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THE NOW! SPECIAL 8-PAGE PULL-OUT

ORGANISED BY THE RANIPOOL YOUTH

extrasextrasNOW!

Rock N’RollFor Hope

FACE OF THE WEEK

Mother’s DayMother’s DayLIVE IN CONCERT! 6 & 7 MAY 2003

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presentsGOOD AFTERNOON, GANGTOK

PANORAMA COLOR LAB offers a panorama of photoservices: Mounting and Hard-board lamination, enlargements,slide processing and framing in imported mould.

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KA

RC

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ON

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IYA

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Lal Bazaar Tharo Line. Saturday; 12:45 PM.

extraneousTHE GANGTOK STATE OF MIND

Migtin

Which Nepali Rock band recently performed in

Gelling ?

---------------------------------------------NAME: ............................................ Address.............................................

Last Week’s answer: Karfectar Winner: Angu Assampa, Bahai School

WHAT’S UP, SIKKIM

CONTEST

WIN A FREE MEAL FOR 2 AT

HOTELTibet Road, Gangtok. ph: 224101

Italian, Mexican,Chinese,

Indian andContinental

cuisine

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requires a Manager. Graduates can walk in for an

interview on Saturday, 3 May 2003 between 11AM to 1 PM

at Midas Touch, White Hall Office.

for details contact:

Tashi Wangyal @ 220677 & 225521

Buzz. . .

BAZAARPHOTO-OP

Prem Gurung, the man whowas swept away from in-

side his house in Nam Nang,during a night of heavy rainhad many sympathizers indeath.

But none, it seemed morethan the team recording thestory for a local cable channel.Watching the morningsamachar, most viewers wereappalled at the way the cam-era panned lovingly over thedead body in the morgue. Notonce, but many times. The im-age was disturbing and in poortaste. Wonder who allowedthem to shoot in a morgue inthe first place, and if camerasare routinely allowed inside?

The said cable has also in-creased its subscription rate by40 per cent, leading to many“it’s just the beginning…” com-ments. The price honeymoonseems to be over.

DADAGIRI

Talking of strange images,the recent photo-spread of

employees of a local Englishweekly announcing themselvesas “Team Anti-communalism”was quite laughable if not down-right childish. Do journos need toproclaim something so patentlyobvious as exceptions? Doesthe announcement imply thatonly they possess this particularvirtue and now the world needsto be told of it? Should othernewspapers also slot them-selves likewise? Maybe thepress club could now have seat-ing arrangements which segre-gate scribes by the team they be-long to - anti democracy, anti-cor-ruption and why not even anti-disaster. Then we would all knowwhere we stand or sit in this caseand there would be no confusionat all. What a novel idea.

OLD IS GOLD?

The old laws of Sikkim seemto come in handy at conven-

ient times. According to notifica-tion no. 2/p of November 26,1959, “Whosoever shall pos-sess, distribute or sell illegalprinted matter shall be liable tobe punished with simple impris-onment amounting to 6 monthsand shall pay a Rs. 1000 fine.”Should this notification whichqualifies to be an Old Law beinvoked, anyone found in pos-session of an “illegal” pamphletirrespective of how it reachedthe person could be put behindthe slammer.

Scary prospect for me sincebeing given a copy of said excit-ing material I could not resist theurge to gossip and spread slan-der and even considered mak-ing xerox copies for friends andneighbour’s entertainment tilltold about said law by policefriend. Now have destroyed onlycopy but managed to memorizematter. Must say not impressedwith language!

LAST WORD

The President of SikkimSangram Parishad (SSP),

on the union governments’s pro-posal to limit the number of min-isters to 10% of the combinedstrength of the Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha [for the Centre]and the State Assembly [for theState]: “I strongly believe it to bethe only way to rescue democ-racy from its present morass…a bill must be brought before the

parliament so that money andmuscle power do not make amockery of the democraticprocess.”(I reserve my comments andrest my case)

FORGING BACK

Bad news for those plan-ning to forge signatures or

documents. The convictionrate in such cases, no matterhow minor the sentence, hasjust increased. Last heard, apeon from the Culture Depart-ment was convicted for forgingthe Department’s stationeryrequisition orders. He is re-ported to have raised someRs. 3 lakhs worth of stationeryfrom the market. Apparently, heused to type the requisition let-ter himself and then xerox theauthorising officer’s signatureon to the letter and lift thestock. Joining him in the con-victed list is an LDC with theDC East’s office, who alongwith six others was involved inwhat should have been a lu-crative racket of procuringfalse Certificates of Identifica-tion. He is in for a month atRongyek. And then there isthat government schoolteacher who becomes the rareone singled out for prosecu-tion because he ran a tutorialeven though on the govern-ment payroll. Although let offwith a Rs. 4,000 fine he is sureto lose his job. Apparently, theaccused ran a DreamlandAcademy even though thecode of conduct disallows himthe extra income from tutions.The conviction should give allother government teacherssleepless nights. Doctors,who are similarly bound byduty, should not mind, sincepatients give them sleeplessnights anyway.

Bookworm Asks CONTEST

the winner [decided by draw of lots from all correct entries] wins a discount

voucher worth Rs. 100 from Rachna Books and Publications

books and

p u b l i c a t i o n s

Near Community Hall Gangtok Sikkim

�224336 �rachna_books@yahoo.co.in

Shakespeare’s Hamlet has a play within a play

which inspired an Agatha Christie to write the

world’s longest running film ever. Name it?

last week’s answer:METAMORPHOSISWinner: T. ChophelJorethang.

