Discover Sikkim through my blog, active since 2007. Explore its history, culture, sports, and nature with articles, old videos, photos, and the latest news. Join me in celebrating Sikkim’s unique beauty on the oldest blog about this wonderful place!
LO Edwards (circled) in group photographs of Wynberg-Allen School Staff
The two articles I wrote about the reunion of Wynberg-Allen School members, Mussoorie When the Alwynian Met after 41 years in Sikkim - I and its second part, When the Alwynian Met after 41 years in Sikkim - ii hold special to me. The article was itself a historical moment of an account of the reunion of old school teachers meeting up with their old students at Gangtok in late November. My Dhaba, Ghanashyam Pradhan at Parakha, contacted Shanker Menon, his old friend in Oman, through my blog, and I am happy I was the medium between them.
This time around, my Dhaba contacted Mr LO Edwards, his old Headmaster at Wynberg-Allen School, and is very pleased to share the letter sent by his old Headmaster through this blog. He wishes that if any of his old friends come across this article, they can contact him.
Tashiding, in West Sikkim, was one place I did want to visit for the last few years but it never happened until last month and I am in high spirits I finally did it. Regarded as the holiest of monasteries in Sikkim, the Tashiding Monastery over the centuries does hold strong its own legends and folks. The first look I had of the faintly seen yellow roof of the monastery on top of a hill from the opposite roadway gave me a pleasant feel that was beyond my expectations. The Monastery is built on top of a hill between the Rangit and Ratong rivers.
I am told of a legend that Guru Padmashambhava had shot an arrow to select his place of meditation and that place is the present site of the Tashiding Monastery. It is even said the rock is still found at Tashiding Monastery premises where the great Guru had meditated.
One of the reasons I wanted to visit this place was to see the stupa of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, regarded as the most outstanding Tibetan master of the last century. I tried my best but I failed to recognize it among the many chorten lying out there. It was only later I was informed that the golden-coloured chorten was the one I was looking at. The other important holy chorten Tashiding is very famous is “Thong-wa rang toa”. It is believed that the “funeral granules of the mythical Buddha” are preserved inside it.
Build in 1716 according to “The Gazetteer of Sikhim” Tashiding Monastery was the fifth monastery to be built in Sikkim after, Sanga Cholling, Dubdi, Pemayangste and Gangtok is sacred and is regarded as the centre of Sikkim state that is surrounded by four holy caves. The meaning of the name “Tashiding” is ‘devoted central glory’. I first heard about this famed monastery during my days at Weekend Review Newspaper some 7-8 years back when one of my colleagues had visited the place to cover the “Bhumchu” event. Bhumchu festival is a rare event in which a blessed vase that holds water in it predicts the future of Sikkim for the year. Sounds incredible and I am sure someday I shall witness this “rare event” too. The event held every year draws large followers.
Nagadak Sempa Chempo, one of the three men behind the coronation of the first Sikkim Chogyal at Yoksum in the 17th century built a small Lhakhang at this place. The main monastery was later built by Pedi Wangmo during the reign of Chakdor Namgyal, the third Chogyal of Sikkim Kingdom and it is said some of the relics built then still exist inside the present monastery.
Singtam, May 28: It was a golden day for the East Point SSS at Golitar, Singtam where one of its students Navin Kumar Trivedi scored a “perfect 10” in this year CBSE 10th examination results. Navin Kumar Trivedi hailing from Singtam bazaar had scored the highest Grade Point i.e. “10” along with “A1” Grade in each of the five subjects he had undergone. His subjects include English, Hindi, Mathematics, Science and Social Science. According to the newly introduced grading system “Grade Point 10” is given to the students who scores between 91 marks to 100 marks. Ten students from EPSSS had scored first division while the school pass percentage is 90 % with no failed students. Speaking to this reporter Navin Trivedi told that he is very happy about his performances. He said he had not done any extra labour on his study; he had work hard as any other fellow students had done. He wants to build up his career in medical, he told.
