When I woke up this Sunday morning it was pitch dark all over and everywhere around and the time was quarter past four. Nothing could be seen even your own hands and you keep wondering if you have kept your eyes open or these are closed tight. Even tried hard kept open to see - not even some lights coming from Pedong seen last time. It was really the joy of being in the Black Hill everything shut not even the tedious shrilling noise of different kinds of insects could be heard. Otherwise, the same noise was enough to keep from sleeping at night and from working during the day as mason Deepak was telling me once hearing the sound coming from the bamboo grooves in the backyard with the path that used to take you to Kazi Kothi. It separates our boundary with the school but some cunning teacher thought it wise to fix the concrete posts to our side without our consent. Since he had worked under the department I served last I simply rebuked him for that as it was a fait-accompli when a kingdom was lost through the folly of people of his kind. Kazi had donated the land for the school which has approach road through our land though some portions now under the road reserve once the Reshi-Rongli Road to Nathula/Jelepla that could possibly the alternative Highway in due course of time like at times when J. N. Road is closed due to landslide. For the present it is as such and our location  just above the 10-km post to Rongli just in between two signposts reading KINGSTON to be seen those days when the road was newly constructed. How it disappeared and whether for good or bad, it is still a big question and a mystery that I have not tried to find out here all these long years. This seems very similar to post showing altitude of 5500' on the NH10 just above Rachna. Its current location is shown as 1795.77 metres with Latitude 27.34 and Longitude 88.61 for our place at Gangtok. People fancied the name Kingston so much so as the address that we can find it displayed in a signboard at the first settlement somewhere as we go towards Aritar off the Highway. Since our cousin Binod* sold most of his landed property here that once used to have his poultry unit turned into popular Binod Canteen. Bidhan Mama shared with me of someone telling that place is now also known as Binod Bazar. What use but for academic interest in the interest of local history since the stones that used to be abundant just adjacent to the school ground and the settlement. Long time quarry had been stopped for many residential buildings coming up there that aggravates our water woes here at the end of the Aritar GPU for years together. If stones could no longer there when we needed them for restoring our own approach road badly damaged by recent widening of the Highway what use of lamenting on a  landmark Dhupi being felled or luxuriant mango tree both sown by my parents some sixty years ago gone. In the capital we see many of the trees along the Highway in thickly inhabitated areas even. They have brought a number of smaller tree stumps and planted marigold in it to be seen near the Hospital Danra traffic point. Little further below once the Dak Bunglow some years ago beautiful colourful animals like Red  Panda made out of the stumps were seen but no more. For the stumps with us we are planning to have something of good purpose to keep their memory alive. What use crying over the spilt milk or by spilling the beans helps none as the show must go on. Driver who brought stones mentioned me of earlier days him carrying truckloads of stones from here downwards, now he was bringing them all the way up for us from Rorathang Khola. That made me simply remark, Her Bhai, Yasailai bhaninchh Jamana Ulta Chha! 

With no intention otherwise whatsoever and instead of brewing any curiosity/controversy here on petty issues that plague us in the Black Hill, made up my mind brewing a cup of tea that morning from the fresh lot of leaves for my pleasure in leisure. If weather follows to be sunny after days of rains, fresh greens are so inviting that I go to the tea bushes in the backyard taking a bamboo-stick that eases climbing up and  helps in controlling from slipping down, if needed. Shyam cleared yet another time the grass/weeds growing luxuriantly around this season to bring back all the greenery again and again covering the pineapple and other fruit plants besides the tea-bushes, I try clearing Banmara entangled every time I reach for my plucking one more time. I wish I could get this gift from nature throughout the year and not only during the monsoon which is also going away too soon. Just read that the monsoon brought bumper crop for the country this year. 