Most of us would have, at somepoint of time or the other, passedthe Jali Power House near Singtam.This blue and grey machinationwith its massive pipelines bearingwater and its powerful turbinesconstantly working at churning outpower is named after the Chief En-gineer of Sikkim- Fakirchand Jali.Apparently in those early days en-gineering was a much more re-vered science than it is today andJali, being one of its protagonistsin Sikkim, was personally lookedupon with much awe for his knowl-edge.

sikkim

SNIPPETS

(Sikkim Snippets will documentlittle known facts about Sikkimbefore they are lost forever. Wewould be grateful for any contri-butions to this column)

JALI POWER HOUSE

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rajdhaniWHAT THECAPITAL’SBEENUP TO

Geet Ani Geetangay, thepopular programme laststaged in 1993 is being

performed again after ten yearson May 17-18 at College Audi-torium, Tadong at 5.30 pm. Theprogramme which was to havebeen held on the May 16 hasbeen postponed because itclashed with festivities slated forthe State Day function.

The show is being performedin aid of the National School forthe Blind (Sikkim). Produced byCreative Arts and Dramatics Or-ganization (CADOS), the pro-gramme will be a celebration of

It is time again for anothershopping festival. Calling itself India’s biggest exhibition,

the Consumer Expo 2003opened stalls on Saturday 3rd

May. Although not really thatlarge, it still has some interest-ing things to offer. Floatinglamps, wrought ironcandlestands, stuffed toys,home furnishing andkitchenware can be had alongwith kurta sets and sarees. TheGujarat stall gas some interest-

the golden period of Nepalesemusic - the two decades span-ning 1955 – 1975. It was a timewhen singers like NarayanGopal, Aruna lama, Tara Deviand Prem Dhwaj Pradhan, oncecalled “the golden voice of Nepalimusic” enthralled listeners withtheir melodious rendition of ro-mantic songs.

Recreating the nostalgia thistime will be singers and musi-cians from the state. Theevening is being sponsored bythe Department of Cultural Af-fairs and Eastern Zonal CulturalCouncil, Kolkata.

So how did NAB andCADOS get together?

“Jayashree Pradhan, who is

the President of NAB heard oursongs from the last show re-corded on a cassette and likedthem very much. She said thatwe must perform again and thatthe Culture Department wouldsponsor it, so we agreed to do itto raise money for NAB,” saysMandeep Lama, General Secre-tary, CADOS.

The proceeds from the pro-gramme will go towards buildinga Boy’s hostel cum teachingquarters at Namchi.

“Till now we have a commonhostel but with this money we willbuild a separate hostel for thegrown up boys,” states Ms.Geeta Sharma, Executive, NAB.

CADOS is performing free for

the programme. No recordings,audio or video, will be allowedinside the hall since they plan toproduce their own VCDs, themoney from the sales of whichwill go to NAB. The eveningpromises to be entertaining for

lovers of Nepali music.“We are trying to package it

as a trip down memory lane – anostalgic remembrance of daysgone by,” adds Lama.

Entertainment with a cause.Be there.

A file photo of the last Geet Ani Geetangay extravaganza

The Songs and the Singersreturn after 10-year hiatus

photo courtesy CADOS

a NOW REPORT

Sale of Books on Tibetan Buddhism and Handicrafts is onat Hotel Tibet. Organized by the Hotel Tibet Charitrust, thesale has books on Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan folk tales andTibetan medicine. Books by H.H. Dalai Lama and other spir-itual books are available. Also on sale are handicrafts, bags,shirts and posters. Discounts offered range from 10% - 70%.The sale is on till 20th May.

Forty-eight days of continuous prayers andabhishekam of the Shiva

Panchayatna Meditation Centreof Shri Kanchi Kamakoti SevaSamiti of Sikkim ended inNandok on April 27, last Sun-day.

The elaborate prayers in-cluded Shri Japa Sukta Homam,Kalasa Stapitham and LaxmiPuja with 1,001 lotus petals andDeepa Aradhana and Aarti with108 lights and camphors whichmarked the closing days rituals.

The significance of the 48-day

prayer was to “give power” toMahaganapathi (Lord Ganesh),Lord Kanchaneshwar (Lord Shiva),Goddess Kanchana Devi (God-dess Parvati), Lord Satyanarayan(Lord Vishnu), Lord Jyotiraditya(Lord Surya) installed at the centreto promote the welfare and pros-perity of Sikkim and its people.

The prayers were conductedby a team led by ShriSubramaniam of Ved BhawanKolkata along with the headpriest Shri Satyanarayan and hisassistants with Narayana Aiyerrepresenting the parent body -Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam,Kanchipuram.

ing mirror work and South cot-ton suits with prices ranging fromRs.250-500. Some good chikanwork kurtas and sarees are be-ing sold at a stall from Lucknow.Georgette sarees and marblechiffon kurta pieces are availableat the same stall.

You can also buy colourfulearthen pottery at a stall fromU.P. Chinese Collection, fromMumbai stocks up on whatthey say are “authentic genu-ine Chinese goods”. Here youcan get gold plated Chinesevases for Rs. 4000-6000.

Even porcelain stools forRs.4500. and a movable mar-ble salad plate for Rs. 2000. Abit on the expensive side butquite good products. Thosesearching for alternative curescan check the two medicalstalls, Ashirwad Herbal andAyurvedic product andDr.Reena’s Natural AyurvedicRemedies. Dr. Reena is avail-able at the stall if you wantmore info on her herbal rem-edies.

