Post Card of Kanchenjunga 1907

The word Kanchenjunga  is derived from the Tibetan words Kanchen and Dzonga meaning five treasuries of snow. It is engirdled by three countries Sikkim in the south and east, Nepal in the west and Tibet in the North.  The people of Sikkim worship the deity known as Khanchenzdunga. The festival is known as Tendong Lho Rum Faat by the Lepchas of Sikkim. The Lepcha tribe of Sikkim is affluent in folk tales. According to an anecdote customary among the Lepchas  that the Kanchenjunga Range has raised from the horns of a deity which led for a massive flood in Sikkim. Therefore, to save themselves from the catastrophe, the Lepchas had taken their shelter in the high peaks of Tendong and Mainam.  In the Lepcha Mythology, Kanchenjunga is spelt as Kong- Lo- Chu. They worship the peak as a God and on the third Moon Month every year; they celebrate a festival in reverence to the Lord Kanchenjunga. They make a model of the Mountain in facade of their homes and worship it. It is exclusively made of nine stones and the people dance and sings with mask to get the blessings of the Lord. 

There is a belief among the Lepchas that the well wishes of the Lord are indispensable for keeping them wealthy and healthy. There was no permission to get to the top of the Mountain because it is believed that the Supreme resides in the topmost peak, and if anyone surpasses he will be displeased. A celebration is held every year to indicate the ascension of the Lord for the safeguard of the Lepchas. This carnival is known as the Tendong Lho Rum Faat. 

The festival called Tendong Lho Rum Faat is held on the 3rd Lunar Month each year at Sikkim. 

Although Kangchenjunga is the official spelling adopted by Douglas Freshfield, A.M. Kellas, and the Royal Geographical Society that gives the best indication of the Tibetan pronunciation, there are a number of alternative spellings which include Kangchen Dzönga, Khangchendzonga, Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, Kanchenjunga or Kangchanfanga. The final word on the use of the name Kangchenjunga came from His Highness Sir Tashi Namgyal, the Maharaja or Chogyal of Sikkim, who stated that "although junga had no meaning in Tibetan, it really ought to have been Zod-nga (treasure, five) Kang-chen (snow, big) to convey the meaning correctly". Following consultations with a Lieutenant-Colonel J.L.R. Weir (HMG political agent to Sikkim), he agreed that it was best to leave it as Kangchenjunga, and thus the name remained so by acceptance and usage.

Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations made by the British Great Trigonometric Survey in 1849 came to the conclusion that Mount Everest (known as Peak XV at the time) was the highest and Kangchenjunga the third-highest. Kangchenjunga was first climbed on May 25, 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band of a Britishexpedition. The British expedition honoured the beliefs of the Sikkimese, who hold the summit sacred, by stopping a few feet short of the actual summit. Most successful summit parties since then have followed this tradition.

 (Article Source:- Wikipedia, www.indianholiday.com) 

(Picture Source:-oldindianphotos.blogspot.com)

Kanchenjunga....The First Nepali News based journal of Sikkim.

Sikkim, on the eve of Indian independence, was a closed book as far as the political activities were concerned. Few movements were taking place in some far-flung places of Sikkim but, they did not have much impact on the political enlargement of the country. They can be considered as an act of waywardness by the peasants against their feudal lords and those acts were flattened down with iron hands. This all was happening due to the political oblivion among the subjects of Sikkim. They had an intimidation in their minds, an intimidation of confiscation of their private property therefore; they could not raise their voices against the atrocities imposed upon them by their Masters (Kazis).  There was no question of education in such a situation where one loaf of bread was dearer then the philosophy of Marx, Engel, Gandhi and Socrates.  

For the establishment of an egalitarian government, journalism has always played an essential role. Journal not only provides information about the fresh developments but also provides broader sphere for arousing the feeling of liberty, parity and democracy among the browbeaten and mistreated section of a society. Before the birth of ‘Kanchenjunga’ there were very few journals like Amulya-Ratna (hand written journal) published in 1948 and 'Pushpanjali' of the APATAN literary society and The Pole-Star published in 1951 by Mahananda Poudyal were in the scenario but, they were not able to reach at the doorsteps of the ill-treated section as they focused mostly on the literature feature, ignoring the political aspects. To fill-up the inadequacy in the political process of Sikkim the publication of a monthly Nepali journal ‘Kanchenjunga’ was started on 15^th August 1957. The editor of this journal was Nahakul Pradhan but, the entire important workout for the publication of 'Kanchenjunga' was completed by Mr. Kashiraj Pradhan. It is to be noted here that 'Kanchenjunga' was the first news based journal of Sikkim written in the language of the majority i.e. Nepali.

I am greatly indebted to Miss Pabitra Bhandari for sharing with me the aged page of the ‘Kanchenjunga’ which seems to be the 26^th issue of the journal. Published on 15^th September 1959, it provides us information about the asylum of the Dalai Lama of Tibet at Mussouri in India.  It is stated further in the journal that the Gyawa Karmapa had taken his refuge at Rumtek monastery, nearby Gangtok, along with his 80 followers. A refugee Committee was formed on the chairmanship of the eldest princess of Sikkim Pema Choden to take care of the Tibetan refugees. According to the reports of Kanchenjunga of 15^th August 1957, three to four thousand refugees were to be permitted to come to Sikkim to work as the labourers for the construction of roads under Public Works Department, Government of Sikkim. The first group of such refugees which comprised 271 Tibetans had already reached Sikkim and was executing its duty as the labourers in North Sikkim.

Probably, this is only the piece of information related with the Tibetan refugees in Sikkim which is obtainable from our state.