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

I have always loved old stuff and to be part of it is what I love the most. I have been to Baba Harbhajan Singh's mandir a little over a dozen kilometres from the famed Changu Lake a few times but each time I have tried to visit a cafe nearby before I enter the mandir.  Never take a sip of coffee at a height of 13,000 feet above sea level.   The Cafe 13,000 as its name are painted on its wall welcomes every visitor. Here in this cafeteria lies a piece of history. As far as I know, this is the only place where I have seen and touched the royal flag of independent Sikkim. Each touch has given me pride and a bond that belongs to me. Three flags are kept side by side, of the two an Indian tricolour is kept slightly a step taller than the other two, obviously, that always hurts me. On the right side is the flag of the army and to its left is the royal flag of the Namgyal Dynasty which ruled Sikkim for more than three centuries.  "The national flag of Sikkim cons...

  SINGTAM : Bindeshwari Prasad, a noted Nepali literary personality from Sikkim was felicitated by the Basibiyalo group in a daylong function conducted at the premises of East Point SSS, Singtam. The occasion marked the 29 th celebration of the popular monthly literary program. Popular personalities from different fields of activities were present on the occasion; those included Maha Kavi Chakrapani Bhattarai, Pradhuman Shrestha, Musician Deo Kumar Dumi, Singer Prakash Sundas, Ganesh Pradhan of Ram Gauri Sangralaya (Rhenock), Singtam Municipality Councilors Saran Pradhan, Bishnu Maya Sherpa and Anita Tamang, Panchayat President Lok Maya Silal (West Pandam), Praveen Pradhan, President SPARK and others. Recitation of poems along with cultural activates like singing and dancing are also presented on the occasion. Mohan Pradhan “Neeraj”, person behind the Basibiyalo meet on his speech said that the way in which Basibiyalo was started has enhanced a reputation and it has started pro...

Prakash Sundas performing at Singtam Basibiyalo Prakash Sundas awarded memento at Singtam Basibiyalo

  Additional information and pic: TOI Archery Association of India had never thought that the man they replaced him at the team event due to poor performance would provide India the first silver in the history of men's individual archery in Asian Games. Tarundeep Rai was replaced with his teammates Mangal Singh Champia for  the team event that went on to win the bronze medal in Guangzhou. Against the expectation Tarundeep Rai created history after he became the first Indian archer to win silver in the men's individual archery event. In a closely fought contest, the Indian archer lost to the world no. 1 Woojin Kim of South Korea 28-28, 27-28, 29-28, 27-28, 27-29.

My mother O! The moving air, O! The moving air, When you move around, did you hear of my mom? I feel, she is somewhere there beneath the blue sky, she hides. She is timid, she is shy, look for her, and you might get her. Do tell her, we miss her, Do tell her, we still believe her. Our world has not changed; our memory isn’t so bad, Unplugged we do live to her; do tell her, we love her. O! The moving air, Help me send my message, Help me on my words. Memory keeps on coming, Eye dries up every morning, But the moment is still alive, alive to my heart, alive to my breath. I keep on saying, there shall come a day, someday, We shall meet again, Where I shall again touch her, feel her. If you happen to meet my mom, Promise her to visit us, to the same place, To the same heart, where she left for forever. O! The moving air.

Frozen Water " Ice Cone" at Gnathang Frozen Water " Ice Cone" at Gnathang

pic: Deepen Pradhan

Today, Lingtam , a half-hour vehicle road from Rongli Bazaar , is a small, silent wayside village mostly forgotten by history. Today, it is remembered by the tourists for its small Lingtam Police Check Post , where the visitors and their vehicles need to submit their “ Permit Pass " to visit another side of the road to Changu . Towards the end of the 1880s, this place had continuous visitors in the army personnel related to  British Expedition Forces that marched towards Gnathang , the Sikkim-Tibet Border . The development of Sikkim had always evaded this small place for most of the decades. Despite the presence of exotic locales around this effortless landscape, one deserted house just along the way caught my fancied eye when I visited this place for the first time. Between modern days, concrete buildings lie small wooden houses that are empty from the inside with broken planks....

I first heard about Horst Geerken from a gentleman, Ulrich Bihlmayer, from Tuebingen, Germany, when I was researching my first article on HAM radio of Sikkim a couple of years back. I believe the story of Ham Radio is little heard in this part of our land. As far as my information on the Ham Radio users in Sikkim, there were only two foremost users. Before becoming a part of the mighty Indian Union, Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, the last King of Sikkim, used to have a Ham Radio license under a call sign AC3PT.  The call sign normally consists of five letters. Here in AC3PT, i.e. “AC3” stands for Sikkim and “PT” specifies the person; in this case, it was Palden Thondup. Chogyal’s Radio equipment was later on held by the Indian Representatives at Sikkim after the 1975 agitation. A few years later, after Sikkim became part of India, Rajesh Verma operated a Ham station from Gangtok under a call sign VU2RVM; interestingly, here, “VUR” denotes India. During my interactions w...

I found these things very fascinating out at Nepal, most of the trees that grow around roadside small mandirs have their roots covering the entire construction. The first look at the natural splendor gave me an image of the famed Angkor Wat. This was a wonderful find for me and I really enjoyed it. It is more than unexpected how mother nature plays with her creation. On most occasions, these trees are banyan or peepal and their long roots resemble more of a serpent hovering over its prey.

FIRST IN SIKKIM SERIES: 'Phynyx' - Junu Pundi Kunchund - Yangmu (Class XII) as lead vocalist, Sangay Doma Bhutia (Class XII) on guitar and vocals. Annies Pamo Lepcha (Class X) is on bass guitar and vocals. Rinzi Lhamu (Class XI) is on percussion and vocals, and Dechen Sherpa (Class IX) is on drums. These girls blew other Rock Bands out of the competition with their renditions of 'Pretty Women by Roy Orbison’.   pic: Sikkim Express

  Members of SPARK, a local NGO from Singtam bazaar, had a get-together on November 1 to celebrate the success of its member Prakash Sundas, who had won the singing competition at the recently concluded Namchi Mahotsav 2010, held on 28-30 October at Bhaichung Stadium, Namchi. It should be noted that Prakash Sundas is a lone participant of the Indian Idol 5 from Sikkim who went through Mumbai round this year. Prakash Sundas was welcomed by Praveen Pradhan, President of SPARK, at the SPARK Office. Speaking on the occasion Praveen Pradhan told that Prakash Sundas’s triumph should not be considered a small achievement, a winner is always a winner whether the competition is held at smaller or in larger scale. As a part of our five-month-old NGO, it is a great day for us, added Praveen Pradhan.  More than a dozen members of SPARK NGO had gathered at its office, including members of Basibiyalo Organization headed by Mohan Pradhan and TB Pradhan.  Both...