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SARIKAH ATREYA

GANGTOK, 20 March: The de-cision of the Election Commissionof India that the faction of SikkimSangram Parishad, led by its work-ing president, Rajendra Upreti, willhenceforth be recognized as theSSP in Sikkim has breathed freshlife into a controversy that has beensimmering for quite some time andwill surely erupt now – the owner-ship of the erstwhile SangramBhawan at Development Areawhich is now known as CongressBhawan.

Although the SSP leaders havewelcomed the Election Commis-sion’s decision, taken in regard to

The Election Commission has decided that Sangram continues

in Sikkim, now prepare for the next controversy…

former SSP chief and now SikkimPradesh Congress Committeepresident, Nar Bahadur Bhandari’spetition requesting it to derecognizeSSP since it no longer existed hav-ing merged with the Congress, theyare unwilling to present moreelaborate comments either on thejudgement or their future course ofaction until they receive the stillawaited copy of the EC order.

The SSP working president ishowever on record for havingthreatened to sue the Congress for“illegally” occupying Sangramproperty. Speaking at a public meet-ing at Pakyong on 14 September,last year, Mr. Upreti had claimedthat Sangram Bhawan was “con-

structed from donations and con-tributions made by party support-ers” and had challenged its newaddress as Congress Bhawan,which he claims was made “with-out taking the people who built itinto confidence.”

The victory at the ElectionCommission must have surelystrengthened their resolve to takethe Congress and its state presidentto court. As to when they do, re-mains to be seen, but it will surelyopen another front of battle for Mr.Bhandari who already has his handsfull with strategizing for theupcoming simultaneous polls inMay.

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CHUKHA, 20 March: Buddhistscriptures written in gold and sev-eral other ancient treasures havebeen destroyed in a fire which com-pletely razed to the ground the 600year old Chapcha GangkhaLhakhang in Chukha dzongkhagaround 8:30 pm last night.

“None of the lhakhang’s KutenSungtens and other priceless reli-gious relics could be salvaged,”said a resident of Gangkha villagewhere the ancient lhakhang stands.

The 63 households of Gangkhaincluding villagers from the neigh-bouring village of Shema tried tofight the flames but could do little.The koenyer [caretaker] and thelam of lhakhang who stay outsidethe lhakhang were the first to no-tice the fire which started from thealtar.

Many of the villagers brokedown in frustration unable to doanything as the lhakhang went upin flames. The lhakhang had beenrenovated in 1998 with personalcontributions from the community.

With the lhakhang gone, theGangkha community will this timehave to conduct their annualbumdey, which falls during the sec-ond Bhutanese month, in tents.

Courtesy KUENSEL

600 year oldGangkha

lhakhang inBhutan de-

stroyed

TURN TO pg3 FOR DETAILS

more on pg6

DARJEELING, 20 March:Subash Ghising today declared thathe had been acting like a Chairman[of the DGHC] thus far, but soonpeople will see him as the GNLF“Supremo”. An attempt to decipherhis statement leads one to supposethat Mr. Ghising is preparing to re-emerge in the political battlefield.

Mr. Ghising, who usually has ahabit of shying away from the me-dia, was more than voluble todayas he held court, patiently answer-ing media queries at the ShruberryNightingale Park after the visit ofthe West Bengal Chief Minister,Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Mr.Bhattacharjee, in contrast, re-mained tightlipped today.

The DGHC chairman wasspeaking to the Press shortly afterhe paid a courtesy call on the visit-ing CM at Richmond Hill wherehe invited him to visit the Shrub-bery Park.

While on the rounds of the park,Mr. Bhattacharjee was asked whyhis promise of solving Darjeeling’swater problem within six monthswas still not fulfilled. Mr.Bhattacharjee denied having made

FROMCHAIRMAN TO

SUPREMOGHISING PREDICTS HIS

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more on pg6

2; NOW!; 21 March, 2004

C M Y K

NOW!FIRST WITH THE NEWS

ED-SPACE

Artist, filmmaker, keen photographer, columnist with international magazines...It’s hard to pin Twan Yang down. Born to a Chinese father and Tibetan mother,he grew up in Kalimpong and worked in Sikkim. NOW! serializes Twan Yang’s

autobiography, Houseboy in India...

Manifesting IssuesSoon we shall have the political parties hit the electorate with theirpoll promises in the form of flamboyantly written and expensivelyproduced manifestos. These documents can be expected to coverjust about every aspect of public and private lives and serve acomment and promise for each. This cannot be ridiculed since thedemands of securing vote-banks are such that these aspectscannot be ignored. That granted, there are issues which politicalparties can choose to ignore only at their own peril and at the perilof their term in power should their promises sell with the people.While it is all too well to make populist assurances, there remainissues lurking in the horizon ready to pounce on Sikkim the momentthe election process is over.The first, and also the one loaded with the most divisive possibilities,is delimitation. When the process first visited Sikkim last year, itcleaved the Sikkimese society into slivers of sectional concerns,the after-shocks of which are still rumbling through the State. Sikkimhas already had a close shave with delimitation and should actuallybe more prepared to face it this time around, now that it is moreaware of the concerns and hopes that the people harbour aboutthe process. The Sikkimese electorate deserves to know eachparty’s version of what the new constituencies should look likeand how they propose to get the reorientation process to resembletheir version. No comment is really required on the reservationpolicy because the delimitation process will deal solely with theshape of constituencies and decide which should be reserved, nothow many. But reservation of assembly constituencies will comein regard to the Limbus and Tamangs who will have to be givenseats after the present poll process is over and before the nextone is announced. Thus far, all that political parties in Sikkim havedone is make assurances and announce claims of sitting on themagic formula. Now is the time for them to come on record andexplain how and how many seats they propose to reserve for thenew members of the Scheduled Tribes list.Another public concern which has still not expressed itself, but willsurely boil over to the surface within a couple of years will be thatof the youth. Unemployment as a problem is obvious and everyparty must have already incorporated some sops on this front. Butit is not just unemployment that haunts the youth of Sikkim. Thewhole gamut of social and personal problems which get amplifiedby the frustration of going jobless need to be identified andaddressed. This, perhaps is of more importance for the ruling frontto address than the Congress. Many electors will be voting for thefirst time in May 2004. Their strength at the ballot is further bolsteredby the fact that they are the most likely to exercise their franchisesince they have their entire lives ahead of them and thus more atstake than any other age-group. It is more important for the rulingfront to address their problems because most of these voters don’tremember governance before the SDF came to power in 1994.The anti-incumbency factor, which has never really expressed itselfin Sikkim, is most likely to find voice in this segment of thepopulation. This is especially true since there are still some votersfrom the older generation who remember what it was like when theBhandari diktat ran supreme in Sikkim, but the youth have norecollection of that period to force a second thought. That apart,since the generation which matured in the past decade did so inthe Chamling era, the SDF owes them a detailed account of how itproposes to make them self-reliant.