The exhibition is on till the 15th

of May.

a NOW REPORT

Shopping time again!

a NOW! pic

48-DAY PRAYER FOR

SIKKIM’S PROSPERITYa NOW REPORT

a NOW! pic

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

NOW! can be reached at 270949

or e-mail sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

extras 4

INTHECITY

10

rajdhani

FOR AIDS AWARENESS

“You have just one chance,

play safe”

Venue: Sangram Hall

6 & 7 May 2003: Date

Time: 4 PM Onwards

presented by:

Future Generation‘Looking beyond and now’

in association with:

Department of HealthGovernment of Sikkim

organised by: THE RANIPOOL YOUTH

Electra Cafe, Blue Sheep (Gangtok)

China Palate (Gangtok)

Beshal Hotel (Deorali)

Queenbridge Institute (Ranipool)

Time Out (Daragaon)

Little Italy (Deorali)

TIC

KETS A

VA

ILA

BLE A

T:

Hope Centre, Gangtok, aregistered and autonomous voluntary organi-

sation dedicated to issues relat-ing to drug addiction, organiseda rock concert here at theSangram Hall on May 4.

The “Darkness to Light” con-cert saw Revelation, the Band,a rock group from Kalimpongperform to a packed house. Theconcert was to raise funds for afull-flegded detoxification facilityhere in Gangtok in collaborationwith the Calcutta Samaritansand the State government, andalso for AIDS awareness.

Revelat ion, the Band,played some popular 70s and80s rock numbers, rangingfrom Deep Purple, Iron Maiden,Eagles, Pink Floyd to GaryMoore and U2. The Band com-prises of Rajiv and Bikash [vo-cals]; Dawa [guitar]; Parvin[Bass], Harish [drums] andSuchi [keyboard].

LIVE

IN C

ONCERT!

CONTEST

WIN A COFFEE &

SNACKS COUPON

WORTH Rs. 100 AT

BAKER’S CAFE, MG

MARG, GANGTOK

Tick the right answer and rush en-tries to NOW! office at Tadong to

fresh everyday

- QUESTION OF THE WEEK -

OUT OF 73 SPECIES OF

COFFEE, HOW MANY

ARE CULTIVATED?

� One� Two� Three

coffee

NAME: .........................................

ADDRESS: ...................................

Last week’s answer: Capuchino. Win-

ner: Anirudhra, 6th Mile, Sai School

pic courtesy: SAMEER SHARMA

a NOW! REPORT

Rock N’Roll For Hope

The Satya Sai Sewa Organisation organised arally marking the Bal Bikas

Diwas in the capital on May 4,2003.

Approximately 450 Bal Vikasstudents took part in the rallywhich commenced fromThakurbari and concluded with a

function at the Sarv Dharma SaiCentre near Vajra Cinema wherechildren took the centre stageand presented everything fromthe welcome speech to the clos-ing lines.

The Diwas is observed everyyear and actually falls on May 6,but since it was a week day thisyear, the organisers decided toprepone it to a Sunday.

BAL VIKAS DIWAS OBSERVED

Students march atop the Fly Over at Hospital point. NOW! pics

a NOW! REPORT

Members of the SikkimVihangam YogaSansthan are on a high.

Not only are they hosting the headof Vihangam Yoga that they prac-tise, but are also imbibing moreabout its spiritual aspects fromhim - His Holiness ParamparaSadguru Acharya Sri SwatantraDeoji Maharaj of Jhunsi Ashram,Allahabad. The Sadguru arrivedin Sikkim on April 5 on a 3-day visitand delivered spiritual discoursesand held a satsang at New LallMarket on May 6.

Vihangam Yoga is consideredthe highest form of yoga and isalso called Brahma Vidya. It tran-scends the physical or prakritikyoga and seeks to free the “Atma”from the shackles of mind andintellect to attain its pure con-scious state, something that thepractise of physical yoga cannotaspire to.

Interestingly, Vihangam Yogahad disappeared over the pastfive hundred years and was re-vived when it was received bySadguru Swami Sadafal DeojiMaharaj in the first half of the lastcentury.

Individuals aspiring to attain theunion of “atma” with “parmatma”promised by Vihangam Yogahave been practising this formyoga collectively as under theSansthan since the early eightiesin Sikkim.

FREE YOUR

MIND

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LiTNOWWHEN THE HILLS WRITE

You can get lost either onpurpose or by accident.The accident part you

have no control over. As for get-ting lost purposely, its mucheasier than you think. All youhave to do is remain fixedly aim-less. The act of being lost impliescertain things in the.. loser. It in-sinuates a certain amount ofdumbness that led and followedhim to his predicament. It alsohints at a certain worry in themind. The most frequent innerquestion being, “Will I ever getback?” The second FAQ: “Whydidn’t I listen?” and dependingupon whether he finds his wayaround, the act usually ends ineither relief or a lonesome death.Relief has been experienced byall of us at some point. As forlonesome deaths; very fewrecords, understandably, exist.

But what if, like Murphy men-tioned, you don’t care where youare. You have no worries, nognawing at the back of your mind.Being lost is not the same with-out the sense of being lost. Theoutside world, your family, friends,pet and class teacher may belooking for you frantically. But solong as there something in yousaying that they worry in vain,you’ll still be the perfect stranger.

