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

I believe this piece of the article was more of a documentary, as the title suggests, "The Story of Sikkim." A part of many stories in the  opinions24x7 blog. The article briefly gives a brief narration about Sikkim. What I liked the most was the annexation part, and as with my part, what I see, I share. So this exciting piece of the extract is provided here, touching my heart, especially the "letter" sent by our Chogyal (King) to Indira Gandhi when Sikkim Royal Palace was attacked by the Indian Army. ""Finally, in 1975, the Kazi (Prime Minister) of Sikkim went against the Chogyal and appealed to the Indian Parliament to change Sikkim's status to a full state of India. His appeal was approved. In April 1975, a 5,000-strong contingent of the Indian Army invaded Sikkim and surrounded the Chogyal's palace. His 300 bodyguards, who were themselves trained by the Indian Army, were caught and driven away, while one of them was shot. The Chogyal w...

 Sangachelling Gompa in Sikkim, East India (1925) It was an opportunity for me to be part of the recently held  Two   Days Seminar on Strategy for Heritage Management for Sikkim  organized by the Cultural Department at Denzong Residency, Gangtok. I did not want to miss it.  It was my dedication towards understanding the old days of Sikkim that gave me a chance to have a closer look at what has been going on or I would rather say what the higher officials were thinking about Sikkim History as a whole; this was also my first foray into the big league.  I was happy to be among the learned personalities of Sikkim, sitting beside them and taking note of what they were talking about. It was more than an honour for me (as a student of Sikkim History) to be invited and interact with the officials out there. The meeting, though, left many unanswered questions, but I am sure that in days to come, the quest to preserve the story of Sikkim for the coming generati...

  Movie : Romeo in Sikkim (1975) Music Director : Vishwanath   Singer(s) : Mukesh   Lyricists : Shaili Shailendra Tum hi toh ho jiska sapna maine dekha tha jaane kabse maine tumko apna maine samja tha tum hi toh ho Sabhi kuch mila tha lekin phir bhi kuch to kami thee meri khushi main dekha jo tumko dil ne ye jaana tumhi nahin thee meri zindagi main tumhi nahin thee meri zindagi main tumhi toh ho jiska sapna Ab to bahon mein aa jao chod bhi do tum yeh sharmana sikh liya hai kabse tumne kudh bhi tadapna aur tadpana kuch bhi tadapna aur tadpana tum hi toh ho jiska sapna

Troops and pack animals climb a steep mountain pass near Lingtu on their way to Tibet during the expedition led by British Army officer and explorer Colonel Sir Francis Younghusband (1863 - 1942), November 1903. The mission resulted from disputes over the Sikkim - Tibet border and ended with the British occupation of Lhasa.  Original Publication: The Graphic - Pub. 30th January 1904  (Photo by The Graphic/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

This is interesting... Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard? Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat? Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough? What is the speed of darkness? Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every two hours? If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be? Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer? How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? Did you ever stop and wonder...... Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?' Who was the fi...

This article is copied from Voice of Sikkim   Kingfisher airline staff murdered,  High profile case better you don’t speak was told on the phone- Father LAWS ARE MEANT FOR ALL NO MATTER IT IS THE RICH OR POOR SECTION OF SOCIETY IN REPUBLIC COUNTRY INDIA. 25 March, Namchi: A 22 years old girl from 5 Mile Tadong, Sikkim was working in a reputed Kingfisher Airline in Kolkata, she lived in one of the rented rooms at Dumdum according to her parent. The deceased father, whose name is Kanhaiya Tiwari, works in the HRDD Department Govt of Sikkim in a post as Deputy Director. According to the deceased father’s statement, his daughter was always informed over the phone about her daily routines either to her family. She was dedicated towards her work and never during her span of life was she alleged in any unfair things. Being an honest daughter she kept informing about herself on daily basis over the phone. On 5 March she called up to her father saying that she is very please...

