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

Gangtok, December 3: Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur announced on Wednesday that Raj Bhavan has now been renamed as ‘Lok Bhavan’ . This change was made after a direction from the Union Home Ministry on November 25. The Governor said that the new name will be used from now onwards for all official work. He also said that this step will help make the place more open and friendly for the people, and will strengthen democratic values. Many years ago, after the Sikkim Expedition in 1888, the British government appointed John Claude White as the first Political Officer of Sikkim in 1889. He loved Sikkim and decided to build a beautiful residence there. This building later became known as Raj Bhavan. He chose the site himself and wrote about the experience in his 1909 book. After Claude White, many British officers lived and worked there, including Sir Charles Bell, Major W.L. Campbell, Lt. Colonel W.F. O’Conner, Major F.M. Bailey, Major J.L.R. Weir, Frederick Williamson, Sir Basil Go...

FIFTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD MR. BEPIN BEHARI LAL, I.C.S., TOOK OATH AS FIRST GOVERNOR OF SIKKIM AT A SIMPLE BUT IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY HELD AT RAJBHAVAN ON MAY 16. THE OATH WAS ADMINISTERED BY MR JUSTICE RAJINDER SACHAR, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT OF SIKKIM. The function was held at a specially erected pandal at the Rajbhavan lawns and was attended, among others by Chief Minister Kazi Lhendup Dorji, Kazini of Chakung, members ofthe  Cabinet Mr B.P. Dahal, Mr B.P. Kharel, Mr Dorji Tsering, Mr Naye Tsering Lepcha, and Mr Rinzing Tongden Lepcha, Deputy Speaker of Sikkim Assembly Mr C.S. Rai, Members of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, General Secretary of Congress Party Mr S.K. Rai, and top civil and army officials. Later, Mr Lal administered he oath of office and secrecy to Kazi as Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues under the Indian Constitution. On his arrival at Rajbhavan Mr Lal was received by Kazi and his Cabinet colleagues. He was presented with an impressive Guard of Honour b...

Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru arrives at the Residency in 1958 where Apa Pant, the Indian Political Officer waits to receive him (IPR Collection, Govt of Sikkim).

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.

Botanists Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff with Frederick Williamson in-front of Residency (Now Raj Bhawan) in Gangtok (1933). The botanist duo had visited Sikkim and Tibet in 30s and early 40s for specimen collection.  (Photo Source: Wikipedia)