Another happy note to share that the Rayo saag grown well  we could carry as Koseli for near and dear ones including the maid at Gangtok. We were here for a break after all these months away. Some social function took us to Namchi that had grown enormously all these years when I left the place serving as the District Collector (South) around this time way back in 1985. Two decades later brought me back here as Principal Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs for the inauguration of the Indoor Stadium in 2007 by the Chief Minister. Thinking it to be better route to enjoy drive through Temi Tea Garden but we were greeted by roads being widened everywhere very similar to what we had back in the Black Hill. Cherry Festival would no longer be the same around this place famous for as a Namchi resident rued. Added to it was trees fallen at two places with people clearing them with an axe and the other place using power-saw. Fortunately, our portion near Kingston was completed to give a better look - an impression of what would the whole stretch be when completed in future. Thanks to the Army cantonment at Chalisey for this where it starts. Next is Engineer Danra landslide, another landmark of the plight. Otherwise, elsewhere  -  not only the NH10 everywhere, are in the same fate around this monsoon. Earlier, we had to pass through the landslide with long line of vehicles waiting for the turn in one-way traffic necessitated. We stop to have a taste of Temi tea being amidst the garden itself that turned out to be one served readymade from thermos flask far from our expectation - anything but taste. Bijoy did right by not having it and saved himself. Yet he could not stop buying a packet instead there. Moving further for journey onward, we were recollecting the wonderful Darjeeling tea full of that typical aroma we enjoy while at Bagdogra airport. To this he adds chicken cutlets that still has the same taste even after years of its being served there. So also the tea, we agree. Other place where we have a good taste of tea is at the Tourism restaurant at Chitray near the Teesta on NH10. Above all, to enjoy most these days is the one plucked, hand-made and brewed from yet another flush of greens this monsoon bringing luxuriant tempting growth that take me to the bush in my backyard as often as I see some sufficient quantity come to my share. Many of my readers would not be knowing that the Kothi has a tea garden since the days of Rai Saheb Ratna Bahadur Pradhan and The Chandra Nursery being the pioneer in the field. The Life and Times of a Plantman in the Sikkim Himalayas - A Memoir by Keshab C. Pradhan has a whole chapter on how the Temi Tea Garden (1969) and the other  abandoned at Kewzing/Rabongla came into being. Naturally, it is my first cup of tea gaining over those glasses of water that is still a part of my morning ritual to cleanse my bowels.Tea from the Kothi has unique taste but with growing labour shortage and unavailability of charcoal locally, production was hampered badly this year. Wish something could be done as an alternative to enjoy taking the benefit of the legacy left by our forefathers at our disposal even after a hundred years. The sorry plight of tea bushes damaged at Temi was told of being recouped/compensated by new plantation elsewhere. I wish I could bring those bushes home to replant instead of waiting for years on to get the few saplings planted turn productive. Some of the  small tea gardens that have come up later and doing good in Sikkim. Good thing to note coming home this time was the 'Sikkimis' brand that have entered the market boldly presenting Temi tea re-packaged in tea-bags with different characters like the Yak, Tibetan Argali, Asiatic Black Bear , Red Panda and Snow Leopard for the theme 'Animals of Sikkim - Celebrating Biodiversity'. Old memories were back alive seeing the Sikkim Solja packets on display for sale at the restaurant along with some recent brands of Temi tea marketted as organic product that Sikkim is known for. We simply wished price was displayed for them all to save oneself  asking for each of the kind, making things easy! 

We were suggested Namthang for our return journey getting the opportunity to see something different and stopped somewhere for some green vegetables and flower-plants. There the road was in a better condition to reach home in time. Driver of the vehicle we were travelling in happened to receive some bad news from his home. Some members of his wife's family met an accident where the man died on the spot and woman badly hurt. It was hit and run case from somewhere at Ranka that evening. So, we had to rush home without stopping to report day's affair to Muma at 6th Mile Tadong. As we drop Bijoy-Sunira at Development Area,the road was so much crowded with vehicles lined up that made even the pedestrians find difficult to tread in. Last year, my Guru Bhai Chand Pradhan got his foot unfortunately trampled while going out for a walk in the evening just above his house. This he could not blame the driver or his failing ears but himself for the wound inflicted made him invalid for months recuperating. Few years ago he had similar fate while he tripped down and the fault was some drain left open along the footpath but luckily saved his legs. Same propping stone left embedded on the footpath above the State Archives that Ranjana once stumbled upon nearly damaged herself to keep us away from a walk late in the evening. Age matters and we cannot escape it either.
~ ~ ~
Continues : Old Age Blues...