USHA LACHUNGPA

Locally called ‘Gidha’ or‘Gut’ or ‘Tcha gyu’, howlong ago did we see a vul-

ture in Sikkim? As far as Gangtokis concerned, they have followedthe slaughterhouse or ‘goshkhan’down towards Rangpo and so weno longer see them wheeling overLall Bazar as earlier. In the TsoLhamo cold desert on the TibetanPlateau in North Sikkim, the great

-9-

My new master treated menicely as long as I waswith him in Kalimpong,

but I could not know what he mightdo later. He bought some newclothes for a Nepali hat, to show inthe Punjab that I was a Nepali boy.In this new place I was very con-tent, for I could eat as much as Iwanted, as my mistress told me notto be ashamed in eating. My mas-ter was a good man and kind to me,but my mistress not so much as mymaster himself. Sometimes my mis-tress got angry with me for slow-ness or mistakes in my work andscolded me in her own language,but I did not understand what shesaid, as it was in Punjabi.

After I stayed with this familyfor three months in Kalimpong, wewere one day to leave the place atten o’clock in the morning. I waswearing that day my Nepalese cos-tume and hat and looked like a realNepali boy. Not even from my adop-tive family came to say good-bye.

I felt excited and full of curios-ity to be going to India, but sad atleaving my childhood and beauti-ful Kalimpong behind. ForKalimpong was a place to delighta man’s heart and make him wishto stay there. Anyone who sat onthe hill slopes at daybreak wouldlose his heart when he saw the sunrise over the mountains, coming toshed brightness on the world. As

the sun rises higher and higher,Kalimpong looks as if it’s catchingfire, and at last the golden raysshine directly on the peaks ofKanchenjunga, turning its snowsinto gold. Then almost instantly thegleam disappears, to be replaced bythe cold white appearnce, which

remains all day long.Anyone who was born in the

hills loves the mountains, the skies,the valleys, and the rivers and feelshappy among them.

It may be cold sometimes, andwindy, or there may be rain or hail,but these are like short moments ofanger of a loving mother who nearlyalways smiles and is always kind.

The day I left, Kalimpong it-

self looked as if it was in a sadmood for my going away. The skywas dark, the sun had gone behindthe clouds, and everything wasgloomy. Before noon we set outtoward the south from Kalimpongbazaar to the Tista. This was thesecond time I had ridden in a mo-torcar. But for the first time, alongthe Tista road, which went downsteeply, winding like a great snake,I felt great fear when looking downthe deep valley, where I could see

the Tista bazaar far away in thedistance. My master and mistressoccupied the back seats while Iwas sitting in front next to thedriver, holding the baby. In an hourand a half we had reached the bot-tom. I felt as if we had come downflying, for there had been none ofthe trouble and fatigue it used tocost me to walk it.

-to be continued

BEYOND KALIMPONG FOR

THE FIRST TIME

Himalayan Griffons andLammergeier or Bearded Vulturesare sighted sometimes. We also donot have such a large cattle or live-stock population like in the plainswhere often their carcasses are dis-posed off along open country sidesto be picked clean by White-backedand Long-billed Vultures.

However, a dilemma has beenslowly manifesting in the Indiansubcontinent over the last decadeor so. These vultures, one of Na-

Our Vanishing Vulturesture’s most efficient environmentcleansing systems, have beengradually vanishing. The phenom-enon was first noticed by the Bom-bay Natural History Society. Con-servationists and wildlife research-ers started working on possiblereasons like viral diseases. Surpris-ingly, another branch of research-ers after a three-year study suggestthat the possibility of veterinaryuse of a painkiller drug calledDiclofenac Sodium could be thereason. In fact a countrywide sur-vey is being conducted by Dr.Vibhu Prakash of the BNHS tocorroborate the fact that the use ofDiclofenac is indeed quite com-mon especially over the last dec-ade or so. The vulture crisis seemsto have spread from India to Ne-pal and Pakistan and in January2004 a manifesto on Diclofenacand Vulture Conservation was en-dorsed by many conservation or-ganizations.

We need to become aware andponder the long-term significanceof this crisis.

-The writer is a SeniorResearch Officer, Wild Life, with

the Forest Department

One little item of news two weeks ago escaped the notice of mostpeople: the Home Ministry’s announcement that the number ofNepalis killed in the past nine years of the ‘People’s War’ had

crossed the 10,000 mark. That this is now a five-digit conflict, in itself,shouldn’t make it any more serious than it already is. But it isa milestone that underlines the point that this has always beena senseless and unwinable conflict. Adding another zero to thetotal toll just drives the point home.

