{I started writing columns in newspapers with an article on my grandfather some twelve years back, and today, when I flip over the pages of bygone days, I do see his intuition upon me in things that other people care little about. This article is my tribute to my grandfather for what I am today!!]
The rain failed to mar the funeral procession of my grandfather at Rongli, his birthplace.
Thirteen days passed by, and in the last two weeks, it is clear weather that has helped his relatives and well-wishers to give their last visit to offer prayers at his residence. I do notice a silence and emptiness around my grandfather's residence. Despite the moving crowds, his absence is felt. His commanding voice and the way he wanted his family members to unite on every occasion echo in my small mind.
Siba Narayan Pradhan, more popular as Sibay Gurubau, was a couple of months short of his ninety birthday when he passed away, and he was the oldest person in Rongli. He is a former school headmaster, a silk route trader, an official at GREF, and a passionate photographer who had his photography business a few years back. I have heard about his hunting tales, and on occasion, he even accompanied the convoy of the Prince of Sikkim when he used to visit the Rongli forest for hunting.
I had listened to his anecdotes on numerous occasions, and each narrative account was more of a building-up sequence of the old days of this region. He, despite the ninth decade of his life wanting to live further, wasn't in a hurry to leave this land. It was his ill health that outshined his willingness to be among us.
Siba Narayan Pradhan did his early schooling at Middle English School, Rongli, where he later on became the Headmaster or the Head Sir as it was known then. It was during his term as Head Sir that the Political Officer of Sikkim had visited the school. My grandfather proudly used to say the Political officer had presented Rs. 10 to him for his work towards the school.
My grandfather had said his monthly salary as a Headmaster was Rs. 10 while the annual grant for the school was Rs. 5 provided by the Durbar. He tried his best to increase his salary, but when the salary reached Rs. 20, he was replaced by a new Headmaster. Middle English School was changed into Maharaj Kumari Pema Tseden Government Primary School towards the early 1950s and after the mid-70s, known as Rongli JHS.
He left school to join the Silk Route trading. He would sell cotton, salts, oranges, cardamoms, and zingers at Yatung, the Indo-China border trade mart then. In return, he would get large coins and other necessary commodities. My grandfather had told me the coins were heavy and had to be put on clothes and wrapped around the back. After returning back to Rongli, he used to find redness around his swollen body. It usually took two days to reach Yatung from Rongli. When the trade route came to an abrupt end after the Indo–China war in 1962, my grandfather had to look for new monetary options to support his family. For a certain period, he also became a supervisor at GREF.
Vivid to his memory was the legendary landslide of 1968 that caused havoc in the Himalayan regions, and the small hamlet of Rongli was also not left untouched. He shared his memories with me of when Gyalmo Hope Cooke brought food, water, and salts at Rongli that had been dropped from a helicopter.
I still remember him talking of his day when he used to walk distances to Kupup, Gnathang, and Pakyong for photography. He was in the photography business for a long time, till the late 80s when his ill health made him give up his business to his younger son. But he never used to get tired of talking about photography. It was for his long service in the photography business he was also known as ‘Photographer Aja’ around and beyond Rongli.
Today, when he is no more, his legacy remains to speak of the vacant space he has created in society. He has left behind a family lineage of 85 family members that includes wives, sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, and great-grandsons. It has always been a proud moment for me when I am referred to as a photographer’s grandson!!
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