Pitri-Paksha Special
One-to-One Talk – Rhenock School circa 1879
Being with Sikkim Newar Guthi at Rhenock
'Sikkim's Raj Bhavan' (2011) it is given as 1888, nine years later.
Howsoever, it is the earliest and the
First School in Sikkim, the rest happened later on.
Indrajatra 2022 Sikkim in all its glory and grandeur celebrated paving the way to the days ahead full of festivals in a row but not before paying obeisance to our forefathers during the fortnight of Pitri-Paksha. What could be a better way than with the Teacher's Day celebrated to thank all past and present though well-said that the Children's first teacher is their Mother!
In his last story, this Author mentioned the Rhenock House cursorily as the other residence of the Rhenock Kazi Family at Gangtok. To add further, in tribute to the Blood Brotherhood the fourth generation from Taksari Rhenock Family complimented them and named their hospitality venture at Development Area in the capital Rhenock House. It was in due consideration, well aware of its historical significance with knowledge and consent from the Rhenock Kazi descendants there, if not otherwise!
Rhenock Kazi Rai Saheb Tenzing Dadul was gracious enough to donate generously the huge plot of land for the purpose of constructing Rhenock School on the present premises. His dream come true like that of many of the local inhabitants here was fulfilled by the School Managing Committee headed by Babu Durga Shamsher Pradhan, the co-Founder with Rai Saheb Ratna Bahadur Pradhan of The Chandra Nursery in 1910, thereafter now-a-legend Bhima Devi Memorial Girl's School a century ahead of the 'Beti Bachau Beti Padhau' and of course, another legendary Chandra Dramatic Club, Rhenock.
Bhima Devi Memorial Girl's School
It would be a futile effort writing on the education system here if a line or two is not dedicated to Rai Saheb Ratna Bahadur Pradhan and his brother Babu Durga Shamsher Pradhan for starting in memory of their mother Bhima Devi Memorial School adjacent to the Kothi. They had already established Chandra Nursery in 1910 named after their legendary father Taksari Chandravir Pradhan. Muma Indira recollects it had a full-fledged school complex with teacher's quarters and a playground as well. The school was intended for the girl education a century ago of Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao, where all her sisters went there besides Kanar, elder sister of Phurmit Lepcha*, Padma Gurung later Ganeshan* and many others from the locality. She was later sent to Saint Joseph's Convent at Kalimpong, where Nandu Babu's daughter Shankha Gurung from Algarah (later wife of the former Chief Minister B. B. Gooroong) was her class friend.
Following the sad demise of Rai Saheb in 1946, everything went into disarray like many others in an otherwise well-going family. Those glorious days were marred by her elder brothers away from home, Bhishma Pratap in Kurseong Sanitorium while Mohan Pratap studied law at Banaras Hindu University after graduating from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. They were quite young that demanded much-needed support that came from Rai Saheb Tulsi Das Pradhan of Amba, father of Madan Kumar Pradhan of Kalimpong as their regent with her only being the youngest to take care of domestic matters and see many ups and downs from very close quarters. Veteran Nepalese leader Ganesh Man Singh spent a part of his self-exiled life here incognito working as Krishna Bahadur Typist in The Chandra Nursery. He was stunned to see the glorious days of Rai Saheb, where he was sent by Buba from Calcutta when seen in tattered clothes like a coolie. His identity was revealed to the family members only after he left the place. He used to sleep in this school with a stone as his pillow. Ma Krishna Bahadur Typist Kasari Banen titled chapter is devoted in the autobiography retold by Mathwar Singh. It was later translated into English by Sushmita Pradhan.
A controversy had arisen when C. D. Rai*, who had earlier written praising “The Illustrious Taksari Pradhan Family of Sikkim” that gave eight Rai Saheb in Sikkim, wrote in his foreword for the book Sikkimko Iaitihasik Adhyayan by Balkrishna Shrestha* of Namchi that had the Pradhan Thikedars cared to start a school in each village that would have given a Rai Saheb Hari Prasad Pradhan from every home long ago. This Author in a rejoinder had corrected him by quoting the above instance of Bhima Devi Memorial School and other schools like Sumbhuk, Ratepani, etc. Moreover, Rai Saheb Hari Prasad Pradhan was not a person to happen so easily and frequently. He is the jewel born in a generation or a century even. Like the other legend Taksari Chandravir Pradhan figure from Sikkim in the list of ten Gaurav Purush in the whole Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalayan Region by none other than Dr. Paras Mani Pradhan. This was in one of my articles contributed to the Sikkim Express and published also in the annual Smarika of the Sikkim Newar Guthi that year.