This is pretty much thepoeticised version of what Robintold me when I asked him thequestion everyone had been dy-ing to. How he, being from Sik-kim, managed to get lost withinSikkim and stay that way for alittle over a week.

I’d asked him. “I heard you gotlost in Sikkim?”

“Why? You’re also finding itfunny?”

“So everyone’s making fun ofyou then?”

“Haven’t you heard?”“I did. I remember remarking

to Kelsang, who else but Robin?”“Why? You think I am a psycho?”It would take a little more en-

ergy than most people have to sitand sift through that behavioralcrap and extract the remarkablestory it tries to convey.

Robin’s father works with a de-partment answerable directly tothe Centre. He was always beingissued frequent transfers. Thus Rgrew up a stranger. He came backhome to Sikkim but still remainsa stranger in his own land. Whichto my mind is the worst sort of al-ienation. He’s been here only fora year or so. His Hindi is betterthan his Nepali, a source of end-less jibing. Sikkim remains forRobin, undiscovered. He doeshave an ancestral village, but allhe knows is that it lies in the SouthDistrict. His father seldom goesthere, having fought with hisbrothers and, it was unanimouslydecided by family gossips, insti-gated the division of the property.That is not to say that R lives co-cooned. He does pass a few vil-lages and small towns that lay in-side Sikkim. On the way to Siliguri.

Earlier, Robin would look andwonder how those in the villages

conduct their lives. It seemed sosimple without TVs, VCDs andrestaurants. And plus there issomething so routine about re-turning on time and in shape.Yes, it did occur to me that theywould get worried at home. Butthen they’re always worried. Soit wouldn’t be anything new.

It happened last week. Robinwas then, unwisened and a partof a trekking expedition to WestSikkim. The group consisted ofhis classmates, a cousin and twodogs he’d taken to calling, rathercollectively, “my sons”. A longingfor adventure had taken himthere. He was soon disappointedwhen he found out that there wasnothing adventurous in doingwhat you’re told while a portercarried all your luggage. Theywere to turn back as soon as theyencountered snow, spent a nightin it and had built a snowman.

Robin will die if not allowed tolive a role. He is frequently some-one else, and that someone elsealso changed frequently. He hasbeen, in a recent extract frommemories of a long association,a hip-hop artiste, a Nepali film ac-tor (he liked Nepali village women,he said) and a bio-geneticist (he’dheard the term over the dinner ta-bles when the discussion had in-volved his future.). He acted eachpart for a week, exhorting every-one to call him by his latest name,applying nonsensical jargon alongthe way. In between roles, he re-mains moody.

His latest role turned out ac-cording to Leeman, his cousin onthe trip, playing Pop to the twopuppies. No one knows wherethose puppies came from orwhere they went after deliveringRobin his long sought adventure.They had camped overnight on aridge and were on route to snow.His sons had obediently followedRobin for the past two days andwere on course to complete thetrek along with Robin’s party. It’sa frequent occurrence on trekkingexpeditions. Something mangywill attach itself to you and walkall the way up and down for noapparent reason. At least nonethat a human can discern.

Robin’s two pups disprovedthe above theory by disappear-ing midway. No one knows why,how or when. Robin was madeaware of their absence where-upon he promptly effected his.He had been persistently moodyfor the past few days. He com-plained about, amongst otherthings, the unbearable angst ofseeing the same faces day afterday after day. “I long to get awayfrom it all,” He’d said affectedly.No one could be much botheredabout his sons’ disappearance,now Robin himself disappeared.The others shrugged and moved

on. His cousin was secretly glad.He wouldn’t be found for the

next eight days. His parents wouldslap his cousin, get the trekkingguide arrested, visit ministers andcry continuously without losinghope. The newspapers, with noth-ing much happening, wrote abouthim extensively. In short, by thetime Robin came back, all knewwho he was and none knewwhere he had been.

When he finally got around totelling his story; it had a clichedbeginning.

He had, in pursuit of his sons,slipped. “I fell half a hill.” Or 20feet if you know what parametersto scale Robin’s claims by. And hehad landed in a place far awayfrom the normal subdued hum-drum of Gangtok’s life into a placeunlike any other he had ever beento. It was a basti; small, surpris-ingly clean and idyllic.

Robin had, in the course of hisfall, hit his head against some-thing. In the manner of great,contrived adventures, there werepeople peering at him when hecame around.

“Where am I?”A toothless farmer answered,

“You are in Baas Basti. Whereare you from?” Now Robin, be-ing wise in the social functioningsof our small state, knew wherethat would lead. The villagerwould talk about someone heknew from Gangtok or ask himhis father’s name. And in two,maybe three steps they wouldhave established a familiarity souneasy he would rather havebeen strangers still.

“I come from Nepal.”“You must have got lost while

trekking. Shall we show you back?” Robin didn’t want to get back.

He was sick of climbing up andclimbing down with no other pur-pose than to climb up and climbdown. He didn’t mind just stay-ing there for sometime.

“I’m on my way to a higherplace. I need sometime to getused to this thin air. They say thelower you go the thicker the airis. Baas paunchha ki bhaneko?

“Of course, this place is meantfor that. People frequently stopover on their way up. In fact mostlike it so much they stay the du-ration.”

“Sanchhi?”“Of course, you can stay for as

long as you like. You can help uswith the village chores. In returnfor which you will be given food.You will also be given a small hutto yourself. One room with anattached toilet. That way, bothparties stay alive.” The toothlessfarmer grinned. Robin was sur-prised by this piece of not-at-all-rustic wisdom.

