Opening of PRS at SNT Rangpo (2009)

Will my vote count.......

I am surprised whether or not my single vote matters to others, be it to a winning candidate or a losing candidate. The country's democratic format gave me THE RIGHTS to choose the candidate that I feel will be my representative at the State Assembly, but I am sorry I wasn't allowed to understand who the perfect gentleman was. I never learned what their views and motives were behind this year’s polls. I ask, is it a sin to be an employee? I am made aware I should not hear the speeches of the opposition parties, nor should I be present in any form of political meetings organised by the ruling party. I find myself in a dilemma. I love my state and am more concerned about its future, so does it not mean that I should be conscious to make the right selection that deserves my very important single vote. Being an Indian citizen I am made to cast my valuable vote in general election but this time I voted without understanding the candidates. Last week I was at Gangtok to watch...

Pandam Garhi and its surmise

--> RUINS OF PANDAM GARHI BY SHITAL PRADHAN The stories of the legendary ruined walls at Pandam, a 16 km uphill climb from Rangpo, as I had heard from old folks a few seasons back, had ever since excited me to visit this place. Never in the pages of a history book do we come across its talk about when it was built or how it was constructed at the top of the hill? Over the years, many theories have evolved regarding its origin. Some theorists associate the fort with some Lepcha legends, while few disagree with it and have their own adage. They make us believe one of the Chogyals constructed it to stop the approaching Bhutanese army from entering Sikkim. The last theory to add up, already baffling and controversial, says it was one of the Gurkha Generals from Nepal who constructed the fort along with the Kalika Mandir, also called Nishani Mandir, just below it. With each theory making questions over my mind, I decided to have my second trek to the Pandam Garhi. I had ...

Sikkim Mahinda Thero: A national hero of Sri Lanka

Sikkim Mahinda Thero BY SHITAL PRADHAN I first heard about S Mahinda Thero in 2005 while in Kolkata when I was asked by one of the stamp dealers whether I was interested in a 20 paisa stamp of S Mahinda Thero issued by the Sri Lankan Postal Department in the early 1970s. I collected philatelic items on Buddhism, but I never understood who he was talking about. He told me, as I was from Sikkim, I might be interested to know more about the person, and he went on to add it was Sikkim Mahinda Thero, a Buddhist monk who is regarded as a national hero, a famous poet in the Sinhalese language whose poetry promoted patriotism and the revival of Buddhism to this part of the Island. He promised to send me the stamp of S Mahinda Thero from Colombo through the mail, but I have never heard from him since then. However, regarding my limited concern, it was enough to know that such a person keeps the name Sikkim with honor and pride in Sri Lanka. I had the name...

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

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