At the rate we are going, with 30 reported deaths a weekon average, it won’t be long before we hit 20,000. Then, 30,000.And then, what? Will the Maoists be any nearer to a republic?Will the Royal Nepali Army be any nearer to wiping out the Maoists? Allwe will achieve is more Nepali deaths, thousands upon thousands will beorphaned and widowed, millions will be forced to leave their homes. Whatkind of Maoist utopia commands that sort of a price in blood and misery?The comrades have to ask themselves this question and find an honestanswer.

The Maoists gave their revolution an ethnic edge with the declarationof seven autonomous zones in January. It is now in danger of going the

way everyone feared: turning a class war into a caste war. The Maoistshave enlisted the support of their wavering allies in the east by announc-ing the Kirant Autonomous Region, and crowned it with a major attackon Bhojpur. The Tambuwan and Tamasaling are blockading highways to

strangle the towns.It is now getting

more and more diffi-cult to believe that thisrevolution is movingalong a pre-determinedgame plan. It looks se-

riously out of control. Giving the struggle an ethnic tint smacks of des-peration, pointing to fatigue at its political centre. In any civil war, hardlinemilitant or ethno-separatist elements gains supremacy when the politicalpart of the struggle erodes or gets sidelined.

Lately, we are seeing signs of a movement that needs to invent newways to stoke social anger for support. A political call for revolutionarytransformation doesn’t seem to be enough to carry the momentum for-

10,000+10,000+

turn to pg 6

21 March, 2004; NOW! 3

C M Y K

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GANGTOK, 20 March: A directclash is underway between the bril-liance of Sikkim’s orchids and theflamboyance of Sachin’s bat. Giventhe fanaticism with which cricketis followed in north India, Sachinis scoring in viewership at the costof the visitors making it to PragatiMaidan in New Delhi where thefirst North East Trade Expo[NEXPO] 2004 is presentlyunderway.

It’s not a complete drubbing forSikkim though.

“Compared to other states,Sikkim is definitely attracting a lotof attention because we have somuch to offer and our exhibits aremuch more diverse and interest-ing,” a State government officialtold NOW! from Pragati Maidantoday, a day which saw a “hand-some” turnout after Friday was anear washout thanks to the Indo-Pak match which kept people in-doors in the afternoon, when tradefairs attract the largest crowds.

Although details of trade en-quiries have still not been tabulated,officials in Delhi reveal that indi-vidual interest in Sikkim stalls hasbeen very encouraging. While theexotic orchids woo the Delhiites,the State’s exquisite handicrafts,along with local products such as

Sikkim Supreme, Temi Tea and Al-pine Cheese are also proving bighits. Locally produced consumerdurables are also doing extremelywell at the Expo, it is learnt.

Sikkim as the next holidaydestination is also receiving alot of attention from potentialvisitors.

“Sikkim is fast becoming thepreferred tourist destination inthe Eastern Himalayas becauseof its rich natural biodiversityand adequate infrastructure. Weare receiving a lot of queries ontourism destinations in the Stateat the Expo, especially the Bud-dhist pilgrimage destinations,”PK Dong, Executive Director,Sikkim Tourism DevelopmentCorporation [STDC], said whilespeaking to NOW! over thephone from New Delhi today.

The four-day Expo con-cludes tomorrow [21 March].Apart from Sikkim, ArunachalPradesh , Assam, Manipur,Meghlaya, Mizoram, Nagalandand Tripura are participating inthe Expo. The event is organ-ised by the Department of De-velopment of North Eastern Re-gion [DONER] in partnershipwith the India Trade PromotionOrganisa t ion [ ITPO] , NewDelhi.

A Day formeteorology

GANGTOK, 20 March: WorldMeteorological Day will be cel-ebrated here on Tuesday, 23 Marchat Meteorological Observatory lo-cated in the Raj Bhawan complex.The theme for the day will be,“Weather, Climate and Water in theInformation Age.”

On this occasion, an exhibi-tion highlighting various scien-tific activities of this depart-ment per ta ining to weatherstudy will be arranged. Stu-dents and teachers of variousschools and colleges as well asthe general public have been in-vited to attend the exhibitionbetween 10 am to 4 pm.

ANAND OBEROI

GANGTOK, 20 March: Moneytransfer may be a new concept asfar as the rest of nation, still morecomfortable with the snail-mailform of money-orders is concerned,but receiving wired finances fromabroad is growing in popularityamong the Sikkimese.

The Western Union MoneyTransfer booth at the Head PostOffice here is second only toKolkata in revenue generation andtransactions in the eastern circle,beating bigger industrial cities likeMalda, Durgapur and Siliguri,claimed the Post Master General,

GANGTOK, 20 March: TheVajra Guru Dhundrup Recitations,which began here at Enchey SangaRapdenling Monastery here on 6February, concluded on 16 March.

The Vajra Guru Mantra were re-cited over ten crores times by themonks and devotees during the 40days that the recitations lasted.

These sacred recitations invokethe blessings of Guru Rinpoche fordiverting the forces of evil whichconfront humanity in the form ofdiseases, wars, communal distur-bances, unrest and other evilsplaguing mankind.

The Duche of Enchey SangaRapdenling Monastery and EncheyTeschu Tsogpa have expressed theirappreciation and gratefulness to allthe devotees who participated in thisprogramme and also for the volun-

IT’S THE ORCHID VS. THE WILLOW IN DELHI

NEXPO loses visitorsto Indo-Pak series,Sikkim holds ona NOW REPORT

Siliguri and Sikkim, John Samuel,at a press conference recently.