“Can I stay here for a week?”“You don’t even have to ask.

In fact, I volunteer to be yourhost.” Robin wished there werea few men like the toothlessfarmer around him in Gangtok.

So Robin stayed. It was to bea week of surprises. The villagehad everything to complete therustic effect. Green terracedfields, a small skewed street,adorably proportioned huts, afunctioning sewerage systemand most importantly, a few con-nected computers. There werealso two kiosks manned by Sik-kim Tourism and RDD. Cable TVwasn’t there. But it was missingby choice, not circumstance. Anexperiment had been tried to in-troduce Cable but it apparentlyhad made everyone lazy. And thevillage women had started ask-ing questions awkward questionsabout equality.

Robin knew Sikkim had pro-gressed tremendously in the pastfew years. But this defied the shal-low boundaries of common sense.The village had as many barebacked, sun tanned tourists work-ing the fields as ordinary villagers.All inhabited continents, it turnedout, were represented. The villag-ers themselves were unlike anymental picture of them Robin hadever drawn. Most had had the ba-sics of education. And they talkedof faraway places with familiarity.France, Germany, Norway and in-evitably America. Words like hardrock, Bob Marley and sex symbolpeppered their conversations. Thetoothless farmer turned out to be aheadman of sorts. Robin, thoughsurprised at all this, felt at home.Here at last, was home. Where thebest of East and West gathered un-der a canopy of agricultural bliss.

Robin, whose laziness is al-ready the stuff of incredulous an-ecdotes, actually worked. Hetoiled the fields and experiencedfirst hand the belated satisfactionthat comes with breaking mud. Isay belated because it is alwaysfondly talked about by those whodid it once before. Before gradu-ating on to better things. Thosewho toil, still curse. Robin brokebread with the “community” andthen slept early.

A week maybe a long time in poli-tics but it’s a short time in holidays.As the time to return drew closer,Robin experienced a strange sortof melancholy; a happy vacationwithdrawl symptom.

The night before he left, Robinwas truly sad. Here, for once inhis life, he had been treated withdignity. And like an adult, thoughhe wasn’t one. Just overweightand overdeveloped. He wouldreturn home and then shift un-der the wings of his parents foranother ten years. The world wassuch. You had to study full time,like a dope, for the first twenty-five years to see you comfortably

through the next thirty five. Thenat sixty, if you’ve lived that long,you are too tired to do anythingbut act wise in public gatheringsand wait for death in private.

Joe, a recent friend, came overto give him company. Robinbitched about the entire world.He bitched about his family,friends, pet and class teacher.Joe remained silent throughout.He abandoned his reticence onlyonce to say, “u got to talk widdem, man! Da problem is in dacommunication.”

By and by, the night passed. Itwas dawn and time to take leaveof the village, Joe and particu-larly, his toothless host. Hepacked his haversack and waitedmournfully outside his bare, com-forting hut. The toothless farmerwas late in coming out. He ap-peared in some time, clutching asmall piece of paper.

“Bhai Sir, please take care of this.”“What is that, dai?”“This is your bill, hazoor.”“Bill. Bill for what?”“For the stay.”“But I thought I was only re-

ceiving baas, daju.”“You were, sir, this village is

called Baas Basti. You also haveto pay for it.”

“But I thought you allowed meto work for my food.”

“That you did. But this is thebill for your lodging.”

There elapsed some time be-fore the shock wore off enough forR to attempt speech. “Why didn’tyou tell me on the first day itself?”

“We,” the toothless farmer gavea wave to indicate the village, “at-tended a seminar on friendly tour-ism in Gangtok last year. They toldus that we were home for all thosewho decided to come and staywith us. And we should never somuch as mention money until itbecomes inevitable.”

Different parts of R were nowamused, exasperated andshocked at the same time. Fi-nally, “How much do I owe you?”

“Two thousand eight hundredrupees, hazoor. Four hundred pernight. It’s the off season. Otherwisewe usually handle only bookings.”

R whistled and, to his credit,laughed. He took the bill andscrutnised it. The money was be-ing demanded by the Baas BastiModel Village Tourism Commit-tee. There was a small line at thebottom which asked the patron totick the square if he intended topay in a foreign currency.

“What place is this?”“It’s a Model Village.”“What is a Model Village?”“You may not have heard of it.

Not being from Sikkim.”“Daju, I am from Sikkim.” R. felt

obliged to tell him the truth abouthis origins. Father’s name had tobe brought up. Needless to say, thetoothless farmer had heard of him.

“That explains a lot of things.”The toothless farmer said, beforecontinuing,

“You still have to pay. Yas palita season nai ramro lagena. Themodel village is a schemestarted by the Government fortourism development. This hasbeen around for the past fouryears or so. It’s done everyone

by CHETAN RAJ SHRESTHA

The following piece refers toevents sometime in 2008. After

most in Sikkim are

market-savvy - Author.

- continued overleaf

extras 6

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WOMENNOW!

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KNOW YOUR SOAP CONTEST!

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Tadong

WORTH

SusongSAYS

This season the look for your lips is gloss. Subtle natural lipswith just a hint of translucent colour. No longer just used over

a lipstick to give life to flat, matte colour, gloss isnow worn on its own. For the dedicated lipstickwearer apply a sheer gloss in the same shadeas your normal lipstick. It will instantly makeyou look fresher.Lips are either very glossy or given a trans-

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Tip for eye-catching gloss lips – Applya dot of clear gloss in the centre of yourmouth over the gloss you are alreadywearing. Looks great.

