In Praise of Heritage
One-to-One Talk – Revisiting Sir J. C. White
Being with Sikkim Newar Guthi at Rhenock
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We were last at Smileland 15 years ago as Basudev reminds us, to attend the reception invited by Ganesh Kumar Pradhan on his daughter Udita’s wedding. Much water has flown down the river Rongni Chu i.e., Rani Khola and Basudev share with us more about their ventures as we congratulate him for excelling all fellow Newars. While as a Contractor he feels blessed to be endowed with plenty of sand and stones, the main material resource, proper care was taken to the large mango trees adding plenty of greenery so much needed for sun-parched riverbed. A huge rock eroded and etched with marks of time embedded in the earth was kept well-protected and fenced as we adore such pieces (a few small ones could be seen at our Rhenock home) with much respect as a tribute to the bountiful Nature, like in America or in Japan Basudev adds. A riverbed divested by the 1968 Flood, as he revealed, they had acquired a kilometre-long stretch of land from the owner Bharat Singh Basnet knowing well the risk of developing properties nearby a river, but life is itself a risk, we all know!
What many might not know was about the bust of Sir J. C. White that was going to be sold as scrap and lost forever into the oblivion. It was after the place where the Sikkim Public Works Department building presently Nirman Bhavan is located and stored caught massive fire some decades back. It was Basudev Pradhan, a Government Contractor by profession, happened to be there to intervene and stop the deal. Instead, he acquired it himself paying the valuation done for 80 kgs. of the scrap at Rs. 100/- per kg totalling a sum of Rs. 8,000/- for this neglected heritage piece of historical value and significance as an ancestral legacy not for him or his family or the Newars in Sikkim but for everyone here in Sikkim and beyond as descendants of Sir J. C. White visited his place years later accompanied by our legend Keshab Chandra Pradhan. Great Great Granddaughter of Sir J. C. White Claire Nena Hartley from Keno Hill, Isle of Seil, Argyll AA 344 TN, UK sent a letter thanking Basudev after visiting “J. C. White’s Statue… Sir J. C. White and really hope to meet him again as they find so much still for them to discover about.”
Tributes
My salute to all our ancestors for what we are today blessed with and also to the great statesman and hero Sir John Claude White (1853 - 1918) for making Sikkim what it is today. It was constructed as a tribute to the great soul who raised from a petty surveyor with the Government of India to be the first Political Officer for Sikkim and Bhutan in 1889-1908 to survey and conquered not only the heart of the people here but ruled supreme. Even the then Chogyal (King) had to make way for him and go in exile across the border in Tibet now the autonomous region in People ’s Republic of China (Source: Wikipedia 20 February 2011.) I wonder why, may be their unfailing Loyalty to the authority in the Newar blood like Bravery attributed to the Gorkhas, only Newar landholders here in Sikkim had the honour to subscribe to be his obedient servants on their own behalf and on behalf of the other Nepalese Residents of Sikkim. The prominent Newars who came together for this cause to be remembered here today are:
- Hari Dass Prodhan, Rai Saheb,
- Lambodar Prodhan, Rai Saheb,
- Tulsi Das Prodhan,
- Kalooram Prodhan,
- Latchmi Narayan Prodhan,
- Dirghbur Prodhan,
- Dalbahadur Prodhan,
- Sherabahadur Prodhan,
- Ratna Bahadur Prodhan,
- Durga Shamsher Prodhan,
- Hira Lall Prodhan,
Since space and time here do not permit to reproduce the whole text of the Felicitation# in length, a few lines are excerpted to have an idea fair enough for a glimpse of the long lasting impact on the people, society and the land a century ago. “Prior to your taking over the exalted position you have held in Sikkim, we had neither roads nor bridges. But ever since your advent you have constructed a large number of good roads and bridges all over the country and have thus ensured facility of traffic that was quite unknown in this region – a facility which has vastly improved the Commerce and Industry of this State. This will forever be a living monument to your administration of Sikkim and you will be gratefully remembered by its people for this act alone, if not for anything else.
“Besides traffic facilities, you have conferred upon Sikkim many other blessings too numerous to detail in a short address like this. Permit us, however, to mention a few. You have founded Charitable Dispensaries, established Nepalese and Bhutia Schools with Boarding houses, opened Weaving Schools, laid out Beautiful vegetable and fruit gardens and encouraged gardening by afree distribution of seeds and grafts, and above all you have always guided and helped us by your invaluable advice and counsel.”
