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

Shared by Ram Kumar Shrestha Global Coordinator Kapilvastu Day Movement Global Committee As part of the World Peace Movement, Nepalese people living in different parts of the world last year decided to commemorate Lumbini and Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, by observing Kapilvastu Day as a global holiday in order to spread the Buddha’s peace and nonviolence messages all over the world. The Buddha is revered as a Messenger of Peace. He is also known as the Light of Asia who is actually the Light of the world as his message of peace and nonviolence has become more relevant as the world is facing the problems of violence today. The world today has become more violent than ever before. Therefore, we have decided to spread the messages of the Buddha all over the world by observing Kapilvastu Day every year.   Originally, on December 1, 1896, Dr Anton Führer, a German archaeologist, had discovered the Buddha’s birthplace when he found the A...

From Sikkim Express Rakesh Verma [ASSISTANT ENGINEER( MECH ) ] Energy and Power Department Government Of Sikkim. An old Turbine and generator is kept in the Diesel Power House in Gangtok under the energy and Power Department. The Turbine in question pertains to the old Power House at Ranikhola which was build in the year 1932. This was considered the first and one of the oldest Power Houses under the state power Department during those days when Sikkim PWD and power department were considered as one Department. This Generator’s capacity was 50 KW, manufactured by English Motor Electric Co England. It may be mentioned here that the power generated from this Power House use to be transmitted by the ways of 3.3kv line to serve the entire town as well the Royal Palace. The old Darjeeling toy train of narrow gauge has been given due recognition from UNCESO as a world heritage site. Similarly, if the State Government, especially the Power Department, is interested, it can also provide a...

As always when I come across stories related to Sikkim history my feet have no boundaries. I had heard about a small war memorial at Gnathang along the Sikkim-Tibet border a few years back but due to unavoidable circumstances, I was not able to visit that place. So when I set foot at Gnathang this March I was very excited. Well, there is a War Memorial in Gnathang but more than that a neglected one. Despite its historic importance, I believe it has lost its existence. The dry overgrown grasses and the broken nameplates of the memorial speak of the negligence. World history remembers the event as the Sikkim Expedition in 1888. There are around 15 graveyards in the War Memorial of those soldiers representing the British Expeditionary Force that fought a war against the Tibetan Army in 1888 at Gnathang. The British Force stayed at this remote mountainous corner between 1888 to 1895 and the memorial reflects the determination and grit of those people most of whom were in their mid-20s and ...

View Full Album Towards the Nathula Border between India and China at Kupup , just opposite the famed Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir , there is a Cafe 13000 , probably the highest cafeteria along with a gift shop just attached to it any one could had ever imagined at such height. The taste of coffee gives you the pleasure and the serene beauty of the surrounding sets the moment for which Sikkim is renowned across the world. Well this cafeteria did not excited me the most until i came across a rare "thing" that i had never ever come across in so far. Inside this unique surrounding in one of its corner lie three flags out of which one did really capitulated my attention. I had gone through different books on Sikkim history where the Sikkim National Flag was primly noticed in any state festive or in any occasions where the guest of honour was of royal family of Sikkim. But to see the Sikkim National Flag just in front of you and touching it, a breeze of pride r...

History is not boring but the way it is treated sounds a bore. Remembering the names of the kings and the years for some might be a tiresome lesson but it is as easy as remembering the mobile numbers of our friends. All we need is a little interest and the vision of making it look easier for the history teaching faculty. What I have experienced in all my years is a mere fact that the subject is long looked upon more as a storybook, I do not deny the fact that the lengthy drawn pages of the history lessons are part of that immemorial past but this time gone by is not a bedtime story and should not be only limited to it. I have in my school days had experienced that one of my history teaching teachers would sit on the teacher’s desk and tell the story of the chapters of history finishing one or more chapters in one session of 45 minutes. He used to say he had been teaching the subject for more than 15 years and he knows every word of the book. I never understood whether was that a...