GO GLOSS

The earliest Mother’s Daycelebrations can betraced back to the spring

celebrations of ancient Greecein honor of Rhea, the Mother ofthe Gods. During the 1600’s,England celebrated a day called“Mothering Sunday”. Celebratedon the 4th Sunday of Lent (the40 day period leading up toEaster*), “Mothering Sunday”honored the mothers of Eng-land.

During this time many of theEngland ’s poor worked asservants for the wealthy. Asmost jobs were located far fromtheir homes, the servantswould live at the houses of theiremployers. On Mothering Sun-day the servants would havethe day off and were encour-aged to return home and spendthe day with their mothers. Aspecial cake, called the moth-ering cake, was often broughtalong to provide a festivetouch.

As Christ ianity spreadthroughout Europe the celebra-t ion changed to honor the“Mother Church” - the spiritualpower that gave them life andprotected them from harm.Over time the church festivalblended with the MotheringSunday celebration . Peoplebegan honoring their mothersas well as the church.

In the United States Moth-er’s Day was first suggested in1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who

a lot of good. Made tourism agrassroots industry. You stayedwith us under the home stay pro-gram. An outsider can come andpartake of our lives You musthave heard about it.”

R had heard about it. He hadthought it funny then, now he foundit hilarious. “Ekkai chhin la daju. I’lljust visit the toilet.” Once inside theloo, R, squirmed out of the gener-ous ventilator and scooted to real-ity. He walked for three hours be-fore he found a road and anotherhour passed before he was givena lift by a passing truck. He reachedGangtok late at night. There weretears of relief which was followedby marathon scolding sessionsfrom all the elderly who had gath-ered to share his father’s grief. Hisappearance soon lost its charmand everyone turned against himand instigated his father enough forR to be summoned to the livingroom after dinner and thrashed towithin an atom’s whisker of his life.

Like a confused aftertaste froma sweet and sour meal, the billfrom the Baas Basti Model Vil-lage Tourism Committee followedhim to Gangtok, along with a law-yer’s notice elaborating the con-sequences of not paying up. Rwas thrashed again.

wrote the words to the Battlehymn of the Republic) as a daydedicated to peace. Ms. Howewould hold organized Mother’sDay meetings in Boston, Massever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, fromPhiladelphia, began a cam-paign to establish a nationalMother ’s Day. Jarvis per-suaded her mother’s church inGrafton, West Virginia to cel-ebrate Mother ’s Day on thesecond anniversary of hermother’s death, the 2nd Sun-day of May. By the next yearMother ’s Day was also cel-ebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her support-ers began to write to ministers,businessman, and politicians intheir quest to establish a na-tional Mother’s Day. It was suc-cessful as by 1911 Mother ’sDay was celebrated in almostevery state. PresidentWoodrow Wilson, in 1914,made the official announce-ment proclaiming Mother’s Dayas a national holiday that wasto be held each year on the 2ndSunday of May.

While many countries of theworld celebrate their own Moth-er ’s Day at different timesthroughout the year, there aresome countries such as Den-mark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Aus-tralia, and Belgium which alsocelebrate Mother’s Day on thesecond Sunday of May.

If evolution really works, howcome Mothers only have twohands ?

Personally, I think today’s kidsought to do something reallyspecial for their Mothers onMother’s Day - like move out !

Hey guys - looking for a greatgift for your Mother-in-Law onMother’s Day ? Why not sendher back her daughter ???

A single Mom was asked by afriend what her son was takingin college. With a sigh she re-

Mother’s DayMother’s DayTHE HISTORY OF

plied, “Everything I have.”Fathers - take heart, your day

is coming, and you can be sureof getting at least one thing -the bills from Mother’s Day.

Most Mothers are alwaysamazed when their sons/daughters marry a person withmuch lower mental capacity,ambition and moral standards,yet still manage to have utterlybrilliant children.

Mothers come in all shapesand sizes. For example, an Ital-

ian Mother might chastise heroffspring for not eating by say-ing, “Eat your dinner, or I’ll killyou.” A Jewish Mother on theother hand would say, “Eatyour dinner, or I’ll kill myself.”

A daughter broke-up with herboyfriend. She asked her Moth-er’s advice about returning thegifts he’d given her. Without apause, her Mother replied,“Send back the stuffed animalsand letters, but keep the jewelryfor sentimental reasons.”

ONE LINERSMOTHER’S DAY- continued from page 5

On the occasion of

Mother’s Day,

NOW! thanks all

mothers for keep-

ing the world a

livable place.

Without their

sobering effect,

things would have

gone out of hand

long back.

extras 7

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QUESTION WINS 2 TICKETS TO

Identify this actor trapped in a

phone booth?

Answer: __________________

Name: __________________

Address: __________________

moviesmovies

Sweet NothingsMESSAGES FROM THE HEART

LAST WEEK’S ANSWER:MATRIX. WINNER:MANISH JAIN, Govt. Law College

GURU-ji

This one’s for the

‘Conquering General’ -

may the conquest last

a lifetime of conjugal

bliss!!!

- regards -

NOW!

DEAREST BHAUJU

Happy Belated Birthday!

Seriously, did not know.

Only one birthday I

actually never forget, my

own!! hehe.