The Gangtok post master, R.Khujur, offers more details as hereveals that the Head Post Officehere has seen a 200 per cent in-crease in transactions since itstarted in January last year. Febru-ary, 2004, was the busiest monthfor the Western Union Transferbooth here when forty-three trans-actions were recorded, he dis-closed. The 43 transactions wereworth Rs. 12.34 lakhs, he detailed.That is indicative of the fact thatmost clients were using the moneytransfer system to the maximumpermissible limit – Rs. 30,000.

Western Union sees livewire

transactions in SikkimThe Gangtok HPO staff are

convinced that the transactions willstart spiraling now. March has al-ready recorded more than twentytransactions and Mr. Khujur is con-fident that the value of transactionswill cross the Rs. 20 lakh barriervery soon.

Incidentally, Western UnionMoney Transfer comes thanks to aspecial tie-up between US-basedWestern Union and the IndianPostal Department which enablesrecipients in India to instantly with-draw money “wired” to them fromabroad. The transactions are onlyone-way at present and money can-not be sent out.

10 crore Vajra Guru

recitations completed

at Enchey

Prohibitory orders

clamped in north

SikkimMANGAN, 20 March: The Dis-trict Magistrate, North District, hasimplemented Prohibition Order un-der Section 144 of CrPC of 1973(2 of 1974) has made the order thatno person shall carry fire-arms, ex-plosives, sharp edged and deadlyweapons and other such deadlyweapons like iron rods, missiles,petrol bottle bombs, explosivegadgets, grenades, hand bombs inthe public places, streets, bazaars,roads and in any form of convey-ances within the jurisdiction ofNorth District and areas fallingwithin all the Police Stations inNorth District.

The order came into force from15 March 2004 onwards and shallcontinue to remain in force till theelection process is declared over.[IPR]

SIKKIMROUND-UP

tary contributions offered by them.On the concluding day,

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GANGTOK, 20 March: SonamWangdi is in a hurry to get his tour-ist lodge ready. It is almost completeexcept for the furnishings. He hasbeen waiting eagerly for the onsetof the tourist season and hopes torecover some of his investment.

Anil Gupta has stocked up hissouvenir shop well in advance. Heknows he’s going to be busy oncethe summer “season” starts.

Kiran Pradhan, a travel gent, isbusy tying up all loose ends likearranging guides on call, taxis andpermits before the season beginsand hordes of tourists besiege himfor the Tsomgo visit.

Apart from being part of thetourism industry, one thing that allthree have in common this year, isthe fear that the tourist season maynot go as planned. That, because ofthe elections, people may in factprefer not to travel. They are not

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WILL ELECTIONS RUIN THE SEASON?alone in this. Suddenly everyone isasking the question. Will electionsruin the Season for us?

“Since elections for West Ben-gal and Sikkim are scheduled forthe same date, it will definitely af-fect tourism,” states TAAS Presi-dent, Paljor Lachungpa, add-ing, “Maximum numbers ofdomestic tourists travel afterthe school examinations in theplains held sometime in April-May. That is when there is arush of tourists in Sikkim. Thisclashes with the election-datesthis year. Also, maximum num-bers of domestic tourists arriv-ing in Sikkim, are governmentemployees, so they as responsiblecitizens who would definitely stayback to vote and would have notime for tours.”

The fear of poll-related vio-lence is another factor that couldprevent the tourists from travelling.

But some feel that since this fearwill be more in North Bengal, itcould actually mean more touristscoming to Sikkim and bypassingDarjeeling.

And then, there are the foreigntourists.

Kelsang Bhutia of Wisdom

Tours & Travels believes that al-though tourism through domestictourists will be affected this year,there will be no impact on foreigntourist arrivals.

He also suggests that the only

real sufferers among the travelagencies will be those who dealwith walk-in tourists. “Bookingsthrough the proper channels are stillhealthy,” he adds.

While travel agents and othersin the tourism industry remain wor-ried about the impact of elections

on tourists, one lot who arequite unruffled are the taxi

drivers. They know that it isgoing to be business asusual, if not better, for

them.Arun Pradhan, booking

in-charge, Sikkim BusWorkers Association, says:“We have a good chance formaking double profits, what

with the elections and the season hap-pening at the same time. But even iftourists don’t come, our taxis will bebusy with election duty.”

But for some, tourists remaintheir first priority. Says Soltee,booking in-charge, United SikkimTaxi-Jeep Drivers Association: “Wewill make alternative arrangementsfor tourists so that they don’t suf-fer any difficulties. Even though

our vehicles will be booked forcampaigning, our association willensure that no tourist is leftstranded.”

Even TAAS seems to havewoken to the possible scenario ofa good season, but no vehicles.“That could well be the alternatescenario. To be prepared for it weare soon meeting the Transport Sec-retary with a request to issue tem-porary permission to vehicles to plyall over the state,” informs theTAAS president while adding thattourism is, after all, the mainstayof the State economy.

Sharing his sentiment is SurajRai of the Siliguri Main-LineDriver Association, who says, “Asa driver, I think that we do not earnmore on election duty. Our finan-cial sustenance is dependent ontourists. If they come, we makemoney; if they don’t, we don’t.”

On final count then, businesscontinues as usual. Those in thehospitality industry are as preparedfor a summer flop as they are readywith alternatives should the touristtraffic actually surge.

in

NOW!Associationwith

from OUR CORRESPONDENT

DARJEELING, 20 March: TheShrubbery Nightingale Park rever-berated with the melodious voiceof Purna Das Baul belting out fromthe hi-fi speakers surrounding thepark, as the Buddhadeb-Ghisingcavalcade made its way via theGovernor ’s House, the onlymotorable road right into the park.Excitement was in the air as inquisi-tive tourists and anxious officialswaited for the heavy-weights tomake their appearance.