 
How the time flies these days being in the Black Hill or with the Newars in Sikkim to be once again celebrating the festival of the year for this community to which I belong to write a few lines again to share the joy of Indrajatra. With the day being declared as a public holiday for whole of the state and for all to be blessed thus in being with the Newars who are known more for their outstanding remarkable contributions to take Sikkim to greater heights in the best possible manner from wherever located/posted in whichever little capacity one could contribute his might that often goes noticed but not always. Personally I take 'your achievement is our achievement and your accomplishment is our accomplishment' attitude that makes me proud to be a Newar and attempt presenting myself thus and projecting the Newars in Sikkim in that very spirit and sense of belonging wherever and whenever I happen to be amidst the crowd of our clan, here in own land/motherland or homeland/fatherland or in the land what the rest of the world see and wish to be in the land to fulfill one's dream - the United States of America. Thus when I put the title of my last book titled The Newars World-Wide Connecting the Dots : Sikkim many thought that it would be an account of the Newars world over dedicating their best to the soil wherever they have landed up well keeping in mind their native land Nepal to keep the legacy and glory of the rich customs and traditions celebrating whatever festival they could gather for and celebrate in the weekend that may not always coincide with the date of actual festival. Yet they celebrate with all the minute details and in all the manner possible with whatever they have been doing for generations back home. It would not have been possible from this writer for he has, to be frank enough, not been/seen much of this world yet.For me the world is Sikkim/India, my motherland and the mainland Nepal my fatherland. Here, we have our own way of celebrating that might or might not replicate what the people celebrate there/elsewhere but the essence/spirit is there always. The Newars have ventured out in search of better avenues to prove their entrepreneurship and mettle in almost every nook and corner of the globe. A hint/glimpse of this could be seen/found posted in the social media like Facebook I try to connect with. Otherwise, for me my world is this land blessed with the guardian deity Mount Kanchenjunga nee Khangchendzonga that some friends in neighbouring country Nepal always rue for having been usurped by their Big Brother India this time too when we were proud to get the World Heritage Status for our Khangchendzonga National Park in a unique way for the first time ever to be rich both culturally and naturally too! While we celebrate Indrajatra Buddhists here would be celebrating Pang-lhab-sol. During our school days the festival used to be known and mentioned as a holiday in the Almanac as well, as the Worship of the Snowy Range and we used to go to Tsukhlakhang monastery to see Lama Dance with some of our classfriends performing there. Without getting into any controversy, which is not the purpose of this write-up but to upheld the dignity head held high as I try to look at every morning early with the day break to see the sunrise over the majestic peak. Everybody knows Gangtok do possess it but it was a pleasant surprise for me to see the mighty peak from my room in the Black Hill. For a full  view of the mountain range one could always go atop the hill above the Lampokhari. While people travel all the way from all over the world just to have  a look of this great mountain to all the places where they could get the best view, here I find myself blessed from the comforts of my home Jaisri located at 10km post on Rhenock-Rongli Highway (as the Google Map gets it for the Reshi-Rongli Road) leading to the Indo-China Border, an alternative route for the border trade whenever the Jawaharlal Nehru Road from Gangtok to Nathula is closed. Latitude 27.18, longitude 88.65 and altitude 1169.52 meters or 3837 feet above sea level to be exact with its  geographical location. This trade used to be through the legendary Silk Route from Kalimpong-Algarah-Pedong-Reshi-Rhenock-Aritar-Rongli onwards that now passes through Lingtam-Phadamchen-Dzuluk-Ganek-Lungthu-Gnathang-Kupup-Sherathang and Nathula (Jalepla.) Grateful I bow to our forefathers for rightly finding their new found-land in Sikkim to make their new home that gave the world The Chandra Nursery more than a century ago taking Sikkim to the height unparalleled. No exaggeration whatsoever but a point to take a note of it seriously as many of my readers would too agree that further study is necessary to understand and appreciate what we the Newars have in the legacy that we are yet to reach even after generations so far!