Along with Navin Kumar Trivedi other three students Shubham Prasad, Arindram Mishra and Ashish Kumar Singh went on to achieve Grade 9.6, Grade 9.4 and Grade 9.2 respectively. Five students went on to score Grade 10 in mathematics, those included Navin Kumar Trivedi, Shubham Prasad, Arindram Mishra, Ashish Kumar Singh and Deobratp Ishwar. Shubham Prasad, Arindram Mishra and Ashish Kumar Singh also went on to score Grade Point 10 in three individual subjects respectively.
Speaking on the occasion ND Mishra, Mathematics teacher of the East Point SSS added it was a great occasion for the school management and we are really proud of the students. These students had really worked hard and it was their efforts that has been paid, said Mishra. He informed the news was celebrated by using fire crackers in school premises. Sunita Subba, Principal said the credit of the good performances of the students was not possible without the hard works of the teachers, students and their family members.
Dhan Kumar Subba, Chairman of EPSSS told that the coming Monday, a holiday had been officially announced after the success of the CBSE class x results. It was for the first time in the history of the school since its establishment in 1986 an official school holiday had been observed. Subba further said we are happy to say that five students from EPSSS had been selected from the NERIST Entrance Examination.
Navin Kumar Trivedi (left) and Subham Prasad (right)
It should be noted that in one of the popular daily newspaper from Gangtok had named the examination performance of EPSSS for class xii as ‘poor’ along with other schools across the state. Dhan Kumar Subba stated that the performances of the school were not a detailed account. The newspaper failed to mention that EPSSS runs only a Science Streams and the pass percentage of the school was more than 50 % that was shown less in the printed matter. The newspaper also had failed to mention that there were seven students that went on to score first division in the examination with Diwakar Gurung scoring the highest 79.8 percentage. Divakar Gurung went on to score 91 marks in Chemistry, 86 marks in Maths and 85 marks in Physics. EPSSS management is disappointed that we could had bettered our performances but in no sense it can be termed as poor, he added.
Mr Sudash Dhakal, PGT, Geography at Mangan senior secondary school has been awarded with a PhD degree by the University of Pune. Dr Dhakal joined the school last year in the month of June after submitting his PhD thesis. He probably is the first student from Sikkim to complete PhD in Physical Geography.
Shared by Ram Kumar Shrestha
Global Coordinator
Kapilvastu Day Movement Global Committee
As part of the World Peace Movement, Nepalese people living in different parts of the world last year decided to commemorate Lumbini and Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, by observing Kapilvastu Day as a global holiday in order to spread the Buddha’s peace and nonviolence messages all over the world. The Buddha is revered as a Messenger of Peace. He is also known as the Light of Asia who is actually the Light of the world as his message of peace and nonviolence has become more relevant as the world is facing the problems of violence today. The world today has become more violent than ever before. Therefore, we have decided to spread the messages of the Buddha all over the world by observing Kapilvastu Day every year.
Originally, on December 1, 1896, Dr Anton Führer, a German archaeologist, had discovered the Buddha’s birthplace when he found the Asoka Pillar at Lumbini. Even though this site was first discovered by Khadga Shamsher Rana before Führer had reached the site but Führer is credited for this discovery as he brought it into light and made it known to the international community.
The Asoka Pillar is the most important evidence that Buddha was born in Lumbini. Therefore, it was decided to observe December 1 as Kapilavastu Day. The historic Kapilavastu, located close to Lumbini, is considered to be another holy pilgrimage for the Buddhists since it was the place where the Buddha grew up and which he later renounced seeking to understand the cause of human sufferings. The result of years of excavations and researches by numerous national and international teams has been that Tilaurakot is the historic Kapilvastu which UNESCO should certify as anotherWorld Heritage, next to Lumbini.
