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 consisted of a Buddhist khorlo prayer wheel with the gankyil as the central element. Until 1967, the previous flag showed a very complex design with a fanciful border and religious pictograms surrounding the khorlo. A more simple design was adopted in 1967 because of the difficulty in duplication of the complex flag. The border became solid red, the pictograms were removed and the wheel was redesigned."
Well, friends I wish you, people, to visit and see this flag that is ours and shall always remain ours!!
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