(#Courtesy: Beryl Hartley, Great grand-daughter of Sir J. C. White, Oxford University, England – 2610.07 Through: K. C. Pradhan, Gangtok – Sikkim 23.11.08)
Their names appear amongst those who signed the Felicitation at Gangtok, Sikkim on the 27th June 1908 to bid him farewell on his retirement after long innings here since 1889. Two decades almost was pretty long enough a period if one cares to make all the difference in the State and the society! Sir John Claude White passed away in 1918 and White Memorial Hall was built in 1932 in his memory and so was this bronze bust installed there as centre-piece in the sanctum sanctorum by the public/Newar landlords, unless proved otherwise.
V. H. Coelho, Political Officer in Sikkim writes in 1967 in his book Sikkim and Bhutan (1970/1971), “John Claude White, the first British Political Officer, has described this period in the following term:
‘Chaos reigned everywhere, there was no revenue system, the Maharaja taking what he required as he wanted it from the people, those nearest the capital having to contribute the larger share, while those more remote had toll taken from them by the local officials in the name of the Raja, though little found its way to him; no courts of justice, no police, no public works, no education for the younger generation. The task before me was a difficult one, but very fascinating; the country was a new one and everything was in my hands.
‘These words, descriptive of the state of the country during his residence in Gangtok are perhaps over exaggerated, but partial credit is due to Claude White. He made a sincere effort and with his help Sikkim progressed from a primitive and with his help Sikkim progressed from a primitive feudal country to reasonable efficient one.”
“Such was the environment in which one lived and worked. One could not but admire Claude White‘s grit and determination spending eight years in Sikkim consolidating the British hold on Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim. And he was a civil engineer by profession!” writes B. S. Das, who was the Chief Executive to the Government of Sikkim, in Sikkim Saga (1983).“
The first time this Author visited the White Memorial Hall was in 1956 when Sanumama Mohan Pratap Pradhan* took him one evening for a magic show by the world-famous Magician Gogia Pasha with his occasional GilliGilli fumbling he still remembered! Later, they used to go for dance performance by Indrani Rehman, or movies like Kabuliwala (old) shown by Twan Yang* or cultural programme as there was not even a cinema hall those days. Bust and pedestal used to be there inside and everything else adjusted with it, like projector. In 1961 even, we used to see the movies sitting on the road at Naya Bazar and the screen was white wall of the Indo-Tibet building located next to the present State Bank of Sikkim, owned by Mahesh-Umesh Agrawal’s family. Denzong cinema happened in 1963 perhaps and the first movie there this Author saw with friend Nima Dorji Golay was the morning show before going to our respective colleges in Darjeeling later that day – Sadhana-Joy Mukherji starrer Ek Musafir Ek Hasina with the musical hits by O. P. Nayyar.
Later, it was in March 1962 when students from all over Sikkim besides we 20 from Tashi Namgyal Academy appearing as the last batch for their School Final Examination sat here to write their destiny. Those days the statue was moved to stand outside on the entrance to the main Hall that might have been removed from inside making space for the Badminton court. Walls inside were decorated with stuffed and mounted mountain animals of Sikkim, a thing one would find missing from here since long perhaps in the custody of the Forest Department. Officer’s Club still continued with a billiard table in the upper floor.
As Secretary Information and Public Relations in 1995-96, this Author had the opportunity to organize Photo Exhibition in association with the British Council of the British Raj eras including one of The Chandra Nursery with Lady Linlithgow and dignitaries. Another such exhibition was on India and Bhutan - Along the Friendship Trail held jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs and Royal Bhutanese Embassy. In 2002 Rachna Books had organized a Book Exhibition in association with leading publishing houses of the country. It was entrance to Sports and Youth Affairs Department where this Author served towards the fag end of his 35+ years long career to bring Paragliding to Sikkim in 2006 – himself, his wife and daughter flying to set a brave example to the youth to undergo its month-long training at Manali - at an age when most of the State Government employees already superannuated.
Urge
Last I read about the White Memorial Hall was a report in tribute to the now forgotten hero of the bygone days to appear in the Gangtok news-weekly Midweek (11-17 October 2006) Dumped, Charred and Still Standing Tall. It laments concluding, “However, the respect due to Claude White, a legend in his lifetime, has not been given to him. Today, the journey of his bust is a sad reflection of disregard of history. Even the White Memorial Hall (below), which was built to commemorate his services to Sikkim, remains a neglected site of heritage which is used only as the entrance for the Annexe building which houses Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and several other offices.”
