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

--> Display of Neolithic tools recovered from Sajyong, 2003 (Weekend Review) BY SHITAL PRADHAN Not only is the Himalayan land of Sikkim old but it is also considered ancient. The archeological findings of different Neolithic tools in this part of the Himalayas over the last three decades speak of its antiquity. It may be of little importance to many. However, findings of various Neolithic tools from the remote pockets in Sikkim over the past five decades have still collected vivid interest in people beyond this region. On three separate occasions, Neolithic tools had been dug out from Sikkim, and that unfolded the age of this Himalayan mountain land much against the period we were supposed to. “The term Neolithic Period, or New Stone Age, defines the second period, at the beginning of which ground and usually polished rock tools, notably axes, came into widespread use after the adoption of a new technique of stone working. The beginning of the Neolithic...

The Singtam Juice factory, which we popularly call the Government Fruit Preservation Factory, is within walking distance of my home. I remember we used to play football at its small ground along the premises during my schooling days. But this is two decades back.  One of my dear friends, Sandeep Thatal, who was once posted in Kargil, used to say about the pride of being from Singtam when he learned that the Sikkim Supreme Orange Squash was being distributed among the Indian Army across India. Sandeep would show the manufacturing label of the bottle of the Orange Squash to his friends and say this is from my hometown. I can understand how it feels to see the name of Singtam or Sikkim when you are far from your place.  Now Sandeep is posted somewhere in Rajasthan, and I had never got a chance to exchange words about whether he had found anything related to Sikkim out there!! Coming back to Singtam Juice Factory, I was once on a visit to Tashi's house. An old friend of mine c...

BY SHITAL PRADHAN Today is Children's Day, better known for the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. There is no doubt that everyone knew about the special relationship that Nehru shared with Sikkim. Nehru had preferred to spend his retirement life in Sikkim, which never happened, and if it had happened, we might never have known Sikkim could still have been an independent country till now. Nevertheless, I am here to talk about two special things about Nehru and Sikkim that few people remember or talk about. Nehru and his daughter Indira visited Sikkim twice in his life. Nehru inaugurated the world-famous Tibetology at Tadong. But the big thing, a lesser-known fact, is that after the death of Nehru, his ashes were brought to Sikkim and dispersed in the air around places like Gangtok, Pemayangste, and Kanchenjunga ranges. Another interesting fact is that we know that the Late Chogyal Tashi Namgyal was a well-known painter, but it is interesting...

Lets also speak through old photographs.... The two photographs taken during 1973 revolt against monarchy rule shows two different pictures of the pre-merger activity at Sikkim that changed the political scenario of the then independent Himalayan Kingdom. The place shown in both pictures is MG Marg at the heart of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.

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...