After celebrating the Kapilvastu Day as the Global Day for the first time in history on December 1, 2009, we discussed on how to keep the program going ahead. Hence a 19 member committee (which will be of 21- member in the future) has been formed as the Kapilvastu Day Movement Global Committee under Ram Kumar Shrestha’s leadership. The committee is constituted as follows:
Ram Kumar Shrestha Global Coordinator, UK
Abi Sharma Coordinator, Canada
Baburaja Maharjan Coordinator, Newzealand
Bhanu Poudyal Special Coordinator, Canada
Binay Shah Coordinator, Hongkong
Chandra Rai Coordinator, Canada
Dr. Hari Kumar Shrestha Coordinator, Taiban
Hari Nepali Coordinator, Qatar
Laxman Devkota Coordinator, Portugal
Laxman Puri Coordinator, Nepal
Mrs Laxmi Simkhada Coordinator, USA
Om Gurung Coordinator, Japan
Raj Shrestha Coordinator, Nepal
Ramhari Shrestha Coordinator, UK
Santosh Neupane Coordinator, Belgium
Miss Sanu Ghimire Coordinator, Australia
Shailesh Shrestha Coordinator, USA
Shambhu Kattel Coordinator, USA
Sujan Neupane Coordinator, Australia
To make the movement more effective and to simplify the decision making process of the committee a nine member secretariat has been formed and the secretariat members shall be the regional coordinators of corresponding regions as follows:
Baburaja Maharjan (Australia, Newzealand and surrounding countries),
Hari Nepal (Middle East),
Binay Shah and Om Gurung (Japan, Hongkong, China and surrounding countries),
Shailesh Shrestha (USA and South America),
Chandra Rai (Canada)
Santosh Neupane (Europe).
Raj Shrestha (SAARC)
The Global Coordinator shall be the Chief in the secretariat which shall be located in London.
Bhanu Poudyal shall be designated as the Special Coordinator, to inform those who are misinformed particularly on Lumbini, and the birth place of the Buddha.
To smoothly spread the Movement’s Peace Mission at national and International levels a seven member Advisory Board shall be formed with the following members:
a) Mr. Agni Frank Eickermann (writer, Founder of Spiritual Teachers Training, Alpha Chi Consultants, and "Path into Light", Speaker: Spirituality, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Feng Shui, Management solutions, Golden Age, USA),
b) Dr. Arzu Rana-Deuba (CA member and MP),
c) HE Deepak Khadaka (Consulate General, NSW, Australia),
d) Ms Domo Geshe Rinpoche (Spiritual Director, White Conch Dharma Center, USA),
e) Dr. Kavitaram Shrestha (writer and founder of Aswikrit Movement),
f) Mr. Rajendra Shrestha (former minister), and
g) HE Dr. Rishi Adhikari (Nepali Ambassador to Malaysia)
The Movement expects coordination and cooperation in attaining its objectives from Nepal government, intellectuals, journalists and all peace movement committed institutions from different part of the world and committed to give its hands to all peace loving institutions.
World renowned Buddhist teacher and author of the spiritual classic ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’
Teachings in Sikkim
Thursday May 20, 2010, 4:30 pm at Chintan Bhawan
Open to all
The Heart Essence of the Buddha’s Wisdom and its
Practical Application for transforming our Daily Lives
SOGYAL RINPOCHE BIOGRAPHY
Born in Kham in Eastern Tibet, Sogyal Rinpoche was recognized as the reincarnation of Lerab Lingpa Terton Sogyal, a teacher to the thirteenth Dalai Lama, by the great Dorje Chang Jamyang Khyentse Lodro, one of the most outstanding spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. Jamyang Khyentse supervised Rinpoche’s training and raised him like his own son.
Rinpoche continued to study with many masters, of all schools, especially Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche and Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He served as a translator and aide to Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche for many years and then began teaching under his guidance.
Rinpoche is also the author of the highly acclaimed and ground breaking book ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’. Over two million copies of this spiritual classic have been printed in 30 languages and 56 countries. In the East, ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’ has been received with tremendous impact and enthusiasm by English speakers in the Himalayan regions, such as Bhutan, as well as in Taiwan and mainland China.
In addition, Rinpoche is the founder and spiritual director of Rigpa, an international network of 130 Buddhist centres and groups in 41 countries around the world. He has been teaching for over 30 years and continues to travel widely in Europe, America, Australia and Asia, addressing thousands of people on his retreats and teaching tours.
don't know about being allowed but is still prevalent in rural parts of Sikkim if im not mistaken.
Monalisa Chhetri
Is it in India? I don't thnk so!! But have seen many cases where kids of about 14 yrs of age got married nd nobody did anythng bout it.
And @Angela:I have seen it happen in nd around Gangtok which, I don't think,at all comes under the "so-called" rural area!
