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

There has always been a debate about the oldest monastery in Sikkim, and I have come across certain general knowledge books based on Sikkim that depict Dubdi as the oldest.   I do not know how far I am correct. Still, the mother of all books on Sikkim History,  The Gazetteer of Sikhim,  written by HH Rishley and published from Calcutta in 1894, writes Sanga Chelling (meaning  The Place of Secret Spells ) Monastery near Pelling was built in 1697.  The Dubdi (meaning  The Hermit's Cell ) Monastery near Yuksom was built in 1701. I believe in the case of the Sanga Choling and Dubdi issue, it was in later years that the original Sanga Choling monastery was burned and reconstructed in 1965. The confusion started here when most writers wrote their work as Dubdi was the first monastery of Sikkim. When an actual building is removed (here burned), as in the case of Sanga Choling, how correct are we to replace its original construction years. The State Governme...

 Sangachelling Gompa in Sikkim, East India (1925) It was an opportunity for me to be part of the recently held  Two   Days Seminar on Strategy for Heritage Management for Sikkim  organized by the Cultural Department at Denzong Residency, Gangtok. I did not want to miss it.  It was my dedication towards understanding the old days of Sikkim that gave me a chance to have a closer look at what has been going on or I would rather say what the higher officials were thinking about Sikkim History as a whole; this was also my first foray into the big league.  I was happy to be among the learned personalities of Sikkim, sitting beside them and taking note of what they were talking about. It was more than an honour for me (as a student of Sikkim History) to be invited and interact with the officials out there. The meeting, though, left many unanswered questions, but I am sure that in days to come, the quest to preserve the story of Sikkim for the coming generati...