Kishor Dungmali Rai’s Nepali Feature Film “Angalo Yo Maya Ko”  shooting was almost 25%  completed within this 15 days time. The shooting was done at different locations including the Gangtok White Hall complex, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majhitar, Sikkim Mining complex, and other adjacent places. The schedule for the sequence of the songs will be visualized at North Sikkim and South Sikkim respectively.   Sikkim’s based artist Mahindra Gurung who is playing the lead role opposite Prashant Tamang in this movie is giving his best of the effort along with renowned Sikkimese artist Chunilal Ghimeray, Mahendra Bajgai, Hemant Giri, and another debutant Mahima Chettri, Sajal Pradhan, and Child Artist baby Prasansa Chettri (Priya). The current shooting scenes is characterized by mostly Sikkimese artist and they were highly appreciated for their hard work and dedication by the entire crew.   During the shooting in progress scene main lead Indian...

by Sanjay Agarwal Baha’i Community of Tadong celebrated Naw Ruz (Baha’i New Year) in a grand way at Baha’i School Tadong. Which is the day of equinox, when day and night is equal and also the beginning of spring season is celebrated as the1st Day of Baha’i New year by the Baha’is of all over the world? The day is the symbol of fellowship, brotherhood and equality. The program started at 11.00 am with the prayers and reading Holy writings. Mrs. Rupa Devi Pradhan, Principal of Baha’i School, Tadong presented enriching talk on the significance of Naw Ruz. This was followed by beautiful bhajans, songs, and dances by children, youths and adults. To make the program more colourful there were varieties of games and fun. Programme premises were decorated with beautiful colour papers and banners and rongoli. The Baha’is of Tadong and its surrounding were present in the program. At the end of the programme the principal of Baha’i School Tadong felicities all the teaching and non- teaching...

SINGTAM: The town of Singtam celebrated and enjoyed the 23 rd Basibiyalo program that was held at East Point SSS premises with noted personalities from Sikkim Nepali literature participating in it. The Basibiyalo program, conducted and organised under the leadership of Mohan Pradhan “Neeraj”, is the talk of the town, with people of all ages participating in it, and its success story has also been appreciated beyond Singtam. Mohan Pradhan “Neeraj” is the major factor behind the program. The personalities attending the function included Raj K Shrestha, Dhruva Lohagan, Deo Kumar Dumi, Lalita Karkidoli, Amar Baniya Lohoro, Arjun Piyush, BB Rai, HN Sharma, Ganesh Rai, Bishnu Rai, Radha Pradhan, and others. The Chief Guest, Dhruva Lohagan, lit the diyo that was followed by the introductory poem recitation by Mrs Jayashree Chettri.  The poets to follow after her included Prakash Subedi “Khamdungea”, Radha Pradhan, Amar Bania “Lohoro”, Arjun Piyush, Dev Narayan Sharma, Bhupal Kaush...

ROAD to Sikkim" a film released in 1969 was produced by Kirti Films had Cast that included Dev Kumar, Anju, Helen, Jayant, David.  The film was directed by Ravindra Dave and music provided by Vijay S. Video : You Tube

Gangtok, Mar 20 (PTI) Sikkim Congress President and Former Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari has rebuffed the state government's proposal to name a road in his honour. "I have outrightly rejected the Pawan Kumar Chamling government's proposal to name the Buduan-Soreng Road in West Sikkim as Nar Bahadur Bhandari Marg and told them to refrain from offering such token gesture," he told reporters here. The state government, at a cabinet meeting held on March nine last, had decided to name the Budang-Soreng Road in West Sikkim after Bhandari in recognition of his contribution, and had directed the Home department to seek the latter's consent proposal for the same. Accordingly, the Home department Additional Secretary S K Pradhan had written a letter to Bhandari on March 12 seeking his consent for naming the road, but the former Chief Minister firmly replied the proposal was "not acceptable".

The Team Denzong Boys Sikkim consisting of 25 players and 3 officials After a month training at Paljor Stadium has left Gangtok for Digboi Assam. The Sikkim Club will be facing Oil India on 27th March.    