Dr. Shanti Chettri, an alumnus of this School, in her Sikkimma Nepali Sahityako Sfuran presented when awarded Madan Samman in 2013, mentions that the foundation for the literature in Sikkim was first laid by the Chandra Dramatic Club Rhenock, the brainchild of Rai Saheb Ratna Bahadur Pradhan and his brother Babu Durga Shamsher Pradhan, at Rhenock in 1930 even before the generally believed so of the Apatan Sahitya Parishad that started much later in 1950 at Gangtok.
Rhenock School was the first among five primary schools started in Sikkim by the Scottish Missionaries in 1879 while in 'Sikkim's Raj Bhavan' (2011) it is given as 1888, nine years later. Howsoever, it is the earliest and the first school in Sikkim, the rest happened later on. It was my Buba Jai Shanker Lall Shresta* (1917 – 2003), whom the School Management Committee and residents here entrusted in 1958 in view of his educational background being M. A. (Commerce) from Calcutta University in 1939-40. This Author started his education in this school by learning alphabets in Dhungay Class instead of pebbles, writing on the floor with maize grains carried from home on what the teacher wrote with chalk earlier. It was then run along with a dispensary on one side of the two-storey ekra structure just on the right next to the present approach road to the Police Station, which used to be located just opposite. It even had a wooden thyangro to keep convicts from escaping from there. In the terraced field, there above used to be a vast orange orchard said to be belonging to Tobgey Raja of Kalimpong!
It was soon upgraded with Classes run in the Kutchery to gradually become Junior High School and thereafter shifted to the present premises on the land donated by Rhenock Kazi. It was recognized thus by the Government as perhaps the first Junior High School in the East District only because it was in good hands of the incumbent continuing as the Head Master in view of the significant progress made.
Rhenock School those days in the 1960s was a GCI-sheet-roofed wooden structure with a big hall upstairs and classes run below and in its two wings on both sides. Solely through public participation made possible by raising donations from the residents here like Lingtame Mandal/Gurung and from Bazar Chhyagu Tsering, Lalchand/Tarachand Agarwal, Mamraj and Chet Ram, Puran Kumar Mani Kumar (Badi Dokan), Mahabir Prasad Agarwal and brothers, Jai Narayan Agrawal, Gaya Prasad, Paras Mani Pradhan and many others as stakeholders. They stretched to Aritar-Dalapchand with prominent figures like Ziktuk Bhutia, Kesang Wangdi Bhutia and Nyaltung Sherpa and across the bordering Lingsey and its periphery with Mandal Kul Bahadur (?) Limbu, Niraula Baje and many others here if not wrong.
To complement and match their sincere efforts in dedicating themselves to realizing the goals set with the dream my Buba was well equipped with educational background and rich experience at the age of 40, and good support from the people came to be instrumental in making it realized true. What the school is today from scratch when he took up the cudgels to serve his best was possible motivating his team-mates for the all-round development of their students for years together. For accomplishing this in those difficult days support came to him from Bhishma Pratap Pradhan as Vice-President and Sunder Kumar Pradhan as the Secretary of the said Committee. They had already secured permission to run it as Junior High School in 1958, perhaps to be the first. This had made me often ponder why some of the students viz., Pempa Dadul, Nari Tsering, and Sono Tsering from Aritar opted - like Topgay Tsering, Tsering Tashi and Topay Bhutia to join in 1956 with me in Class VI, well understandable no such facility available then, a Middle English School - to join Tashi Namgyal Academy in Class VII having the newly introduced facility back home. It was 1959 when I was promoted in the 7th position to Class VIII ( a year senior already there were Zamyang Bhutia from Aritar with Binoy Kumar Pradhan*, Hom Nath Sharma and Shyam Sunder Pradhan* of Rhenock), later in 5th to Class IX and as 3rd to Class X to pass out in 2nd Division securing First Division marks in four subjects but in Principal V. N. Langer's subject Economics and Civics! We were the last of 20 matriculate students to pass out in 1962 paving the way for the transformation of Tashi Namgyal Academy that we developed diligently academically adding aesthetics to the surroundings as we planted Eucalyptus trees, fenced the compound with barbed wire, carved out the map of Sikkim on the huge rock near the upper gate and hosted the inaugural ceremony of the Auditorium in November 1961 with our counterpart Class X students from the Paljor Namgyal Girl's School invited - all are the mute witness of the days past – an oft-forgotten chapter in the history of the Tashi Namgyal Academy to have metamorphosised into a premier co-educational institute of the region soon thereafter!
