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

A fascinating anecdote about the legendary singer Kishore Kumar's visit to Sikkim surfaced on social media, shedding light on a remarkable moment in his life. This incident is believed to have taken place during the late '60s or early '70s, at Nathula, Sikkim, near the India-China border. The iconic singer was invited to perform in front of the Indian Army stationed there.  During this momentous occasion, Sunil Dutt, a respected Bollywood actor and close friend of Kishore Kumar, encouraged him to sing on stage. However, Kishore Kumar had to overcome with nervousness, compounded by the cold weather in the region. Initially, he hesitated to take the stage. Drawing inspiration from their successful collaboration in the movie "Padosan," they devised a clever plan. Kishore da agreed to sing but from behind Sunil Dutt, as a way to ease his apprehension.  As the performance commenced, Kishore Kumar became completely immersed in the enchanting melody, oblivious to the fac...

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...

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...

I came upon a blog of pukuli (sounds intresting, don't go by the name of the blogger). I even used to have a sister by this name and her name did made me nostalgic. Nevertheless i came through her blog that the LIFE website is publishing around 10 million of photographs from the archives of LIFE magazine. Here i took upon a chance to see whether there are any photographs related to Sikkim and i am glad i did so. There are few photographs clicked by Bill Ray during the India-China tussle of 1965, the area most probably is Nathula Border. The photographs shows army-men of India and China. 1.Chinese troops on Sikkim-Tibet border 2.Chinese troops on Sikkim-Tibet border 3. Indian soldier patrols on frontier between Sikkim and Tibet 4. Indian soldier on Sikkim-Tibet border 5. Life photograher Bill Ray (CR) with Indian soldiers

He has defeated death. Believe it or not, but it is true, a kind story in the world- a man from an Indian army on a Nathula border is still doing his duty even after his death some three decades back. 60km from Gangtok towards the panoramic view of the Nathula landscape, a road leads towards the valley of Kupup. Here is the shrine of Baba Harbhajan, popularly known as Baba Mandir. Baba Harbhajan has been guarding the international boundary of the two Asian giants, China and India, over the last three decades. But believe me, he does it alone. Even the army men on the other side of the International Wall confirmed that they had seen a man riding a horse all alone patrolling the border.  Born in Brondal village of Kapurthala, Punjab, Harbhajan Singh joined the 23 rd Punjab Battalion in February 1966 as a sepoy. The year 1968, when the states of Sikkim and North Bengal were under the rage of great natural disasters where, landslides, floods, and heavy rain had taken thousan...

Nathula, Kupup, Baba Mandir, Sherathang, Nathang and Jaluk in Sikkim and Jalepla pass in Kalimpong area are completely cut-off from the rest of the country due to heavy snowfall of Monday night.Jawaharlal Nehru Marg (JNM) connecting these areas is the only road which is blocked totally. Amongst the above mention seven places except Nathang and Jaluk are the ...

Dasain celebrations marred by long hours of power cuts GANGTOK, October 24 : Tourists making a beeline to the historic Nathula Pass on their annual vacation was in for a big surprise. On Friday, October 19, visitors to this must-see destination were greeted with the first snowfall of the year, much to their delight and wonder. The Tsomgo Lake was covered in a blanket of snow, making the Sikkim trip all the more special for vacationers, especially those from the plains who had never seen snowfall in their lives. “We were told that we would not be seeing any snow this time of the year here. But we were certainly in for a big surprise. As soon as we reached ...

GANGTOK: Even as Chinese diplomats have called for India to prune troops at Nathu la, the Indian army is in no mood to step back and has already deployed guns with a range of up to 30 km at points close to the Chumbi valley in China. Nathu la, the pass at an altitude of 14,400 feet on the border with China, was opened in June last year after 44 years to resume Sino-Indian border trade. Although both the Indian and the Chinese governments are looking forward to huge volumes of trade through the pass, trade so far has been worth of Rs 22 lakh against a projection of Rs 207 crore at least made by the Nathu la trade study group. The Sikkim government had commissioned the study. A Chinese delegation that went to Nathu la on June 4 on a research trip led by Bu Jiango, the minister counsellor at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, said that India should reduce troop deployment at Nathu la and its trade mart Serathang, for trade’s sake. “Instead of army camps, there should be more sho...

Gangtok, June 4: After two months of overflow in tourism in the state beginning from April with different tourist hotspots locked in a fierce battle, the mountainous Nathu La-Changu corridor still stands out as the lifeline of Sikkim tourism. Nowhere in the world can one travel from an elevation of 5,000 ft (Gangtok) to the surreal heights of 14,400 ft (Nathu La) wihtin two hours flat, tourism stakeholders basking in the after-glow of a bumper season said here. According to the figures provided by the State Tourism Department, around 1.7 lakh domestic and 6763 foreign tourists had already arrived in Sikkim in the past four months. The figures of the peak month, May have yet to be accounted by the department. Among these tourists, especially the domestic tourists, a visit to Nathu La-Baba Mandir-Changu Lake axis is a must. Fifty tourist vehicles are permitted by the Army per day to visit Nathu La border, while a visit to Changu Lake and Baba Mandir carries no ceiling. ...

China and India need to tap Nathula for tourism promotion” GANGTOK, June 6: The Chinese Government is looking forward to an increase in the volume of trade through the Nathula pass in the spirit of friendship, cooperation and new understanding that is in the interest of both countries. Bu Jianguo, Minister Counsellor at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, said this to Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling here yesterday. Ms. Jianguo, who led a four-member team on a visit to Sikkim to study the Nathula trade, said this during a meeting with the Chief Minister after the team’s return from Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) yesterday morning. The team had made a trip to Sherathang and Nathula on June 4 and had crossed over the border to Donqingang in TAR. Ms Jianguo informed Mr. Chamling that China does not have any restriction as far as the items of trade were concerned, while adding that the purpose of their visit to Sikkim and TAR was to study the Nathula Border trade and ...