I was going through an article from the book "The British, The Bandits And The Bordermen," and there is something I could not stop myself from sharing with my readers. It is an interesting anecdote; it could have been more serious then, but I could not let off my smile from it while reading it now. The book is more of a biographical account of Border Security Force's founder-director general, K F Rustamji.  The book is based on more than 3,500 pages of Rustamji's diaries, and the articles present first-person accounts of some of the tumultuous developments, such as the partition, Chinese aggression, and the Indo-Pak war. One of the articles writes about a unique gift Jawaharlal Nehru received on his 70th birthday from Madhya Pradesh Police. The gift was nothing more than news " of the death of the dreaded dacoit Gabbar Singh, who went on to achieve cult status post-Sholay." Rustamji writes, "Gabbar Singh and his gang had been killed in a bold encount...

 pics: Sanjay Agarwal

 by Sanjay Agarwal Yog Guru Baba Ramdev today returned back after completion of his two days Sikkim visit. During the visit he interacted with media where he expressed his happiness for people of Sikkim, he said ‘People of Sikkim are living in Heaven and they should feel proud about it!’. Baba visited almost few locations in Gangtok , also he visited surrounding areas even due to his tight schedules.  Outmost dream of Baba Ramdev and people of Sikkim will come true shortly, a proposal was placed to the Chief Minister Dr Pawan Kumar Chamling during the meet to built a ‘Patanjali Yog Peeth Ashram’ , the location for said Peeth was selected Solophok, Namchi. It may be recalled that Solophok in Namchi where a Char Dham is also being coming up, on the other hand a Patanjali Yog Peeth Ashram in the same location would make the South Sikkim more focused heritage place.  With a profound heart Baba Ramdev also stated that overall development of Sikkim is incomparable with any...

Very little is known about the four unknown burial that were found at Aritar. According to the oral documentation from the elderly local people of this region, the burials of four dead bodies are believed to be of soldiers of the British contingent representing the “1904 British expedition to Tibet” led by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband that entered Tibet via Aritar (Old Silk Route). It is believed that the four soldiers were injured during the massacre and brought to the Health Camp at Aritar Dak Bungalow, where they latter died. A century later, the present burial site was re-constructed into cemetery by the Aritar Panchayat in due honour to those four unknown Britishers. 

Singtam : Sikkim Rock Star, dance and singing based musical show keeping up its promises has sent two of its participants to the auditions of the Indian Idol 5 and Junior Dance India Dance respectively. The show organised by Singbell GPU Construction Cooperative Society Ltd is in its final stage and grand finale is schedule to be held on the last week of April, the coming month.  The music completion had been categorized into three categories that include solo dance, group dance and vocal competition. The music competition had been limited to Hindi and Nepali music only. Winners of both competitions receive the sum of Rs 25,000 each and an opportunity to participate at auditions of National musical shows. Raja Ghatani, an eleven year old from Singtam have successfully completed the level two auditions of Junior Dance India Dance competition at Kolkata.  Talking from Kolkata, Raja told that he has completed the two rounds of competition and to be in the final Top 40 he has...

Sourced from: Shaw, F. Becker. 1897. Missionary Map of Tibet (dotted lines indicate trade routes) / The Scandinavian Alliance Mission has also Tibetan Missionaries in Ghoom, India, in Baksadnar, Bhutan, and in Guntak, Sikkim.

Map of Sikkim 1906  pic: probertencyclopaedia

Ever since the search for Heritage Trees started in Sikkim, I was very curious to be part of this competition. I still remember when the first preliminary results were published in one of the local dailies of Gangtok, the headline of the report read like “ Can this record be broken ”. More than two months later I seem to have the reply.  The search for the biggest tree of Sikkim was an exciting journey for me and my adventure gave me an opportunity to be in the wilds that I had never gone beyond still being a botany student. I have always believed that the land of Sikkim has many amazing ‘things’ to be discovered. It is debatable about the origin of the landforms of Sikkim. I still remember one of my lecturers at Sikkim Government College laughing at me when I asked him about the possibility of fossils in Sikkim. His answer is Sikkim is a young fold mountain and there is no possibility of any fossils in both plants and animals. But yet I have collected a petrified fossil with...