In a display of overt camara-derie, both got down from thesparkling white Ambassador, andwere instantly surrounded by thesecurity personnel and the await-

ing media.A quick look around and

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, ex-claimed “Khub Bhalo,” expressinghis satisfaction and approval of thelight and sound extravaganza.

The two then proceeded to thetwo-storeyed rest house and madea public appearance together on thebalcony, obliging the crowd andwaving at the photo-hungry media.This was followed by a round ofhigh tea and watching a perform-ance by the Cultural Department ofthe DGHC in the open air stage.The show included various ethnicdance forms of the Hills includingthe Maruni and the Chyabrung, fol-lowed by the ever popular Bhangra.

It was then time for Ghising to

show the CM around. The CM evenpaid his reverence at the shrine ofa local deity where a Jhakri per-formed the rituals.

Purna Das [via the sound sys-tem] took over again as the CM leftfor the Richmond Hill GovernmentGuest House while Ghising stayedback to oblige the media – a rarephenomenon.

“I had invited the CM to visitthe park and he accepted the invi-tation” said a beaming Ghising.

At the Richmond Hill the CM’stable was laid out with chicken andfish dishes.

“It will be Aar and Katla sincePabda [all different varieties offish] couldn’t be obtained,” said akitchen staff.

WHEN A CM COMES TO TOWNBauls, jhakris, camaraderie and photo-ops

21 March, 2004; NOW! 5

C M Y K

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KALIMPONG, 20 March:Kalimpong was once known for itsdairy products and the Swiss Dairywas a popular tourist stop. Today itis the horticultural industry that hastaken on the mantle of being thenumber one tourist attraction inKalimpong. There are many nurs-eries in the region and the weathertoo is perfect for the garden culti-vation of various types of flowers.

In this respect, a brief meetingof the Horticulture Society ofKalimpong, held recently, resolvedthat horticultural exhibitions cumcompetitions be organized on anannual basis. This would help im-prove the prospects of thehorticulturalists and give a boost tothe flower industry. To this effect afour day exhibition-cum-competi-tion will be held from 14 to 18 Aprilcalled the “Kalimpong GardenCompetition – Spring 2004.”

The event is open to educa-tional institutions, hotels, guesthouses and tourist lodges, privatehomes, regional establishments –churches, mandirs, gumpas,mosques etc, and commercial es-tablishments.

The fact that it will patronizesuch a varied range of participantsis what is tipped to make it unique.Another unique feature is that thereis to be no specific venue and allthe participants will have to arrangetheirs displays at their respectiveplaces. For the judges, it will be ahop from one venue of exhibits toanother. Beauty, specimen collec-tion, varieties, rarity [for nurseries]and general arrangement will be thejudging criteria.

“A similar competition hadbeen organised by the society in theyear 2000 and it was quite success-ful,” said a Horticulture Society ofKalimong member, but he adds thatdue to lack of funds the contestcould not be repeated.

RANJIT SINGH

GANGTOK, 20 March: The val-edictory function of the GLOBETeachers Training was held at thePNGSS School here today.Dinesh Sharma, Additional Direc-tor, State Council of EducationalResearch and Technology, pre-sided over the valedictory func-tion as the chief guest.

Presenting an overview of thefour days of training, Dr. AvinashTiwari, a resource person fromJiwaji University, Gwalior, in-formed that on the first day the par-ticipants learnt much about the soiland atmosphere including analys-ing them to provide relevant infor-mation as may be required. Dr.Avinash said that information hadto be compiled in a stimulativeway so as to arouse the interestsof the students.

The trainees were taken toAdampool on the second day dur-ing which they handled the equip-ment themselves. Dr. Avinashsuggested that since these instru-ments were cheap, school stu-dents could be involved in the

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 20 March: Another crafts exhibition for the finer tastes ofGangtokians opened today. The Babumashai Restaurant at New Marketis serving a rather unconventional menu which although it is totally ined-ible certainly has a consumption value of its own. The restaurant is thesite of a crafts exhibition-cum-sale of exclusive Manipuri handicrafts.

The exhibition opened today and will continue till 29 March. Thetimings when this particular helping is served are from 10 in the morningtill 6 in the evening.

The event is being organized by Women’s Development Welfare As-sociation, Imphal, Manipur and sponsored by Development Commissioner[Handicraft], Ministry of Textile, New Delhi. This is their first exhibitionin Sikkim.

On display are embroidery materials in traditional Manipuri designsuch as shawls, bed sheets, pillow cases, table cloths to name a few.Also on display are the traditional bamboo crafts along with jewellery.The prices of the items on exhibit range from a meager Rs. 10 for abeautifully embroidered handkerchief to a handsome Rs. 3,500 for amosquito net.

Their chief purpose of the exhibition-cum-sale is to encourage youngtalent in their home state by giving them exposure and introducing themto the markets around the country. An interesting activity of the Associa-tion, as disclosed by its secretary, Purnima Devi, is the programme theyconduct for raising AIDS awareness in their state which is specially di-rected at the youth. Similarly, they are also involved in combating drugabuse among the young. In fact, a training programme they conduct alsoserves as a rehabilitation programme in which the recovering youth areprovided with new skills, new responsibilities and a new life.

The organizers plan to go to other states as well with their wares.

making of the same.A hydrologic site was selected

for the third day while the last daywas for the summing up and com-piling of information and convert-ing it from hand-written documentsto electronic data sheets. These willbe sent to the GLOBE headquartersin the USA for further analysis.