Regarding girl education here, Muma Indira along with her cousins Malati, Sarala and Nirmal was sent to St. Joseph's Convent, Kalimpong in the 1940s while Pramila went to Girl's School there and Bidhan* passed out from St. Augustine's later in 1964. Among girls to pass out from the Rhenock Government Junior High School first and join Paljor Namgyal Girl's School were Sita Pradhan* followed by Shanti Pradhan, while Shiela Pradhan and Sangey Laden were already studying there from the middle level, perhaps. Sita Pradhan was sent for Delhi Tour when in Class VII followed by Deepa Pradhan (who settled down in America) and Bishnu Kumar Pradhan* next year in 1960 if remembered the year correctly.
Rhenock School has produced many brilliant students who have dedicated themselves to promoting and furthering the education system in Sikkim many working in this School itself and some others while serving the Government in the Education Department and elsewhere. Some of them have flourishing business houses not only in Sikkim but outside in Siliguri as well. This is thus a kipat or naso what we call in other words virasat or the legacy of our ancestors/forefathers which should be well taken care of by understanding well the rich tradition to keep the flag of glorious past fluttering high. It was here in this school that for the first time ever in Sikkim to have the bust of the great Philosopher and second President of India Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishanan with a park dedicated in his fond memory. Incidentally, Dr. Radhakrishnan was teaching while Buba was a student at Calcutta University. On Teacher's Day thought it worthwhile to send to the Principal a copy of our Tributes Shraddhanjali – Jai Shanker Lall Shresta with articles by his colleague K. K. Thapa and student Dr. Shanti Chettri (to be the first to excel academically from this School in Sikkim followed by Dr. Hari Prasad Chettri of the Rhenock Educational Society to repeat the feat even after his retirement) published in 2003 in his fond memory on 45th day of sad demise on 22 June 2003.
Buba was the torch-bearer every time to represent the society whenever the occasion demanded like welcoming the Maharaj Kumar Saheb P. T. Namgyal on his visit to Rhenock or organizing the Birthday celebrations of His Highness the Maharaja of Sikkim Sir Tashi Namgyal in the Bazar. Dilli Ram Baraily, a disciple was there on Gai Jatra Day mentioned us of having a photograph of the students with Head Sir taken on the occasion that this Author too had and share here besides a photo-collage showing 1. Head Sir receiving Maharaj Kumar Saheb P. T. Namgyal at Rhenock Bazar 2. Head Sir with colleagues on stage that celebrated Maharaja Saheb's Birthday in 1960 3. R. N. Haldipur PAO and M. P. Pradhan Land Revenue Secretary arriving at Rhenock Bazar 4. R. N. Haldipur visits Nav JIvan Sandhya Club started by this Author in 1963 5. Rhenock Government Senior Secondary School in 2018.
On two occasions Buba was transferred out to Bermiok-Tokal and Phodong, the public delegation went to the capital and brought him back. Later, he was sent to Sir Tashi Namgyal Senior Secondary School in 1971 purely on a temporary basis for two months when there was no Commerce teacher there and he complied with the Order. With the new system arrived with the 1973 agitation, a section of the people sent anonymous complaints for his ouster. The reason that he declined to give the false certificates to job seekers for the political supporters. He had then reminded the Department that when the appointment here was offered by the Director of Education S. R. Ghosh, it was accepted on a clear understanding that he would not be transferred from this place. Another condition for joining this school was that he would not be transferred out to maintain regularity with the development process he was dedicated to. Nor did the School Inspectors nor the senior officers interfere but had a cordial relationship with them all. John Phurba Tsering*, S. D. Rinchen* also known better as Nari Babu the supremo in the Education Department and D. C. Agnihotri* were among the officers who visited as family guests during their tour. This Author had the opportunity to work with them all as he looked after Education Department affairs besides some other departments while working in the Finance Department for a long period since 1975 till he was a Joint Secretary to be a senior officer of that rank to be posted out for the first time as the District Collector (South) to Namchi in 1986.
Rather than succumb to any outside pressure, Buba preferred to proceed on leave and ultimately sought retirement from 1st January 1976. To this day, Buba is fondly remembered by the residents here as Head Sir, whom they had the opportunity to felicitate on the occasion of his Sahasra Chandra Darsahnam / Maharatharohan or Jankwa to mark the sighting of a thousand moons attaining 83 years four months four days four hours and four minutes on 30 May 2000. Like this great occasion, rest is, as they say, history!

Disclaimer: This is neither the work of a research scholar 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)