Earlier published in the local Sunday Sikkim Express on April 27 and May 04, 2014, also included in his book, The Newars World~Wide - Connecting the Dots : Sikkim (2016) this Author had urged earnestly to restore the lost glory thus, “The Mid-week report mentioned that it was once at the point in the main junction above the White Memorial Hall, from where it was removed for Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s bust installed there. I do not have any idea about it but from this report only. The ill fate meted out to the bust and pedestal thereafter is something sad to know about but yet no action taken to restore the lost glory. All may not agree to my sincere suggestion since there may be a few who may be nurturing something else inside about this great soul. That is, in fact, something unjust to the history itself and more damaging for the future generation of Sikkim. The lost glory could be restored and could be possible only by some dedicated organization coming forward for the sake of our posterity and for them the rich heritage by installing whatever remains of the historic but charred bust with the pedestal restored and brought back to the right and appropriate place where it once belonged - its rightful location inside the White Memorial Hall where our forefathers installed it first originally. Even a devastating fire that might have engulfed many old records and documents but could do no harm to this legendary figure of his time moulded into the bronze bust with the name and commendation engraved in the metal pedestal. Who are we here to fiddle with the past monuments, history and heritage by denying it its rightful place before it is too late.”
No regrets
Basudev regrets of not realizing then the importance of the office records that escaped the fire being sold away, which could have fetched much information of the past era including about the roads, buildings and other constructions early in Sikkim. To recollect here, Faqir Chand Jali was the man behind as the Chief Engineer in whose memory we find named the Jali Pul at Saramsa and Jali Power House at Sang Khola on the National Highway 10. It reminds this Author of the first Hydro Power plant of the British era which he visited as a student with school-friends at Sichey as the Diesel Power House at Gangtok happened in September 1958 as a part of the First Seven Year Plan, when Government Institute of Cottage Industries, Sikkim Distilleries, Government Fruit Preservation Factory, Government Press, Basic Training Institute for teachers at Temi were also started. Do not be misled readers here that the earliest pioneering tasks whatsoever - mining, land development by terracing the hills for agriculture and introducing judicial and revenue system in Sikkim happened with the advent of the Newars in Sikkim - Taksari Chandrabir Pradhan at Rhenock and his brother Taksari Lakshmi Das Pradhan on the other side of the Teesta.
Ancestors remind us of the Aritar Dak Bunglow (4750 feet above sea level constructed in 1896 by Sir J. C. White as also mentioned recently in #StoriesOfKalimpong), where we dedicated our book on rural technologies Vikasko Goreto Grameen Proudyogiki – Kam Dam Dher Gyanka Satheek Sujhaujaru with CDRom 2001 blessed by Buba and Muma to our village in presence of Aritar Panchayat and public first before it ventured out for its official release by the Governor Kidar Nath Sahani* followed by a series of screening in the capital for the dignitaries at Nepali Sahitya Parishad, Sikkim Bhavan including one for the Chief Minister with Heads of Departments in the Tashiling Secretariat. ICIMOD Nepal appreciated it with a token grant while Sajha Prakashan did the honour to reach it to the far and remote corners of rural Nepal as it was already popular here and in neighbouring Darjeeling-Kalimpong Hills.
Urge comes true
Readers here might be curious enough to know the ultimate fate of the bust of Sir John Claude White after it was salvaged from the debris of the fire devastated SPWD site that languished for years awaiting some kind heart to come to help restore its rightful place. It was not known to this Author even till it was divulged by Basudev himself in this visit only a month ago! It had already changed hands, for the better. My earnest urge was taken as if a plea by those learned souls in the High Court of Sikkim to take a cognizance of the matter and thought it best to retrieve and restore the lost dignity of Sir John Claude White nay that of the citizens in general. Justice was done in a fair and befitting manner by bringing it home at the earliest opportunity possible and honour with a Certificate of Appreciation awarded to the alert citizen and a concerned subject in Basudev Pradhan, as it reads, for his contribution to the High Court of Sikkim Museum at the Inaugural Function held on 8th December 2017.
All ends well that ends well as the adage goes. So, in the end we bear no regrets whatsoever but grateful always to all our ancestors!
Disclaimer: This is neither the work of a research scholar or subject-expert nor that of some historian but the Author’s personal account of memories to cherish and treasure, often on a detour here and there en route to share the joy of the journey called life. Much time and effort are devoted in making to documenting and sharing here for the sake of our progeny and those interested to pursue research works to be rewarding many PhDs. Some names (asterisk* for those no more), quotes, places and events mentioned are just to connect with and no malice whatsoever intended. He can be reached at [email protected] and his books are available at www.rachnabooks.com.
About the Author
“Rajiva Shanker Shresta, a retired ace bureaucrat, is a prolific writer-cum-walking encyclopaedia as far as Sikkim is concerned. His monumental book 'Sikkim : Three Decades towards Democracy – Evolution of Legislative System' (2005) is much referred book....” Keshab Chandra Pradhan, Former Chief Secretary to the Government of Sikkim in his Memoir The Life and Times of A Plantsman in the Sikkim Himalayas (Revised/Updated 2018)