Dentam Dasai 2012

Rongli Dasai 2012

Sikkim’s Sangey Udenla at Doordarshan Television Serial “Ek Tha Rusty”

21-year-old Sangey Udenla from Gangtok has been selected for the Doordarshan Primetime Television Serial “Ek Tha Rusty” based on Ruskin Bond's famous author. Shooting for the serial will take place at Mussoorie, Dehradun. 

She is one of the findings of Sikkim Model Hunt 2012. She is a final year student of Political Science (Hons) at Daulatram College, New Delhi.

Sikkim Postal History: Those early years-iv

  [It has been a wonderful response from different places in the state, including Darjeeling District, regarding my findings on the Postal History of Sikkim. I am happy that my readers found information that they have heard less. Continuing the previous article, I share the Postal System of the British Expedition of 1888, which played an important role in turning Sikkim into what it is today.]

Geoffrey Flack, in “Sikkim Field Force 1888-89; Precursor to the Younghusband Expedition,” published in Postal Himal (No.78, 2^nd Quarter 1994) writes ……. on March 20^th 1888, Brigadier General T Graham was sent with a force of 2000 men to retake the lands of Sikkim that were invaded by the Tibetans. The Tibetans offered little resistance, crossed the Jalepla, and attacked Gnatong; the British men forced the Tibetans to drive them to the frontiers.

Brigadier General T Graham requested the extension of the telegraph line towards the Tibetan side of Jalepla, which was later sanctioned, allowing Arthur Edmund Sandbach to enter the land of Sikkim. Sandbach was a Royal Engineer to the Bengal Sappers and Miners. The arrival of Sandbach to Sikkim played an important role in the early development of Sikkim's postal systems. It was due to his letters sent from the frontiers of Sikkim and Tibet during his 11 months staying with the British Field Force that a new addition to the long-forgotten postal history of Sikkim.

Sandbach and his unit arrived in Sikkim and immediately made it to the Tibet frontier, camping at a place called “Byutan,” an unknown place name until now, east of the Jalepla frontier near the Bhutan border on November 9th, 1888. Sandbach and his unit stayed in Tibet for three weeks before returning to Gnatong on December 3rd, 1888. Along with the telegraphs, EXPERIMENTAL P.O. C-7 of the British Forces was also with Sandbach’s unit in Tibet.

EXPERIMENTAL P.O. C-7 was established at Gnatong, and it might have traveled with Sandbach’s unit to the Tibetan frontier, which cannot be denied. The website Invaluable.com states the description of an auctioned Post Card as “1889 (3 Dec.) 1/4a. brown stationery card from Private John Sullivan of the Connaught Rangers at Sikkim to Bombay, canceled with a good strike of the "experimental po/c-7" c.d.s. and with Market Bombay arrival c.d.s. alongside the contents requesting the addressee to send a catalogue to the writer at Sikkim, which is most unusual. The card had a couple of small faults, though it was a rare item of mail from this obscure military operation.”

Sandbach’s correspondence provides a great deal of information about the postal history of the Sikkim Field Force. Other remarkable cancellations received from Sandbach's correspondence used inside Sikkim are the ‘EXPERIMENTAL P.O C-3’ and ‘EXPERIMENTAL P.O C-22’.

‘EXPERIMENTAL P.O C-3’ is the rarest of the cancellations of the Sikkim Field Force of 1888-89. Only 3 covers had been found dated October 3^rd and 5^th, 1888, used most probably at Rangpo, where Sandbach had stayed on his visit. Ten covers from ‘EXPERIMENTAL P.O C-22’ had been found canceled at Rhenock Ridge. The covers were used between December 16^th, 1888, to late May 1889.

Sikkim Postal History: Those early years - iii

For the stamp-sized state of Sikkim, November 6, 2006, held a moment of glory and recognition in the world philately. In a group of five lakes from different parts of India, Indian Postage featured a postal stamp on Changu Lake. This Changu Lake stamp with an Rs. 5 denomination can be found among the five Himalayan Lakes of India, including Roop Kund, Sela, Tsomo Riri, and Chandra Tal. Bharati Mirchandani designed the stamp and First Day Cover, and Alka Sharma designed the cancellation. 

