first American Queen of a foreign land. In 1966, Her Highness donated the young men's leather boots from Sikkim to the Museum so there could be something from her adopted country on display."

Gangtok, 1st October, 1968 Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Princess Sangay Dekila, Sir Tashi Namgyal, Shrimati Indira Gandhi [in kho (Bhutia Dress)], Princess Pema Tsedeun and Ashi Tashi Dorji of Bhutan. Information provided: Tenzin Chukie Tashi

from Sikkim Online CLARITY ON CITIZENSHIP Indian of Sikkimese Origin On 26th April 1975, Sikkim was appointed as 22nd state of India. On that day, Sikkim Citizens, Subject holder (Sikkimese) became Indian Citizen according to “Sikkim (Citizenship) Order, 1975” which says “Every person who immediately before the 26th day of April, 1975 was a Sikkim Subject under the Sikkim Subject Regulation 1961, shall be deemed to have become a citizen of India on that day”. As the Indian Constitution does not provide dual citizenship and there exist only citizenship for the whole of country, therefore, the regulation which provided Sikkim Citizenship (Subjects) commonly known as “Sikkim Subject Regulation Act, 1961” was repealed on 13th Sep 1975 according to “Adaptation of Sikkim Laws (No.1) Order” power conferred by clause (l) of Article 371-F of the Constitution which took effect from 26th April 1975 (appointed day). A million dollar question arises here. Who were Sikkim...

Kalimpong (BGP Media Cell) : The Bharatiya Gorkah Parisangh , Meghalaya State,  organized the Balidan Diwas (Martyr's Day) on 25th August 2009. In the morning, the president of the Meghalaya unit of BGP unfurled the flag at a Gorkha Pathsala Ground.   A blood donation camp was organized at 10am in the Thakurbari Cultural Hall in collaboration with the Regional Pasteur Institute and Meghalaya Blood Bank. Fourteen people donated their blood, including Sri CM Adhikari, a 65-year-old advocate and Vice President of BGP, Meghalaya state. The Blood Donation camp was declared open by Rev. Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary of the Church of North India (CNI), New Delhi. At the camp, Dr. Nongrum spoke about the awareness and benefits of donating blood to help the poor and the needy. He further appraised the gathering that the blood donated does not harm a person's health as it is regenerated shortly within a couple of weeks. Therefore, people should not hesitate to ...