Gangtok
Displaying 1 - 10 of 14
Sikkim today juts out like a small Himalayan knuckle from the Indian landmass, wedged between Tibet to its north and northeast, West Bengal to its south, and flanked by Nepal and Bhutan on its west and east. Though diminutive, its geopolitical weight has always far exceeded its geography, for…
in Article
Sikkim, Mayel Lyang to the indigenous Lepchas since pre-history, and Beyul Demajong to the Bhutias who consolidated the land into a kingdom in the mid-seventeenth-century, carries a sense of “paradise” and “hidden” in these original names. At a superficial level, both these evocations — paradise…
in Article
The natural history of Sikkim is shaped by myth-making and religious ideas. According to various Buddhist beliefs and stories, Guru Rinpoche was believed to have consecrated the land of Sikkim by hiding sacred objects in the caves, rocks, and sacred lakes. Subduing all the evil spirits of the land…
in Article
In Sikkim, which has undergone significant urban and climatic transformation, the region’s foods serve as an archive of memory, sustaining connections to the past through everyday practices. Its ecological past lives on through the food in its kitchen — mainly rice, meat, and millet — with each…
in Article
We often hear our grandparents say, ‘hami tah jungle ko baato hirdai ka-ka pugthyo’ (we used to walk through forest areas to reach places), implying that they did not have pakka (concrete) roads at the time. In contemporary times, these ‘old’ forest trails, pivotal in mapping ‘local’ routes, have…
in Article
The Evolution of the Sikkimese House in Gangtok: From Vernacular Traditions to Contemporary Concrete
Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, sits nestled in the eastern Himalayas, its densest urban fabric concentrated on the southwestern slopes of the ridge. From a bird's eye view, the city reveals itself in layers — buildings stacked side-by-side along the contours of the land, each following the…
in Article
On entering a Buddhist monastery in Sikkim, you hear the incantation of mantras (prayers) by the lamas (monks) alongside the sound of musical instruments. You see devotees doing kora (the act of walking around a sacred object) in a clockwise direction around the monastery and performing…
in Article
Each evening, as one walks along the quieter streets and footpaths crossing through the neighbourhoods of Gangtok, we can smell an earthy smoke and pungent kitchen flavours. Rising from the household choeshum or shrine, this is the burning sang or incense, a sensory experience that possibly…
in Article
The diverse handloom and handicraft practices of Sikkim and its neighbouring regions have evolved through processes of ecological adaptation, migration, cultural exchange, and patronage. Among these traditions, weaving occupies a significant place — not merely as a craft practice but as a material…
in Article
From the outside, Lall Bazaar looms as a striking landmark in Gangtok, its facade decked in red tiles that immediately catch the eye. Contrary to popular belief, the "Lall" derives not from the Hindi word for red, but actually refers to a dewan (minister) of the Chogyal (king) of aeons past,…
in Article