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

Sir Basil Gould , Britain's Political Officer in Sikkim, was fond of Sikkim's wool . Those handspun wools used to be made into sea boots stockings . The press clip from the TIMES reads that Sikkim's wool was well appreciated. It is mentioned that the lamas had prayed during the last War (probably the WWI ) for the success of farming the wools. The wool suited the best gumboot stockings. The wool was such that it was said the wool kept the heart and the feet 'well' of the Britishers.   Sir Basil John Gould, CMG, CIE (1883–1956) was a British Political Officer in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet from 1935 to 1945. An interesting sentence from Gould written by Anna Balikci Denzongpa in one of the articles published at Bulletin of Tibetology, Gangtok ; where in his memoirs " The Jewel in the Lotus ," he writes about the Raj Bhawan of Gangtok, the then British Residency as "perhaps the most attractive medium-sized home in the whole of India.

The legend of Lampokhari and an unknown burial at Aritar I find myself fortunate that my effort to provide information about our state's bygone days through this column is appreciated. I have always considered myself a storyteller rather than a history digger.  I am just a medium through which these stories, anecdotes, and essays are shared so that readers can learn more about the state of Sikkim. I firmly believe that the more I share, the more I hear in return. To add to last week's article on “Revisiting Dalapchand,” today I share exciting stories of a legend of Lampokhari, which is not recorded in papers but passed on from one generation to another. BB Rai, my former staff member at Dalapchand SS, told me some exciting stories he had heard from old folks. When the British occupied Dalapchand after the 1888 Sikkim Expedition, the water of Lampokhari dried up. The British men then used the huge landmass to collect rations for the British soldiers and villagers near...

It may sound strange, but the famed Lampokhari better known as Aritar Lake is not at Aritar but is found within the boundary of Dalapchand.  I, too, like many were unknown of this fact until during my two years stay at Dalapchand SS. I had come across people out there who told me myths of Lampokhari that were followed from one generation to another. The oral folk lore is fabled stories thou sometimes hard to believe but are nevertheless interesting to read. I believe it is these stories that gave birth to the charisma of Lampokhari that is today visited for its mesmerizing and unparalleled beauty. Dalapchand originally called Do-le-che means flattened rock as old people recount. This little-known village more popular for its green vegetables today was a major mule route to Tibet starting during British Expedition 1888 till the Indo-China conflict in the early 60s. Today more than five decades after the closing of the mule-driven trade along with the development of better tra...

Today, Lingtam , a half-hour vehicle road from Rongli Bazaar , is a small, silent wayside village mostly forgotten by history. Today, it is remembered by the tourists for its small Lingtam Police Check Post , where the visitors and their vehicles need to submit their “ Permit Pass " to visit another side of the road to Changu . Towards the end of the 1880s, this place had continuous visitors in the army personnel related to  British Expedition Forces that marched towards Gnathang , the Sikkim-Tibet Border . The development of Sikkim had always evaded this small place for most of the decades. Despite the presence of exotic locales around this effortless landscape, one deserted house just along the way caught my fancied eye when I visited this place for the first time. Between modern days, concrete buildings lie small wooden houses that are empty from the inside with broken planks....

India Gate was the first name I had in my list of places I did not want to miss. Have seen this national monument in television and on screens for umpteen times since ages I was dumb fold to make my head rise to the sky to watch this build 42 meters high. It was designed by the famous architect Edwin Lutyens. India gate was earlier named All India War Memorial.  The design of the Indian gate is almost similar to its French counterpart war memorial, the Arc-de-Triomphe. Names of over 70,000 Indian Soldiers who laid their life for in WWI are inscribed on a red wall of the monuments for who the monuments are dedicated.  Faintly seen is the Rashtrapati Bhawan from India Gate  At the base of the India gate there is another memorial, the Amar Jawan Jyoti that was added after independence. This eternal flame was lighted in commemoration of the unknown soldiers who laid their lives to serve this nation.  

Very little is known about the four unknown burial that were found at Aritar. According to the oral documentation from the elderly local people of this region, the burials of four dead bodies are believed to be of soldiers of the British contingent representing the “1904 British expedition to Tibet” led by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband that entered Tibet via Aritar (Old Silk Route). It is believed that the four soldiers were injured during the massacre and brought to the Health Camp at Aritar Dak Bungalow, where they latter died. A century later, the present burial site was re-constructed into cemetery by the Aritar Panchayat in due honour to those four unknown Britishers. 

 Can anyone add more on this....... "Gangtok was once called the city of three hills and three white women: the American wife of the Chogyal on one hill, the British wife of the resident commissioner on the other, and the Belgian wife of the chief minister on the third hill. These wives, local gossip said, ran Sikkim and made much of the history of the times."

I found this photograph inside a monastery at Gnathang, near Nathula Border. Very little is known about these people but the local people added that the person sitting was the Rimpoche of the Gnathang Monastery and the people surrounding were Sikkimese officials from British Administration.  Gnathang, situated at around 12,000 feet above sea level is the most crucial place in Sikkim that changed the political scenario of Sikkim's royal administration. A battle was fought between the British and Tibetans where with the defeat of the Tibetans, Sikkim too came under the scanner of becoming the British Protectorate. Thus Sikkim's administration went into the hands of the British. the year was 1890.  30.09.24: Mentioned on Facebook Page 'Naldjor' Tsampa Lama Ngathang Lingpa -  He is also known as Burma Lama (bur ma bla ma) as he later left Sikkim and went to Burma. Some even say he originally came from Burma. Actually some twenty years ago there arrived a letter from Ran...

War objects found at Tumlong Palace ruins Little is known about the collapse of the Tumlong Palace, the third official capital of the kingdom of Sikkim but the findings of few war-related objects from the ruins of the site have added some exciting tidings. Found from the Palace ruins are cannon balls, musket balls and an iron gear. These objects could probably be looked upon as a new era of warfare that was brought to the Himalayan land of Sikkim by the British. These materials are presently under the preservation of Archives Department, Gangtok. After Rabdenste, the second capital of Sikkim was repeatedly attacked by the Nepal royal army, Tshudpud Namgyal, the than Chogyal of Sikkim shifted his capital from Rabdenste to Tumlong in 1793. Tumlong was the capital of Sikkim till 1884 when Chogyal Thutob Namgyal shifted his capital to present day Gangtok. Musket balls Cannon ball

from PLANTSMAN IN THE SIKKIM HIMALAYAS

I hear people are earning enough from eBay but i find myself fortunate towards ebay....at-least i had that opportunity to come across those photographs. These old and rare photographs clicked during the British era catch old the picture of then Darjeeling. I share with you all these postcards. Over view of Darjeeling -1 Men carrying a British Mem in Dandy Over view of Darjeeling Hills -2 Darjeeling 200 years ago Darjeeling market

BY ROSHNI SUBBA for Explore Sikkim In the year 1826 two British officers, Campbell and Dr Hooker came to the Singalila area to search out the easiest excess to Tibet from India . On their tour of this region, they halted for a night in the old Gorkha Station at Ghoom Bhanjang. In the morning they saw the glamorous view of the full range of Kanchenjunga in wonderful colours during the time of sunrise. The climate of the place was cold much similar to that of their home town in England . The chilled climate of the area makes an impression upon them very much, so with great consideration of the two Britishers the hill station of Darjeeling was established.  Building structures, road and rail networks and bridges were constructed by the East India Company by the end of the 18th century where still to this day there are monuments in and around Darjeeling that have proudly and with pride stand the last ten decades. The Town Hall (also know...