And... hope you have a

‘spotless’ year ahead!

with love - TWO LOOKS

(When this began) I had nothing to say

And I get lost in the nothingness inside of me

(I was confused) And I let it all out to find/

That I’m not the only person with these things in mind

(Inside of me) But all the vacancy the words revealed

Is the only real thing that I’ve got left to feel

(Nothing to lose) Just stuck/ hollow and alone

And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own

[Chorus]

I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real

I wanna let go of the pain I’ve felt so long

(Erase all the pain till it’s gone) I wanna heal, I wanna

feel like I’m close to something real

I wanna find something I’ve wanted all along Some-

where I belong

And I’ve got nothing to say I can’t believe I didn’t fall

right down on my face

(I was confused) Looking everywhere only to find

That it’s not the way I had imagined it all in my mind

(So what am I) What do I have but negativity

’Cause I can’t justify the way, everyone is looking at me

(Nothing to lose) Nothing to gain/ hollow and alone

And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own

[Repeat Chorus]

I will never know myself until I do this on my own

And I will never feel anything else, until my wounds are

healed

I will never be anything till I break away from me

I will break away, I'll find myself today

[Repeat Chorus]

I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I’m somewhere I belong

I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I’m somewhere I belong

Somewhere I belong

Somewhere I Belong

He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere. Look,there’s Colin Farrell playing a CIA recruit in themovies. There he is again, as Daredevil’s

skinhead villain Bullseye. And here he is now, as ascumbag New York publicist stalked by an unseen killerin Phone Booth.

Catch him as he sounds off on E!’s Behind the Scenes:Phone Booth premiering April 3 at 6 p.m. And read on tofind out how he feels about being the flavor of the month,living in Dublin and being a proud bleepin’ Irishman.

You’ve starred in three movies this year, and it’sonly April. Do you feel like you’ve reached the top atlast?

I’ve been flavor of the month a few times. I’ve beenthe next big thing for three f—kin’ years! It’s not that muchof a priority. I seem to have done it before I even de-cided it was something I wanted to do. It doesn’t seemvery natural, what’s happened to me in the last threeyears.

For me, living it, it just seems like a natural progres-sion. But it’s not the be all and end all, to answer yourquestion. I’ve said it before, and I stand by it: If it was allto go away tomorrow, I have three years of good stories.

Still, it must have felt good when Daredevil tookoff and your performance was considered the bestthing about it.

The only reason I did the film was because there’d bea Bullseye doll, so I could play with myself and not putmy hand down my pants.

And now Phone Booth is finally coming out afterit was postponed last year because of the D.C. sniper.How did you feel about all that?

I was disappointed because it was, what, two and ahalf years? Get the f—kin’ thing out and finish it, y’know—see if anyone sees it. Put it to bed and chalk it down toexperience. But I didn’t really give that much of a f—k tobe honest, though, because people were dying on theEast Coast, and it was only a movie. There were moreimportant things to worry about. How can you get upset

about a movie? Jesus Christ, give me a break.And all with a New York accent. You’ve played lots

of different Americans in movies, but in real life yousound very Irish. Is it easy to switch voices like that?

It ain’t brain surgery, but it is a constant work inprogress. I have a really good dialect coach. Him andme sit around and listen to tapes, ideally, three or fourweeks before we start shooting, just to start getting thesounds from the area we feel the character should befrom. We listen to that tape over and over, the cadencesand patterns of speech and whether he ends his sen-tences up or down or whatever.

But every day on the set, it’s something I have tostay very conscious of. Sometimes you do a take,you say a word, and I can hear the Irishness. Tobe aware, then, that you hear it in the middle ofthe scene, and to be aware that you’re aware thatyou’re hearing it...Jesus Christ, you want to killyourself.

That might be easier for you if you’d relocateto Hollywood like a normal movie star. But youlove your hometown too much, don’t you?

I still live in Dublin, yeah. I have no interest inmoving to Los Angeles. I’ve been staying here onand off for three years, living in hotels, and then Igo home when I’m not working. That’s the best wayfor me to do it. Different strokes for different folks.But for my sanity, all me friends and family are backhome. It’s not so much what goes on over here butthat they’re there, and I want to be around them asmuch as I can. As soon as a film is done, I’m onthe first plane home, y’know?

The bawdy Irishman on stardom -

and getting stuck in that damn

phone booth

extras 8

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This is a terrible movie. Generic.

Bland. Adequately acted by its

teen stars and a walk through for

its adults. One hundred percent been

there-done that-seen it all before too

many dozens of times to care. How did

it get made? Do the math. Thirteen year

old viewers, television aside, haven't

gotten close to that been there-seen it

before level of self-recognition. It's new

to them

Living a life more in keeping with the

1960s than the mid 80s where it begins,

is Libby Reynolds (Kelly Preston), a mu-

sician who finds herself stranded in

Morocco. There, she falls off a sand

dune into the hands of her own personal

Prince Charming, the British nobleman

who will assume the title Lord

Dashwood (Colin Firth). Due to the

machinations of Dashwood's assistant

Alistair Payne (Jonathan Pryce), Libby

ditched the duke (sic) early on and has

raised the child as a solo mom. Payne

delivered a carefully crafted, meaning

STARRING:ShahidKapoor,Amrita Rao,ShenazTreasurywala

ISHQ-VISHQ

FROM

FRIDAY

forged, "dear john" letter to the lord, who

has spent all the intervening time de-

voted to advancing his political career.

By the time his previously unknown

daughter, Daphne (Amanda Bynes),

shows up on his mansionstep the Lord

has decided to step down and seek a

place in the House of Commons, as an

elected representative of the people.