According to one of the par-ticipants, Sanjay Acharya: “Thisworkshop was a good opportunityto delve into the environmental is-sues which have long been ne-glected. Now that we have beentrained we can notice minor detailsand make inferences and are readyto involve the students of our re-spective schools to take practicalinterest in the environment.” Hedid however voice doubts aboutsuccessful and thorough imple-mentation in the schools whichstill rely heavily on classroomteaching and are quite averse to

disturbances in their routine.He, along with two other par-

ticipant teachers, SR Adhikari andIBS Yadav, will be writing a hand-book on environment to guideteachers on the subject in theschools. According to Mr. Adhikari,“The workshop was very interest-ing. It has enhanced our experienceand knowledge of the environment.We are now ready to teach our stu-dents on various aspects of the en-vironment”.

JB Niraula, Joint Director, Edu-cation, in his talk said that it wasmandatory for the trained teachersto implement the environmentalactivities in their schools.

“There is a signed agreementbetween the Secretary, Educationand the Govt of India to this effectand only on this basis will the cen-tral govt. release funds.”

He further revealed that therewould be a meeting of all the heads

of schools in the state and the mes-sage conveyed to them on the de-sirability of the earliest implemen-tation of the given environmentalactivities. The deadline for the com-pletion of these activities, he said,was 30 June.

The workshop, which began on17 March, was a hands-on environ-mental learning programme involv-ing 42 teachers from various schoolsin the state. Since EnvironmentalScience has been incorporated intothe school syllabi from the currentacademic year, the workshop aimedat bringing awareness among thestudents and teachers about currentenvironmental issues.

The workshop was part of abigger project called GLOBE [Glo-bal Learning and Observation toBenefit Environment], an interna-tional society of scientists, teach-ers and schools which follow itstraining programmes.

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IF

- Your only office infrastructure is a mobile phone- You can talk on it for six hours at a stretch- Can put a customer on hold on the phone for six hours at a stretch- Aggravate him further by replying to all he says with that exquisitelysupportive phrase – “I understand” – even when he curses you inTelugu- And then can finally talk him into paying your mobile bill

Why, then you’ll make a good stockbroker’s agent dealing in thetransaction of non-existent shares!IF

- You are a pessimist- Believe in the law of averages- Believe in conspiracy theories- Have a nightmare everyday- And can look like death at the best of times

You will make a very good Life Insurance Agent.IF

- The only English word you know is ‘Hello’- Can climb up a pole as easily you can slide down it- Loved playing with papa’s calculator when you were a kid- Can look incredibly busy with an umbrella in your hand- And believe in letting things follow their own natural course

The Telephone Department can do with another Linesman.IF

- You are a loser / underachiever- Do not expect anything from yourself (with good cause)- Have read the book “How to win the confidence of you kidnappers”- Have read the book “How to keep your wife and mistress happy atthe same time”- And have always contemptuously defied the Diwali ban on crack-ers and so are quite deaf

We believe you will make a very good Middle East Peace Negotia-tor!IF

- You have no talent or skill- Have a lot of time to kill- Don’t have any Qualifications- Nor have any sort of education

Well, the country can always do with one more Farmer!IF

- You can talk non stop without pausing for breath- Can talk customers into spending more than they actually need- Can make a house that’s falling apart sound great by talking aboutits extra closet space- You believe that you are actually not there and can convince yourvictims of the same- And all this with a very straight face

You will definitely make a very good door to door salesman!

ward. That may be why the Mao-ists don’t seem to see a needanymore to consider public opin-ion. It doesn’t seem to matter whatthe people think, in fact the strat-egy now seems to be to punish thepeople by assassinating anyone stillleft in the villages, declaring mul-tiple bandhs and blockading urbanareas to inflict pain and panic onthe public. Cold-blooded murdersof innocents, ambushing dairy tank-ers, torching buses, lynching sixpeople in Saptari and leaving theirbodies to rot by a school all indi-cate that violence has now become

an end in itself.It is the responsibility of our

current rulers, the undergroundcomrades, the political parties whorepresent the Nepali people to takeimmediate steps to stop this slaugh-ter before many more thousandsdie. Why should the people bemade to suffer any more for theirendless power struggle? Announceelections, agree on a ceasefire, andlet the people decide who they wantto be ruled by.

-editorial inNEPALI TIMES,

a Kathmandu-based weekly

10,000+from pg 2

the otisseythe otisseyFew things are more annoying and obnoxious than those lame ad-vertisements for jobs, which don’t even mention the job but rattle onthe qualities of a good citizen. considering most of us are imbecileswho don’t know what a job looks like or how we would look like in ajob, NOW! helps you discover your vocation.

NEW DELHI, 20 March: Step-ping up the offensive on the issueof foreign origin, BJP today said theNDA coalition, on return to office,could enact a law to bar non-natu-ral born citizens from occupyinghigh constitutional posts.

“If need be, we will bring a lawbarring people of foreign originholding the highest constitutionalpost. It is not a personal attack onany individual, but it concerns thecountry,” party President MVenkaiah Naidu told reporters hereat a programme at his residence tomark the Telugu New Year.

He said the need for a legisla-tion barring people of foreign ori-gin holding high constitutionalposts in the country would alsobe incorporated in the NDA Com-mon Agenda of Governance.

Asked whether this meant thatthe party was training its attackon Congress President Sonia Gan-dhi, he said “it is no personal at-tack on any person, but it wasconcerning interests of the coun-try.”

Naidu said it was BJP’s standall along that people of foreign ori-gin should not occupy high consti-tutional posts in the country likethose of President, Prime Ministerand Chief Justice of India.