The stamp is printed by India Security Press in Nasik using photogravure. It was the first time in the history of Indian postage stamps that a theme from Sikkim was introduced on an Indian postage stamp. For the last few years, efforts have been made to feature individual themes from Sikkim. Along these lines, various tourist destinations, including Rumtek Monastery, Changu (Tsangu) Lake, Guru Dongmor Lake, Nathula Pass, and the cultural diversity of Sikkim, were discussed, but it was the more popular Changu (Tsangu) Lake that made history. Changu Lake has, without a doubt, been a major tourist attraction over the years. Its incomparable scenic beauty reflects the charisma of the small state of Sikkim.

Sikkim has been fighting for its presence on Indian postal stamps for over thirty years since the state joined the Indian Union. Apart from four Mt. Kanchenjunga stamps on three separate occasions (1955, 1978, and 1988), Red Panda (1955), Blood Pheasant (1963), Flora and Fauna of North East India (2006), a single illustration of Yumthang Valley in the 1982 Himalayan Flowers First Day Cover, and a handful of Sikkim Special Covers, it was a long wait for Sikkim Philately to rejoice.

Despite the fact that Sikkim first made its presence felt in the world of philately way back in 1935. This was. This was when a unique postal experiment was conducted by a man named Stephen Hector Smith in this small Himalayan kingdom. The postal experiment became popular with the name "Sikkim Rocketmail Experiment" in 1935.

Although few people know or remember it, Sikkim was home to a unique experiment in mail delivery. In fact, Sikkim was one of the very few nations in the world during the reign of Chogyal, Sikkim's king, to accomplish this ambitious achievement. Among the items sent from the rockets to the confined destinations were parcels, letters, and other items. Rocket mail was being sent across the rivers.

In fact, there are many covers that were successfully delivered that actually have the signature of the late Sir Tashi Namgyal, the Chogyal. In the book “From the diary of Stephen Smith” written by Stephen Smith relating to rocket mail experiments, it has been mentioned that the Sikkim experiment was the most successful among all the pioneering efforts in rocket mail worldwide. The five places where the experiments were conducted were Gangtok, Sarumsa, Ray, Singtam, and Rangpo.

Stephen Hector Smith, an Indian rocket mail pioneer, chose Sikkim for his experiment due to its geographical features and mountains. Sikkim is also the first country in the world to successfully dispatch a parcel containing small quantities of useful articles, such as medicine, tobacco, tea, sugar, etc., by means of a rocket. Those who helped the Sikkim Rocket experiment succeed included Chogyal Tashi Namgyal, CE Dudley, the General Secretary to the Chogyal, Tashi Dadul Densapa, the Private Secretary, Rai Sahib Faqir Chand Jali, the state engineer, and F Williamson, the British Political Officer.

There cannot be a note on the history of philately in Sikkim without mentioning the Sikkim Revenue Stamps that have been used since 1917. The oldest known cancellation on a Sikkim Revenue Stamp dates from October 8, 1928, when it was sent from Mangan B.O. to Gangtok. The central design of the stamp depicts the southeast face of Siniolchu, north of Gangtok. The photograph was taken by Hoffmann for the illustration of Claude White’s book, “Sikkim and Bhutan."

Chogyal and Gyalmo visiting KC Pradhan at Yale University (1966)

This photograph from 1966 shows the then Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal and Gyalmo Hope Cooke visiting KC Pradhan, who was then studying Masters in Forestry at Yale University (USA).

Pic: Ebay

Bee Fest 2012: Something to learn from

October 5th, Day 1: Even a 5.30 am drive from Dalapchand was not enough for us (the Bee Fest Team from Dalapchand SS) to reach the venue at TNA, Gangtok, on time for the opening ceremony of the Bee Fest 2012. It was already 10 am when we reached there. There was excitement and anxiety mixed in the looks of our small group. I told my students we were doing our best and we would all enjoy the moment of being part of the of-its-kind Bee Fest 2012, an inter-school scholastic competition to be held in our state of Sikkim.

Sushil Rai, a 13-year-old from class viii from Dalapchand SS, the same student who had been featured in my earlier article on Bee Fest, was the youngest in our group. He was one of the two students from our school participating in Bee Innovate. People looking at him wondered anxiously whether or not he was the same person whose photograph had been featured in a Bee Fest article at Sikkim Express. The shy-looking Sushil never understood his popularity.