The last thing a proper ex-Lord needs,

of course, is a rambunctious, high spir-

ited and cute as all get out seventeen

year old (possibly) illegitimate daugh-

ter gumming up the works, but that's

ARIES: Some may net good profits in their business. However expenses will be

incurred. Some may be in a position to encash bonds previously held up Some

may start on a new business venture. Expansion in your business is denoted.

Court affairs will be settled amicably and will be in your favor.

TAURUS: Finances will be stable. Some may be in a position to encash money

previously held up. However expenses will be incurred. Your social status will be

good. You will be very popular among your friends. Some may get a promotion at

work. You enjoy the support of your superiors. You will earn their praise.

GEMINI: Changes take place for the better. Cash flow will be very good. There

will be a marked improvement in your status. You will receive positive feedback in

the mail on business affairs. Some may purchase immovable property. Loans will

be reduced. Overall you are very successful.

CANCER: A happy and cheerful time for you. You will find success in all your

activities. Finances will be stable. Those who are appearing for exams may find

easy success. Name and fame will be yours. You enjoy the appreciation from

elders in your family. Expenses will be reduced.

LEO: An easygoing time for you. Some may inherit ancestral property. Some

may look at buying a new set of wheels. Some may start a new business activity.

Expenses in business will mount up. Those in employment will enjoy the support

of their superiors and colleagues. Those in the film line will do well. Some may go

on a religious pilgrimage..

VIRGO: Life carries on as usual. Meditation will give you peace of mind. Avoid

brooding and being lonely. Some may get good income from their allied business.

LIBRA: A long holiday will give you a much-needed break. Your social status

will be good. You will be very popular among your friends. Some may be inter-

ested to take up new business activities. Uncommon and unnecessary expenses

will mount up however. Tension at work due to your juniors may cause you minor

irritations.

SCORPIO: You will enjoy monetary gains. Some may be interested to take on

new business activities. Business will be very brisk and busy. Those in the trade,

commission agency, electrical and cement business will make good profits in busi-

ness dealings. You will receive positive feedback in the mail regarding a new busi-

ness proposition. Finances will be stable.

SAGITTARIUS: Cash flow will be very good. A good time to expand your

business or even take up a new line of business. You will enjoy the support of your

partners on business matters. Your worries and tensions will now be over. Health

will be stable.

CAPRICORN: Happiness will prevail. A change of environment will give you

mental peace and happiness. You will be very popular among your friends. Export

business will be very brisk. Those in the judiciary will enjoy perks at work. Some

may get a promotion. Speculative income will be dull.

AQUARIUS: Those in employment will enjoy support from your superiors and

may even get a promotion. A separation from your life partner may take place

PISCES: Some may be separated from their family due to changes at work.

However a change of environment will give you mental peace and happiness.

Health will be stable. Your worries and tensions will now be over.

Stuck in a rut and not getting what you

want? Just “going through the motion”

of your life with no passion, no plan and

no goal? Bored with yourself or silently

enduring an emotionally barren life or

marriage? In that case, what you need

is a strategy. Life is a journey and as

with any other trip, if you don’t have a

map and a timetable you will get lost.

“Life Strategies”, makes you address

your life, relationships, career, family life

and most importantly your relationship

with yourself. The author lays down 10

immutable life laws, that if incorporated

into your life strategy can make you a

winner. Through various tests, question-

naires and guided tour of your life, the

book highlights the weak spot that

should be your focus. Equipped with this

insight you are now ready for a life strat-

egy that allows you to begin changing

your life, one step, one goal, one prior-

ity at a time. The book designs a plan to

move forward from where you are. It is

about how to reach in a strategic way

for something better.

The first law of life, according to the au-

thor is “You either get it, or you don’t”.

We’ll say the same for the book.

Pages 365 Price 325. Available at

Alphabets.

BOOKAPPRECIATION

Parents will pray for The End

what he gets.

Don't dwell on that "illegitimate" bit too

long. The story doesn't -- no need for

heavy duty stuff in a light and fluffy en-

tertainment and, for those who carry a

Moral Majority membership card, deals

with the quandary by the time the film is

done. Just like any good fairy tale, there

is an evil stepmom -- Dashwood's fian-

cee Glynnis Payne (Anna Chancellor) --

and an evil stepsister-to-be, Clarissa

(Christina Cole). The pair are daughter

and granddaughter of the aforemen-

tioned assistant Alistair and all are prop-

erly English snotty. The role of the fairy

godmother is played by Dashwood mum,

(Eileen Atkins) and there's a youthful

Prince Charming equivalent in the form

of musician Ian Wallace (Oliver James).

Shanti Provision in New Mar

ket has some new snacks lined

up for you. SM Foods wants

you to have a ‘heart- to- heart’

snack…quite a development from

those heart- to- heart chats, huh?

The Peppy Hearts new potato

snack is a ‘veggie treat’ the com-

pany claims. It comes in a fluffy pink

pack and their marketing drivel is so

good we’d rather reproduce it than

try to improvise on it … ‘The air is

crisp, the sky is clear, it’s a teen

cracker day. Time for fun, games and

laughter..and some boooooring

homework. There is a whiff of ro-

mance in the air. It’s a time to go out

with friends, where two is company

and three is a crowd. It’s a romantic

world, where two little hearts come

together, to have a light, crispy,

mouth –watering heart-to-heart

snack.’

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