IF

- You believe the solution to all problems is patience- You can talk for hours on end and still say nothing- Believe the secret to a long and peaceful career is to be indecisive- Can convince people that the empty glass is actually full of con-densed liquid

Congrats, you already are a seasoned PoliticianIF

- You believe the Indian Police Service is slightly overpopulated- You believe the streets are slightly overpopulated- You believe the nation’s population control programme is going totake a very long time to show results and would really like to chip inwith something more effective and efficient- You believe that Bollywood stars and starlets need protection frombeing mobbed- And generally like meeting interesting people

Join the mafia.- OTIS

NDA mulls law

to bar Sonia

becoming PM

The SPCC [I] general secre-tary and spokesperson, BirajAdhikari, who was recently an-nounced as the party’s LokSabha candidate, however seesno problems on th is f ront .“There is absolutely no disputeover the ownership of theBhawan,” he said when asked tocomment on the possibility ofSSP staking claim to what isnow known as CongressBhawan.

It is also possible that Mr.Bhandari had also sensed such aturn of events which could explainwhy, while he was still in the SSP,the party high-command passed aresolution empowering the presi-dent [Mr. Bhandari] to not only dis-cuss and finalise pre-poll alliancesand mergers, but also sell or mort-gage Sangram properties to fundthe party’s preparations for polls.

What legal arguments are pre-sented by either side to justify theirclaim over the building at Devel-opment Area, we shall know onlyafter a case if filed. While theSangram/ Congress Bhawan surelyhas impressive real estate value, thesquabble over it is about more thanjust property rights, it is about showof resolve and loss of face.

WHO OWNS

THE BHAWAN?from pg1

such a commitment.The CM arrived at Darjeeling at

around 5:25 pm and was visited byMr. Ghising five minutes later. Thetwo held an half-an-hour long closeddoor meeting before proceeding forthe Shrubbery Nightingale Park.

When asked what talks wereheld behind closed doors, Mr.Ghising said it was just “an infor-mal chat in which nothing politicalwas discussed.”

“We relaxed by the fire drink-ing Darjeeling tea,” is all Mr.Ghising offered.

With the hills rift with rumorsthat GNLF will boycott the LokSabha polls again, Mr. Ghising wasquestioned regarding his stand onthe same. “Parliamentary electionis just a routine work. I will only

decide in the first week of April andthen declare our stand. As most ofthe parties have not declared theircandidates as yet, we will wait andwatch. Our stand could be any-thing,” he said.

He, however, added that theGNLF was not interested in anycoalition. Regarding the constantsledging of the opposition camps,Mr. Ghising said, “Darjeeling is asmall place but small politics doesnot stand a chance here.” He is con-vinced that the Hills are all in sup-port of the GNLF.

Regarding the School ServiceCommission stalemate, in whichempanelled candidates from theHills have not received appoint-ment letters to date, Mr. Ghisingsaid that no Bill has yet been passedin the Assembly to transfer the SSC[Hills] to the DGHC.

“The problem will be solvedbut it needs a lot of diagnosis, x-ray and finally an operation,” washis opinion on the problem.

FROM CHAIRMAN TOSUPREMOfrom pg1

21 March, 2004; NOW! 7

C M Y K

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If u liked the previous IndianOcean music then obviouslyyou will like this one. This is

their fourth album JHINI the otherthree being Indian Ocean, DesertRain (live) and Kandisa.Side A: JHINI: This a poem writ-ten by the 15 th century poet SantKabir Das. It is an excellent com-position and though the lyrics mightgo over your head at times ( likemost of their songs do) but then itgrows on you upon repeated listen-ing (like most of their songs toagain). LET ME SPEAK: Thisone is an instrumental and seriouslygood. It reminds u of some kind ofvictory u might have had in recenttimes. BHOR: This means a bird’sflight. It is all about a bird’s

journey;how it would love to fly inthe open sky and then how it is cap-tured by the hunter.Side B: DES MERA: This one isan enthusiastic number and onewishes that it should go on for alonger time than its actual length.Itsall about the wonders of our coun-try. Don’t mistake it for some trackfrom a Bhagat Singh movie.TORRENT:Another instrumentalwonderfully composed and makesfor superb listening.This one is alil’ sad though and reminds you ofany sad things u may have experi-enced recently.

AFTER THE WAR:An excel-lent piece of music with hard hit-ting lyrics.This song may sound alittle too hard and loud comparedto other numbers in the album. It’sgot varying paces and describeshow man has become so insensi-tive to war and it’s consequences.NAM MYO HO:An extremely laidback track with a title that soundslike a meditation chant from one ofthe many cults popping up likemushrooms, but the music will takeyou places. Believe me.

Indian Ocean is not a band youlisten to with friends, their musicis not something you try to catego-rise, JHINI is not an album you buyjust because someone recom-mended it to you. Let it call you.

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In “School of Rock” Jack Blackplays Dewey Finn, a rock star(in his own mind) who takes

a substitute teaching job at a pres-tigious prep school in order tomake ends meet. How does he getthe job? He pretends to be hisroommate - Ned Schneebly. So,he happens to overhear the kidsin his class during their musiclesson and gets the brilliantidea of putting these kids to-gether as a rock group to com-pete in the upcoming Battle ofthe Bands.

The movie dwells on all theadventures that Black and his bandof little musicians go through, hi-larious, idiotic and distinctlyfunny. This is the ultimate JackBlack movie for all the fans ofthis Tenacious D. And good forhim - he deserves it.

Sure, it’s a kid’s movie, butit’s worth checking out just forhow fun it is. Couple that with an

amazing soundtrack, I’d say thismovie rocks!

Minor acts in the bigger industries of Entertainment:Street performers in Gangtok. pic: KARCHOONG DIYALI

Jack Black

gives lessons

in rock!