Rikden Tshering Bhutia
fuck no..... thr shd be tough law against it... rigorous fine or imprisonment...
Angela Bhutia
ook well id never heard of such cases in around gangtok so..
so weird though... thanks for the info btw~~
Dechen Dolkar
Dun thnk itz prevlnt in sikkim,,,hv nva hrd uf sch a thng in rural areaz as wel, te ppl r vry awre tt chld mariage iz a punisble crime, mreovr te parntz dun wna push tr chldrn esp galz into ds atrociti lokin 4m te health perspctive..
Shirshak Karki
i dn think so.......................
this system is usually not seen in our state......
may be there was...previously but now ..............no...no... i dn think so
Proud to be a Sikkimese
i am working in a village called Burung that is 6 km from Singtam, in the past 5 years i have seen atleast seven cases where the children below 15 got married and believe me most of them was a marriage ceremony attended by people around.
Angela Bhutia
omg... so It still does exist!
Bharat Basistha
NOPE...........
Rikden Tshering Bhutia
report these cases to the authorities n those involved in that inhuman n unnatural act...
Sanjyog Rai
such cases happens in sikkim.....not bcoz parents force them........but they do it by themselves......falling in love so early....n...eloping...
Dechen Dolkar
Ttz reali sad.. T c chldrn gtn married iz te wrst scenario,, te parntz n te ppl mst realse tt ty r sntchnin awy tr chldhood.. 7 sch cases in sikkim iz vry shckin.. Awrenes mst b sprd amg sch ppl,,t save te innocnt kids fm bein jeopardzd..
Dechen Dolkar
Ttz reali sad.. T c chldrn gtn married iz te wrst scenario,, te parntz n te ppl mst realse tt ty r sntchnin awy tr chldhood.. 7 sch cases in sikkim iz vry shckin.. Awrenes mst b sprd amg sch ppl,,t save te innocnt kids fm bein jeopardzd..
Angela Bhutia
well you can't really blame the parents... can you
they've actually gone through the same thing and being illiterate at the same time, they aren't left with many options than to carry on the legacy and to get their kids married off at an early age....
what we can do.... is spread this around and TALK to those deprived families and most importantly emphasize the importance of a widespread necessary basic education to every individual be it a boy or a girl!!!
Dechen Paden Nadhingpa
CHILD MARRIAGE: stl bein prevalent sure brings chills down my spine. We as individuals hv been so engrosd in our own world of money, fast cars, materialistic luxury tht we fail to luk around n help a young girl smile. Wht have we got to loose othr thn spare a few minutes into givin in saving a childs life. Sikkim hs so far been untouchd wit child ... See Moremarriage or mandatory polygamy s per my knowldge bt if these acts r stl throwin lite, we shd help them stop. Snatchin a child's innocence is a crime, sm hv ardy been punishd othrs stl waitin in sm corner wit brilliant eyes, fr an atrocity to be beningned on them. SAVE* HELP.
Proud to be a Sikkimese
the large scale of drop out of schools results in early marriage.....in relevant in most of the rural cases i believe.
pЯatz-Яawr DisoЯderly
noooooo....it sud nat b allowed....i hope its nat allowed...
Chetan Sharma
the level of awareness is being taken into consideration...hav heard advertisements aired on radio...a good start i believe coz it does emphasize on the negative aspects of early marriage...especially for the girl chlid!
Bhaila Jigs Bhutia
Child marraige is restraint by law act 1929. But still numerous cases of child marriage are reported every year the fact of this mis-happenings taking place is simple reason of illiteracy , Dowry Policy , Poverty and many more some reasons unknown, Female child is often described as a burden mainly due to dowry policy and is often ignored to ... See Moreproper education , and most often female child to fall on the above category are victims of child marriage. In-order to eradicate Child marriage completely (it is tough but not impossible) first basic problems leading to child marriage must be eradicated for instance like Illiteracy (esp amongst female child) , Poverty , Dowry Policy and many more but the most important reason behind all is Corruption. Corruption and Poverty go hand in hand Poverty exist because Corruption does so and strongly. Not only Poverty but also illiteracy , Dowry etc etc. are also caused by corruption to a large extend.
