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...

Members of Singtam Aaadarsh Associated Boys SINGTAM, DECEMBER 31:  Popular Rock band ‘Mantra’ from Darjeeling along with celebrity performers from Sikkim is all set to blaze the stage of Singtam on January 3. The program organized by Singtam Aaadarsh Associated Boys is free to all and will be held at Golitar Ground. The program organizer had informed that some amount of fund collected from the program shall be donated to Orphanages as well as to the Old Age Home of the state.  Shri Ugyen T Gyatso Bhutia, Government Chief Whip and MLA Tumin-Lingee, Shri Am Prasad Sharma, Area MLA cum Parliamentary Secretary, Land Revenue and Disaster Management Department and Shri BS Pant, MLA, Temi-Namphing will grace the occasion as Chief Guest and Special Guests, read the press release. The celebrity artistes that will perform on the stage include Mantra Band with their popular nepali number ‘Gorkhali Ko choro mah’ (their first program at Singtam), Gangaa Mukhia, Geeta Sharma, Robin Mu...

 Interview of the week The first Hip Hop Band from Sikkim, Urban Inc. needs no introduction. Proud to be Sikkimese blog caught up with the two rappers of the Urban Inc and found out more about their music and their journey from schoolboy rappers to famed celebrity artists. 1. So, when did you (both) first start rapping? * It was during our teenage in school days when we first started rapping. We used to listen to international rap/hip hop/ r&b artists; we used to do cover songs of them. Thereafter we slowly started writing, composing, and producing our own songs. 2. How would you describe Urban Inc to someone who has never heard your music? * Urban inc. is a band/crew, consisting of two rappers Tenzing Lekchola and Thupden Wangchuk better known as “Leks” & “Thups”. Padma Tshering Shenga is the Manager/Director of the band and we are all based in Gangtok, Sikkim, India. The Urban Inc. the band appears deep with their compositions and our music has lots of inf...

SINGTAM , APRIL 17 : Sikkim ’s No. 1 Dancer, Search for the Sikkim’s best solo dancer started with a grand anticipation with 168 participants from different parts of the state making their presence felt. The two days audition round for Junior and Senior Category was completed on April 14 and April 15 at Nepali Dharamsala, Singtam . The inaugural day of the competition had Junior Audition Round that had 74 participants while the next day for the Senior Audition Round there were 95 aspiring participants dancing for the coveted title. A total of 41 participants from each category were selected by the three judges for the next round. The three judges of Sikkim’s No. 1 Dancer were Sushma Chetrri from Namchi , Hemanta Das from Assam and Bijay Tamang from Nepal . Remanti Rai , winner of North East Ke Superstar Singing Competition was the host of the event along with Chandra Bahadur Subba . One of the major attractions at the Junior Audition round was seven year old danc...

Sushma Dahal with Johny Rai I first wrote about Sushma Dahal in 2009 and i said about her "She is the next big thing to happen in the music industry from Sikkim" in one of my blog post. I have seen her grow as a singer and i am happy to see her success. Sushma Dahal, a student from Chujachen SSS won the singing competition of Sargam Sikkim yesterday at Jorethang.  From a small time school function singer to the winner of  " Pratibha Ko Khoj" some year back i had been associated with Sushma Dahal. To see her reach this stage i am very happy. Without doubt i would like to mention the names of three person Praveen Pradhan, Kushal Pradhan and Buren Gurung from Rongli for believing the talent of Sushma and supporting her in her earlier days. Well once more many many congratulation Sushma.

{Sonam Lama, a multifaceted persona and a teacher by profession passed away on June 14, 2011 and his Anthesti Kriya falls on July 4, 2011} Sonam Sir  as he was fondly remembered was a house of talent that could never be replaced. It is a great loss for Singtam as such a persona of brilliance shall never be seen again. He was a year short of 40 but yet he has given enough memories to make him remember for a long-long time.  Sonam Bhena  to me was much of a friend and I did share many close moments with him over the last few years. Memories of his hilarity still thrive over my thoughts and I find it hard to make myself realize that he is now no more with us. I was with  Sonam Bhena  in the 42 days of Teachers Training the last two winters and summer at PNGSS. Off lately, it was during those training sessions I came to know him much better, being his bench mate; I got a chance to get closer to his character and his enthusiasm to give something to humanity. I...

Singtam, May 29: Indian Idol 4 Runner up Kapil Thapa’s official website was launched at 34 th Singtam Basibiyalo held at Singtam Community Hall. The website www.kapilthapaa.com is designed by BP Bajgain and shall be updated by Shital Pradhan. Kapil Thapa was also felicitated for his contribution towards music on the occasion. Distinguished guests present included (Chief Guest) Rudra Poudyal, former Director, HRDD,   Kapil Thapa, Suresh Lama, BP Bajgain, TV Actress cum model Sakuntala Sharma, Actor Mahendra Bagdas, Actor Mahendra Gurung, Musician Ruben Sahi, Singer Gangaa Mukhiya, Singer Prakash Sundas, Social worker YB Pradhan, Dawa Sherpa, TB Pradhan, members of Singtam Nagar Panchayat and others. Speaking on the occasion Kapil Thapa thanked Singtam Basibiyalo for the honour and also thanked Sikkim for voting him during his Indian Idol season 4 finals. Thapa said his musical journey to the finals of Indian Idol was not possible without ...

The last day of the 5th Lampokhari Paryatan 2011 saw a musical evening with Kunti Moktan. A legendary singer Kunti Moktan sang a dozen song that made four thousand odd crowds dance to her song. Prakash Sundas was the only singer from Sikkim on that night to share the stage with Kunti Moktan. It is an achievement for this young boy to come this far.