I had never thought that someday, my passion for understanding Sikkim would have followers and well-wishers across the globe. Today, I have friends who appreciate my small effort and thank me for helping them bring closure to a land called Sikkim, and it's a pleasure to hear such words. Just before writing this article, I received an email from Volker from France wondering about my fascination with bringing out things about Sikkim that no one had ever thought about.
I was looking for information with him regarding a person named Robert Godet. He was a Frenchman, writer, photographer, adventure lover, and family friend to the Royal family of Sikkim. In the 1950s, he made several flights to Sikkim in his small two-seater airplane, probably making him the first to fly across the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim.
Several anecdotes and information about Sikkim have been less known to our people or might be forgotten over time. My passion lies in collecting that precious information and putting it in my blog, Proud to be a Sikkimese: http://sikhim.blogspot.com/. When people go through my blog, I am sure they will find many articles and rare old photographs of Sikkim that may amaze them.
I once sent a request to a website administrator in the United States to review my blog, and this is what she (Kim) wrote about my blog. “…….One, often forgotten, the advantage of blogging is that one gets to see some exotic places which we never knew even existed. Sikkim is one such place in India. It’s the place that inspires, Shital Pradhan, to write his blog and he writes on average more than one post a day. Now that’s what is called truly inspirational.
I just googled "Sikkim" and the images which showed up really made me sit up in awe. No wonder it is the state that receives a high percentage of tourists visiting India. And this blog is Encyclopedia (or Wikipedia) of Sikkim, a perfect blog on one's homeland, a place which we all love, but often forget to give its due.” I am thankful for her encouraging words and I am sure this will give me a boost and an honour that I am on my way to creating the Encyclopedia of Sikkim.
Coming to my blog, Proud to be a Sikkimese, these days, I am working on a few exciting topics that I am sure will make an exciting read when they are completed. Just to give a hint…. has anyone heard about HSI Sikkim, which ran from Bombay to the UK in 1918?
Hospital Ship Sikkim was used to assess the soldiers injured during the First World War. HIS Sikkim was the world's first River Hospital Ship. How about a horse named Sikkim that still holds a record in the US Derby that she won in the 60s? Interestingly, the popularity of the Horse made it appear in an advertisement for Vim-Con horse vitamins. There are many such stories on the fold; each gives me the pleasure of going deeper to understand them.
Proud to be Sikkimese, we underwent many short expeditions trying to find interesting and fascinating information about Sikkim. We found a tree with a girth of 52 feet, met a man who had seen a Yeti, and visited different historic places, like a 200-year-old house that should have found its name in Sikkim Heritage.
For the last four years, Proud to be a Sikkimese has been part of me, and my passion for Sikkim has given me an identity as a writer and a story hunter. Above all, I am happy people find inspiration in me when I go through my passion for Sikkim. But I am happy to remain a student of Sikkim and unravel its past.
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