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

Guru Tshen Gye Dance by the Eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche The eight aspects under which Guru Rinpoche manifested himself on various occasions appear in a procession with the principal aspect of Guru Rinpoche shaded by a parasol. Certain other aspects are accompanied by their retinues and small celestial beings.In order of appearance, they are : Dorji Drolo - Liberated Diamond - Thunderbolt Tshokye Dorji - Diamond-Thunderbolt Born from a Lake Loden Chogse - He who Wishes to Acquire Supreme Knowledge Padmasambhava - Born of the Lotus Flower Guru Rinpoche - Most Precious Master Shakya Sengye - Lion of the Shakya Family Pema Gyelpo - Lotus-King Nima Yoezer - Sun-Beam Sengye Drathok - He with the Voice of a Lion Guru Rinpoche seats under a silk canopy wearing a golden mask surrounded by attendent fairies in white masks. Photos by: Prabin Gurung, Rinchenpong,West Sikkim Information: happyholidays.com

  This 135 feet high statue at Samdruptse, near Namchi is the highest Guru Padmashambha statue in the world. The statue funded by the state government was installed by the His Eminence Dodrupchen Rimpoche. Dalai Lama laid the foundation stone of the statue on 22nd October 1997 while the in February 2004 the statue was opened to public on 18th February 2004. The total estimated cost of the statue was Rs.4.55 crores.

--> Tashiding, in West Sikkim, was one place I wanted to visit for the last few years, but it never happened until last month, and I am in high spirits. I finally did it. Regarded as the holiest of monasteries in Sikkim, the Tashiding Monastery, over the centuries, does hold strong its own legends and folks. The first look at the faintly yellow roof of the monastery on top of a hill from the opposite roadway gave me a pleasant feel that was beyond my expectations. The Monastery is built atop a ridge between the Rangit and Ratong rivers. I am told of a legend that  Guru Padmasambhava  had shot an arrow to select his place of meditation, which is the present site of the Tashiding Monastery.  It is even said that the rock is still found at the Tashiding Monastery premises, where the great Guru meditated. One of the reasons I wanted to visit this place was to see the stupa of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, regarded as the most outstanding Tibetan master of the...

updated on 22.05.2020 I am not an expert on Sikkim's history, nor am I a prolific historian; my interest in Sikkim's past makes me feel that there are various vacant spaces yet to be filled. When I reviewed different pieces of paper on Sikkim's history, I felt we knew very little about our country. Time has come, and the account of Sikkim's history should be reworked from its primary period, though we know we have inadequate resources. I am sure that capturing the early days of Sikkim (the era when we found the first settlements on this land) in 2020 isn’t as easy as it seems, but we can make an attempt. As a student of Sikkim history, I feel it is not within our perimeter to come up with the entire scene from the beginning until now at once, but we can create a room for our coming generations to carry forward those works we shall leave for them.  Today, we hold ourselves accountable to our ancestors (I am not referring to Rishley, Das, Ray, and others;...

At Kavi BY SHITAL PRADHAN Last month I was on a visit to the ruins of Tumlong, the third capital of Sikkim and the view to that site and the half done repairing work made me feel are we, I hear say are we Sikkimese really concern about our prime past. When I was going through the different pages of Sikkim's history, I believe there are many things we still do not know about Sikkim, or I can say we know very little about it. The time has come for the account of Sikkim's history to be re-written from its initial stages, though we know that we have limited resources along with us. I am sorry to say that I find many things missing and vacant spaces that need to be filled up. Just to say that we know little of Sikkim's prime is more of a layman's excuse. If the effort is made, we can make the most of it. Until recently, we have looked back at Sikkim's earliest record dating back to the 9th century when Guru Padmasambhava had mystically flown to Tibet via Sikkim. Well...

I enjoy what Gerda Lerner, a renowned historian, once quoted: “What we do about history matters? The often repeated saying that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them has a lot of truth in it. But what are 'the lessons of history? The very attempt at definition furnishes ground for new conflicts. History is not a recipe book; past events are never replicated in the present in quite the same way. Historical events are infinitely variable and their interpretations are a constantly shifting process. There are no certainties to be found in the past. As a toddler, we are here to comprehend the beauty of those immemorial days that have lived up to its days.”  Fig 1. Delisle’s 1723 Carte d’Asie shows the first map of Sikkim, then written as Bramson Often repeated words that history should never be repeated but re-created, I personally believe we have come to that hour of need where we can have local writers brushing up with some history exemplar, pu...