For we the Newars in Sikkim the festival of Indrajatra is not only the reason to assert our unique identity and rejoice with the recognition of the Newar language as one of the official languages of the State but also to acknowledge it and thank the Government. Each Indrajatra should have been the day to introspect and review the progress during the past year vis-a-vis how we fared so far since the recognition as per the Extraordinary Gazette No. 5/LD/90 dated April 3, 1995. It is more than two decades for the Newars in Sikkim to come under one banner of the Sikkim Newar Guthi as well, though propounded way back in 1982, not unchallenged under the garb and guise of some Sangthan that ultimately overtook it for a decade or so. Such was the impact that they have, as if, not been able to come out of its shackles. That phase too passed off for good or bad, which is not the intention of this write-up nor any one bothered to take into an account of it. It is the seventh year for Indrajatra brought into the capital with one year taken out to Singtam to make the festivities happen out for a change making it inclusive/common giving an opportunity once again to organize it outside. Though we had Lakhey Naach, Dhimay Baja and all here at Rhenock in good old days as Hari Bhansari too recollects from his childhood days, it could not be ascertained if Indrajatra was already here in good old days. I remember the year of its inception very well since it was the year when our Karuna Devi Smarak Dharmarth Guthi had organized the Sahasra Chandra Darshanam/Maharatharohan or Jankwa of our Founder/Buba Jai Shanker Lall Shresta* for over three days with felicitations unprecedented and unparalleled so far. Many believe it to be the first ever social/cultural extravaganza held outside the capital in such a grand scale  in association with Rhenock Newar Guthi and Sikkim Newar Guthi. Such was the impact that led many to believe that it inspired bringing in Indrajatra  introduced here in Sikkim later that year. It might have gone miles away spreading the message far and wide of the recognition and efforts to make the language being taught in more than so many number of schools. So much so, at one stage people in the mainland thought that in case some culture and tradition somehow unfortunately lost there in Nepal, they would not have to go very far off. They would rather  find them well preserved in the hills and vales of their neighbouring state of Sikkim. They were also ready to provide all possible support for having a Museum in Sikkim but we have our own limitations. Similarly, they wanted to bring the popular Nhu Dan Bintuna motor-cycle rally all the way from Kathmandu to Gangtok in solidarity with the people here but Sikkim being a different place/country well realized, it was not advisable as that would mar rather than make anything good towards our cordial relations.

The way the Newars like elsewhere have come up preserving, promoting and practising the Newar way of life not only the custom and tradition including the rituals besides the language, we feel sometimes, coming so far, lagging far behind. Distance was not something that kept them unattached but they were more rooted to their motherland in true sense as they all belonged and were proud of. For us we have left the native land long time ago and some might even not accept that we have come all the way here but were already here since pre-historic days. It is neither the intention of this article nor that of my book recent book The Newars World-Wide Connecting the Dots : Sikkim to contradict their valued opinion and I personally very much respect their learned view. It is for the scholars and institutions to come forward and do the research to find and establish the facts whatever not covered therein. The book, as our avid readers might have found, was to mark and celebrate 150 years of the Newars in Sikkim that had passed just un-noticed/un-realized and how the shine was fast in the wane. Everybody knows how we the Newars were in the helm of affairs not very long ago and it was during the record tenure of this Government that there were as many as ... Secretaries and Head of Department manning it ?! Oh, I forget the count, could any of my learned readers or the officials in the Sikkim Newar Guthi would come forward to provide me the exact figures to keep the records correct and updated to the memory of our young generation. Another data we need badly is about ourselves,the Newars in Sikkim compiled into a Directory after a long due census. This author himself was once holding as many as three or was it four departments concurrently and even the concerned department has no count of the Raj Bhavan I was posted twice though these might not be that significant to most of the public or their servants drawing their salaries from the exchequer and now many old haggard like me subsisting with the pension therefrom. Even my humble contributions to the society there might hold no good to recognize the epoch-making changes that the news-bulletin Sikkim Herald had in four decades of its existence with some facials done to other language editions besides a new edition for the Newar language this Newar could do best there or wherever he served thereafter. Reminiscing the old days many moments sweet and sour that wander in my mind coming back to the Black Hill to bring forward / document life common and people in general here with one thing only in mind - to bring in record how our forefathers contributed to the great cause from this part of the Himalayas to take the tiny Kingdom to such a  height next only to that of the mighty Mount Kanchenjunga