Bishal Khambu Rai
Dont know its allowed or not.. but I feel that it should not be allowed..not only in Sikkim but throughout the world.
An owl visited me this early morning at around 2.30 am. The little bird did scared me off. It entered my room from the open window. After half an hour it went off.
Meiyang Chang plays a role of a guy from Sikkim called Zing in the latest film Badmaash Company.
About his character in the movie in movies.rediff.com:
" His father was in the Indian Army, and through a posting of his, Zing comes to Mumbai. Like most north-eastern guys who stay in Mumbai for a long time, Zing also faces an identity crisis. People think he is from Nepal, Japan or from some other country. And his friends make fun of him. He is unperturbed and is very close to his friends and can do anything for them."
Miss Puja Sharma of Rangpo Secondary School bagged the Tilottamma Jury Special and the Statesman Photogenic Face Awards 2010. The competition organized by Uttar Annanda Bazar Patrika and The Statesman at Uttar Banga Marwari Bhawan at Siliguri was participated by 12 participants of North Bengal and Sikkim. Siliguri Deputy Mayor Mr. Nantu Paul was the chief guest of the program.
The daughter of Mr. CP Sharma and Mrs. Januka Pradhan, Puja Sharma was the youngest participant in the competition. A special program was organized at school to welcome her. Miss Tripii Diyali, from Namchi, has announced the 2nd runners up of the competition.
Voice of Sikkim sms news channel have in its news sms alert this evening has voiced against the proposed transfer of Karnataka High Court's controversial Chief Justice P D Dinakaran to Sikkim. Despite protest from Sikkim the Supreme Court still decides to shift Justice Dinakaran to Sikkim HC. Voiceofsikkim sms channel has decided to black out unless Supreme Court rejects Dinakaran's transfer to Sikkim.
VOICE OF SIKKIM SMS
"NO UPDATE OF NEWS ON VOICEOFSIKKIM UNLESS SUPREME COURT REJECTS DINAKARAN'S TRANSFER TO SIKKIM!
BLACK OUT!"
from wikipedia:
P. D. Dinakaran
Paul Daniel Dinakaran Premkumar (born May 9, 1950) is the Chief Justice of the High Court of the Indian state of Karnataka. He has been in the news recently for his alleged misdemeanors.
On August 28, 2009, the Supreme Court of India announced that Dinakaran would be elevated to a Supreme Court Judge, but this was halted due to allegations of corruption and surrounding controversy. Dinakaran subsequently refused to go on leave when asked by Chief Justice of IndiaK.G. Balakrishnan and will now be transferred to the Sikkim High Court.
Controversies
In September 2009, allegations were made against Dinakaran by several members of the Bar Council of India including Former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani stating that he had huge assets and land acquisitions in his Hometown Arakkonam more than what was fixed by the Tamil Nadu Land reforms. The lawyers requested Chief Justice of India Union Law Minister not to appoint Dinakaran as Supreme Court Judge and initiate an enquiry process regarding the allegation. The members wrote a letter to PresidentPratibha Patil, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and Union Law Minister to intervene in this matter.
Justice Dinakaran has not been performing any judicial functions since December 2009 when the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha admitted a motion seeking his removal on charges of corruption and abuse of his judicial office. The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan has decided to replace Justice Dinakaran with Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice J.S. Khehar, and recommended transfer of Dinakaran to the Sikkim High Court. The Sikkim Bar Association opposes the transfer of Dinakaran to the Sikkim High Court and has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the proposal, which requires approval from Indian President Pratibha Patil.
I have never seen a long roll of clouds over the sky, for me this rare occurrence witnessed at Daramdin, West Sikkim this morning was something that fascinated me the most.
so weird though... thanks for the info btw~~
this system is usually not seen in our state......
may be there was...previously but now ..............no...no... i dn think so
they've actually gone through the same thing and being illiterate at the same time, they aren't left with many options than to carry on the legacy and to get their kids married off at an early age....
what we can do.... is spread this around and TALK to those deprived families and most importantly emphasize the importance of a widespread necessary basic education to every individual be it a boy or a girl!!!