I bought Sikkim's history for a rupee. I might sound crazy, but I am not. It is a rather fascinating incident that happened sometime back in Singtam, my hometown. I was in one of the newspaper shops looking for old magazines for my self-made library when the title of a mouse-munched Hindi novel caught my attention. "Jagat ki Sikkim Yatra," which is "Jagat's Journey to Sikkim" in English, was a wonderful discovery for me.  The title of the book was enough to capture my imagination and my curiosity, even though I am not a fan of novel reading. After reading each page of the book, I was amazed by the content of the document. Even though the book states that its story and character are coincidental, the entire theme portrays the 1973 merger of Sikkim. I read about the state of affairs faced by the people of Sikkim, the Chogyal and his family, the Indian authorities, American CIA agents, and a character from China.  The story had everything and was centred aroun...

Shital Pradhan, Singtam Legends are part of the developmental evolution of the human race and cannot be singled out as simply being imaginary. These legends had been the basis of many future findings that were once tales woven into the narration of reality and folklore. We belong to the land of Lepchas, which are termed primitive tribes. Yet, we cannot confront ourselves because we lack evidence to speak our minds. We believe in age-old ethnicity and the words of scholars. Still, the absolute truth remains the fact that our future generations need to be explained the mystic forces of time immemorial that built up our Sikkim, from the days of the so-called earliest life in a Lepcha tribe to the three-century-old Namgyal Dynasty and further towards the making of the Sikkim that we live in today. From the tiny Himalayan Kingdom to the 22nd state in the mighty Indian Union, the stamp-sized state of Sikkim has witnessed many major transformations. Much like folklore, the history of early Si...

BY SHITAL PRADHAN I wanted to be an archaeologist but destiny had other thoughts over me. Regardless of the impediment, it was my obsession towards historical findings in and around Sikkim I had over the years collected a few interesting and intriguing narratives. Being brought up at the small town of Singtam it was comprehensible that I could come up with its early history someday. The only major instance the place of Singtam finds its name in the golden page of Sikkim history was during the pre-merger movement in the early 70s when the gathered crowd in Singtam blocked the road near Bhanu Park and stopped on the run Crown Prince in his motor vehicle forcing him back to Gangtok. During that instant the pro-merger activists were caught, made captive and kept at Thakurbari mandir! The town of Singtam also mentions in world postal airmail history when 1935 a series of eight Rocketmail firings was conducted over the Singtam River. To its geographical reach the town of Singtam is located a...

Singtam in mid 30s I wanted to be an archaeologist but destiny had other thoughts over me. Regardless of the impediment, it was my obsession towards historical findings in and around Sikkim I had over the years collected a few interesting and intriguing narratives. Being brought up in the small town of Singtam it was comprehensible that I could come up with its early history someday.  The only major instance the place of Singtam finds its name in the golden page of Sikkim history was during the pre-merger movement in the early 70s when the gathered crowd in Singtam blocked the road near Bhanu Park and stopped on the run Crown Prince in his motor vehicle forcing him back to Gangtok. During that instant the pro-merger activists were caught, made captive and kept at Thakurbari mandir! The town of Singtam also finds mention in world postal airmail history when in 1935 a series of eight Rocketmail firings were conducted over th...

History of Darjeeling Paper read on 12th July 2008 in the seminar organized by Gorkha Janamukti Secondary Teachers Association, Kurseong Chapter, At Gorkha Library -Dr. Sonam B Wangyal Namastay, Nomoshkar, Khamri, Kuzo-zangbo, Tashi Deleg and Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to express my hearty congratulations to the members of the Gorkha Janamukti Secondary Teachers’ Association for holding this seminar and inviting me to say a few words. I will be reading this paper in English, not because I cannot read, write or speak in Nepali but because I can do it better in English. Ho, Nepalima yo paper parayko bha ajja mitho ra suwaudo hunay thiyo. Ma chhama chanhanchhu. Tara yuddama jasari jun hatiyar chalaunu subista hunchha tyahi chainchha yaha malai Angrezi mero subhistako hatiyaar ho jasto laagchha. (Yes, it would have been more appropriate and sweeter if this paper was read in Nepali. My apologies. But in war, it is necessary to wield the most apt of weapons, and ...