When we reached the TNA school grounds, the students from over 150 schools lined up in four groups according to their participating events. The view my eye was watching felt me no less than an aura of watching the line-up for the Olympic Games. It was simply awesome!! I could see many of my Sikkim Express friends moving around, making me feel happy and at home. I have been associated with Sikkim Express since 2008; to me, it’s like my family. After NK Pradhan, HRDD Minister, officially announced the opening of the Bee Fest 2012, the four teams led by their flag bearers left for their respective event room.

With preliminary rounds going on, I enthusiastically crossed my fingers, waiting for some good news about my students' performance. The only thing I could do at that moment was move around different innovative models from different corners of the state. Some of them were very interesting, and a few were out of context in my small head. I was surprised whether that was really a student’s concept or worked on by their teacher. 

Few of them had innovative thoughts about small things yet something different. I would surely like to mention a few of the schools' work I enjoyed. East Point SS was the best, with a crazy-looking, innovative idea of TE-JAC. The bottle-boat on plastic bottles from Duga SS was interesting. Similarly, Solar House from Bahai SS, the low-cost refrigerator, bio-gas electricity from Dikling SS, and others should be applauded for their effort in doing something different.

Among the crowds at the wonderful model exhibition were these two boys from our school, Sushil Rai and Purna Kumar Rai, with their small oven-like model. They were probably the youngest in the exhibition, one from class vii and the other from class viii. They had made a theoretical presentation of a Non-Biodegradable Electricity Generator Oven with a multi-purpose function.

By the evening, there was mixed news for our school. We had participated in the four events, and the Turn Bee team and the Bee Innovate team qualified for the next day.

October 6th, Day 2: Prabha Sharma and Apeksha Chettri, the Turn Bee team from our school, were selected in the Top 50 from the 350-odd participants in the Turn Bee competition. But at the end of the day, there was no lady luck for them; they failed to make it through to the Top 8 finalists.  

There was a varied response about the Bee Fest on the second day. Most of them appreciated the concept behind the organization of such an event, while few were not satisfied with the way of organization. Nevertheless, from my side, there is an applauding gesture towards the team of Sikkim Express and 24 Hours Inspired for at least making it possible to assemble the schools of Sikkim from different corners of the state under one roof. 

Although Bee Fest 2012 may not be the grandest event, without a doubt, it succeeded in celebrating the winners of the talent at the rural practice. To organize an event that had over 150 schools and more than 1200 students is not a matter a joke; it is an acclaim, a pat on the shoulders of those behind the scene that dreamt for the students of our Sikkim.

As the day wound up, news of happiness arrived: Our young school team for Bee Innovate was among the Top 12. The moment was something even I had lost hope for. It was a moment I wish to remember for a long time: my school team was in the Top 12 from the odd 150-plus schools.

October 7th, Day 3: The finals of the Bee Fest competition started with the unhappy news that APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, would not arrive at the function. It was a major blow for the students and teachers who had hoped to catch a glimpse of the great leader and hear him. But Bhaichung Bhutia, our football legend, surprised everyone by entering the TNA auditorium.   

The final result of the four competitions was very different than I had expected. I had earlier talked with Deewakar Basnet, Chief Learning Officer from 24 Hours Inspired, and I still remember my words. I had said that whatever the participants' performance was, the ultimate winners of the competition would be the students from the urban areas, and most preferably, it would be the students from the Gangtok surroundings. The lists of winners included Rumtek SS, Namchi SS, Central Pandam SS and PNG SSS at Quiz Bee, Turn Bee, Buzz Bee and Bee, respectively. The ultimate King and Queen Bee Crown went to Central Pandam SS and TNA.

Our school failed to get the first two spots at the Bee Innovate, but I am happy and satisfied that my two young students were able to break their barriers and make their presence in the big event. When I write these lines, I wish to share a small incident in which I was having a call from Purna Kumar Rai’s father, knowing when his son would return home as the work at home had been messed up due to his absence. His poor father did not understand that his talented son was selected among the Top 12 schools from the 150 schools at the finals of the Bee Innovate. (himalayanreview@gmail.com)

Bee Fest 2012 in photos - v

Bee Fest 2012 in photos - iv