I owe this to Sikkim Express!

I owe this to Sikkim Express. Since the oldest daily newspaper in Sikkim, the Sikkim Express, allowed me to write a column on Sikkim's history, I have yet to look back. Over the last 20 months, I have written over 100 articles under the column "Himalayan review" that have helped me grow as a student of Sikkim History. Sometime around, I am referred by Sikkim Historian by my well-wishers, which I find very embarrassing.

The history of Sikkim is vast, and over the last half a dozen years, I have dedicated myself to understanding Sikkim, yet I feel there is still time for me to be called a Sikkim Historian. My friend tells me that to become a historian, one needs to have a will and a desire, not a degree or a certificate. But sometimes you go unnoticed when you do not have a formal qualification. I am learning, and I feel better calling myself a student of Sikkim History'.

Being a Botany Honours graduate from Sikkim Government College at Tadong and being interested in the glorious past of Sikkim was something even my close one never expected from me but ….(what a big but ?) I believe destiny had another plan for me. I still say I am nothing; many people in our state are more qualified than me, and they should have done it. Whatever I write is information around us; we never give an ear to it, nor do we listen to it. Or it could be that people don't have time to care about history, which has always been tedious. I know that sometimes I might be wrong in my information, but I limit myself to make it happen to its lowest.

Sangharsh NGO from Rongli felicitated me a few weeks back along with other 9 personalities, including Prashant Tamang, Indian Idol 3, in a musical ceremony held at Rongli Bazaar. It was a pleasant memory to receive my first award for the small effort I had put into writing about the history of Sikkim, more precisely, the ancient Sikkim. I am thankful to the trio of Praveen Pradhan (President), Biren Gurung (General Secretary), Kushal Pradhan (Joint Secretary), and other members of the Sangharsh NGO for considering me for the honor. Sikkim Express gave me a much-needed platform that helped me spread my little knowledge about Sikkim to people around me.

I received calls from every corner of the state about people's reactions to my article. I am happy to hear most of my readers are students. I always believe this, i.e., the young generation needs to be taught about our glorious past. We call upon preserving and conserving our glorious past, yet we never think of the vast mass of students that need to be introduced to Sikkim History in their school syllabus in their early schooling. Through this medium, I request that the higher authority develop an introductory lesson on Sikkim history in government schools.

Today, I have my small yet intriguing identity, which was only possible with Sikkim Express and other newspaper mediums, including Now, Samay Dainik, and Voice of Sikkim, among others who have always supported me. I am thankful for all of them. Facebook, a social networking site, is the other medium that helped me introduce to my readers, and today, at the moment of this writing, I have over one thousand fans that follow my blog “Proud to be a Sikkimese."

The love and warm response I received from people across the globe show that people are still interested in learning about Sikkim, which is very encouraging for me. My blog, “Proud to be a Sikkimese,” has been viewed by 64848 people around the globe, with 100 subscribers directly subscribing to their email addresses.

This is just a small beginning, and I am sure the love and warmth I have received so far will be with me in the coming days, too.

Those early man tools found in Sikkim!

--> Display of Neolithic tools recovered from Sajyong, 2003 (Weekend Review) BY SHITAL PRADHAN Not only is the Himalayan land of Sikkim old but it is also considered ancient. The archeological findings of different Neolithic tools in this part of the Himalayas over the last three decades speak of its antiquity. It may be of little importance to many. However, findings of various Neolithic tools from the remote pockets in Sikkim over the past five decades have still collected vivid interest in people beyond this region. On three separate occasions, Neolithic tools had been dug out from Sikkim, and that unfolded the age of this Himalayan mountain land much against the period we were supposed to. “The term Neolithic Period, or New Stone Age, defines the second period, at the beginning of which ground and usually polished rock tools, notably axes, came into widespread use after the adoption of a new technique of stone working. The beginning of the Neolithic...

History on Easter Sunday and Padari Ganga Prasad Pradhan

By Seira Tamang As noted by various scholars, Hinduism, the Nepali language, the monarchy and a rastriya itihas (a chronicle of progress in which the dark era of Rana rule is contrasted with the enlightened, progressive and modern period of Panchayat rule) formed the core of the Panchayat regime’s national culture. The formation and consolidation of this national culture have required the expunging of uncomfortable facts and stories that might raise ambiguities and questions. While the selection of what and who is and is not acknowledged to exist (or at least exist in historically important ways) in official Nepali history is complex, social scientists have begun to provide more comprehensive historical accounts of the past through oral histories and re-readings of historical documents. Such accounts reveal how ordinary people lived in the past, and offer ways to think through how ‘history’ is crafted, shaped and managed in order to reflect ‘the reality’ best suited to the status quo, ...

Shapi of Sikkim: Our legacy -iii

A Sikkimese with a Shapi The two previous articles I wrote in my earlier edition on Shapi were wonderful to read for people around, and appreciation had been received from different corners of the state. I am thankful and find pleasure in people finding joy in my findings and research work. It was a bit surprising that very few had heard about Shapi, our rare legacy. Nevertheless, I am happy to be part of history for re-introducing Shapi to those sections of my readers who had never heard about this old and sacred mountain mammal, a native of Sikkim. I dedicate my writing on Shapi to Ongden Daju (RO), who has been very supportive of me ever since I first published its first part a few months back. It was he who wanted me to continue with the third part of Shapi since more findings were evolving after my two writings. I shall always remain grateful to JR Subba, Jt Director from the Forest Department, for providing me with a valuable census report of Shapi done by the Department...

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

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