Although digital images [at 200 dpi resolutionand minimum width of 10 cms] are preferred,

even well produced chemical prints arewelcome. Inkjet or laser printouts cannot be

considered solely because they cannot bereproduced well enough. The winner will bedecided by NOW! and for now will have to

make do with seeing his/ her name in print.

send in your images by friday toNOW!, Gairi Gaon, near Ayurvedic Clinic

Tadong - 737102Ph: 270949 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

or leave your entries at any of our outlets

Everyone knows the calculation betweenwords and pictures. “A 1000 Words,” is acontest which will feature every Sunday in

the pages of NOW! Interestingphotographs which Speak and not

necessarily Report are invited for thissection.

MOVIE REVIEW by BHAI SCOPE

SITUATION VACANTA REKNOWNED INDIAN TRAVELAGENCY REQUIRES DYNAMICMALE/FEMALE CANDIDATES ,WITH FLUENCY INENGLISH,NEPALI/HINDI FOR ITSSILIGURI OFFICE . PREFERENCEWILL BE GIVEN TO CANDIDATESWITH COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE,AND TOURISM BACKGROUND .APPEAR WITH COMPLETERESUME ON23RD AND 24TH OF MARCH(2PM TO 4PM ) AT TIRUPATI APEXBUILDING,3RD FLOOR, SEVOKEROAD ,SILIGURI.PH: 2526245,2530091

FOUNDAn identity card bearing # 2001/06 belonging to one TashiOngmu Bhutia, lecturer, ATTC(Bardang) around the KrishiBhawan premises. CONTACT:Karma Tamling, B.Sc. (IInd Yr.)Tadong OR Phurba Rongkup, SixRealms, Gangtok.

8; NOW!; 21 March, 2004

C M Y K

Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Darpan Publications Pvt. Ltd, Siliguri. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Executive Editor: Mita ZulcaNow! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong. East Sikkim. ph: 03592 270949 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

THEFINALONE �

ODDLYENOUGH

today in

History21st March

1871 - Journalist HenryStanley began his famoussearch to Africa for missingScottish missionary DavidLivingston.1961 - The Beatles made theirdebut in an appearance at Liv-erpool’s Cavern Club, wherethey became regulars in a mat-ter of months.1965 - Martin Luther King, Jr.lead more than 3,000 peoplein a march in Selma, Alabama.

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Rapper EMINEM has become thelatest star to poke fun at JANETJACKSON and JUSTIN

TIMBERLAKE - in his new D-12video MY BAND he can be seen rip-ping off portly bandmate BI-ZARRE’s nipple star.

The heavyweight star is seenripping the microphone out ofEminem’s hand during a boy bandsegment in the promo, and then pro-ceeds to rip off his white suit to re-veal a shiny green leotard.

Eminem dives back into the frame,embraces his pal and rips off his nipplejewellery - copying Timberlake’s actionsat the SUPER BOWL half-time show lastmonth (FEB04), when the pop star rippedopen Jackson’s bodice open to reveal abare breast.

Bizarre also spoofs Eminem’s protege50 CENT in the video - the chubby rapperrecreates 50’s IN DA CLUB video by ap-pearing to hang upside down from a beamin his gym.

The cheeky video also features Eminem getting a massage from ateam of sexy ladies and scenes of the nearly naked rap superstar on atanning bed.

Modern technology also allows Eminem to double up as two trailertrash fans who want to bed him backstage in the video.

DON’T STEP ON THE

BLUE SUEDE SHOES!

Thieves broke into the ELVISPRESLEY museum in LASVEGAS earlier this week

and made off with bounty worthover $300,000 (£180,000).

The raid, at Elvis-A-Rama, tookjust five minutes as the criminalsrammed a back door of the museumwith a stolen truck, then used leadpipes to break into three displaycases.

They made off with rings, agold-plated pistol and other belong-ings, according to Rolling Stone.

However, the museum staffwere relieved to discover that oneof their most prized possessions –a pair of blue suede shoes – wereleft untouched.

The museum was establishedby Elvis devotee Chris Davidson in1999. His collection, built up overmany years, houses more than2,000 pieces.

Pop singer VICTORIABECKHAM andsupermodel NAOMI

CAMPBELL’s truce appears to beover already - after POSH slammedmodels as “stupid”.

The two Brits had a public ri-valry for years after bitter meetingson the celebrity party circuit, lead-ing Beckham to label the London-born beauty a “bitch” and “com-plete cow” on her TV show VIC-TORIA’S SECRETS.

Last year (03) the two starsshocked the British media whenthey called time on their feud, afterthey both signed to model hip-hopmogul DAMON DASH’sROCAWEAR collection.

However after hearing Beckhamquestioning the mental capacity ofcatwalk queens, Campbell has re-

newed her frosty glare for the wifeof soccer hunk DAVIDBECKHAM. Campbell fumes, “Doyou know what she said?

“‘I’m not a model. Models arestupid!’

“Well I do it nearly everyday.I’m blessed to be working. Flat-tered.”

EMINEM POKES FUN AT JANET

SHOCKER IN D-12 VIDEO

R E N E EZELLWEGERturned real-life ac-tion hero when shesaved a woman whohad collapsed whenout hiking in Califor-nia’s remote RunyanCanyon.

The actress was walk-ing with her personal trainerwhen she saw the lady faint andfall down part of the canyon - andwith no thought for her ownsafety she rushed to help.

A friend says, “Renee and afriend were just about 50 steps be-hind the lone woman hiker. Luck-ily, they saw her when she col-lapsed and fell partially down thesteep canyon.

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POSH AND NAOMI FALL OUT AGAIN

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