Antique Lepcha House at Tashiding Chongrang

The Old Lepcha at Chongrang

Antiques and artifacts have always fascinated me since my childhood which was possibly the rudiments in my unripe infant mind for an advanced historical investigation in my days to come. I have just loved these relics and have always enjoyed their structural designs. They are just awe-inspiring and are the bystanders of the “massive alter” which has utterly changed the very face of a human society. During my Post Graduate  Days in Pune University, I always enjoyed to sit and study at Saniwarwada, the remains of the erstwhile palace of the Peshwas. Though, it was burnt down by the British after their antagonism with the Peshwas, but it still has many features to drag the attention of a history lover. The other such structures where I always wanted to visit in Pune were Vishrantawadi, Aga Khan Palace, Deccan College, and Ferguson College and so on. They have always inspired me to love such remains with a great sense of respect.

There are many such antiques scattered throughout the state of Sikkim, but, our tendency of chirping into the History of Sikkim from the windows of marvellous edifice of Gangtok has compelled such antiques to remain behind the curtail. It is an irony to say that the objects of historical importance are not dragging any attention of any NGOs and authorities. This is a tale of an old Lepcha House, counting its last days, situated at Chongrang at Tashiding in West Sikkim. The present owner of the said Lepcha House is Mr. Tshwang Tashi Lepcha. He has informed us that it was constructed somewhere 140 years before by his great grand father. If we have to believe on his aphorism, the House was constructed in 1871 and bears all the traditional features of a Lepcha House.

Plastic Cover- A temporary measure

The old Lepcha structural design is standing on the huge log pillars on every corners of the foundation. For the further support to the house, stone walls on the two sides are constructed and has left open to serve other village purpose like keeping the ripe crops or may say keeping livestock during rainy season and so on. Above the walls and wooden pillars rooms were separated for the residential purpose. The floor in the upstairs is made up of firewood, which are kept crisscrossing each other. This sort of built-up not only makes a structure strong but also provides warmth to fight against the chilling winters.

The roof of the House

The most interesting part of this house is indeed its roof which is still covered with Siru (a local grass used by Sikkimese peasantry to serve the purpose of covering a house or shed). I still can remember my childhood days when we too had a house which had a roof of Siru and during rains it had considerable leaching. To tie up the said grass with the bamboo piece, the ancient Lepchas had use Choya (a thread made by pilling a bamboo). To give a final touch to the roof, they used Choya in a most synchronising manner so that the grass could remain intact to protect the house from seepage.

Another striking feature of this house is that it was constructed without using a single nail. To keep other beams and woods firmly, they made holes on the huge wooden pillars so that it could remain at the exact place where it was suppose to be. The floor of firewood was pasted by a thick layer of clay that could give them warmth and they could also keep fire burning the whole night during winters.

Mr. Tshewang Tashi Lepcha-the present owner

This old Lepcha House is at the verge of its demise and its owner, Mr. Tshewang Lepcha is unable to maintain it due to his poverty. The stones of its wall are getting away from their places and its roof has got many holes. He has now made a temporary arrangement by covering its roof by a plastic to keep his family members safe from the rain. Likewise, the floor is decaying and to get rid of it the owner is still following traditional method of pasting those patches with clay. This house needs an immediate attention from the concerned authorities or else it will be decayed within a few years. 

Chak Tha Rimponche.....A fact or an anecdote?

The history of Sikkim is always surrounded with the folklore, mysteries and fictions. It is covered by a thick blanket of legend and mythology in which one can find births, re births and incarnations and much mythological bits and pieces which in fact have no credibility in history. But, even being mythological in nature they cannot be ignored entirely as they have their roots in our times of yore. The photograph pasted here belongs to a person who was then known as Chak- Tha Rimponche, who according to the people of Tashiding West Sikkim, used to be a conventional Buddhist. Chak Tha was a Bhutia by caste who hailed from Tashiding (Gangyap), West Sikkim and a Lama by profession. But, according to the few natives of Tashiding, at a distance from his occupation he used to tame cattle in the forest of Pokhri- Dara and its neighboring area. The descendents of those cattle tamers believe that Chak Tha had some paranormal power by which he could even control the nature. It was due to his clairvoyant smack he could fly like a bird which (according to the belief of the local people) could prove a great calamity for them. Therefore, to avoid such disaster Chak Tha was kept like a captive by his village men and Lamas by tying him with an iron chain which weighed more than a quintal.  Due to the lack of evidences it is not possible to ascertain his definite period. But, when we stumble upon with the photograph of the Rimponche it becomes clear for us to understand that he certainly lived in Sikkim after the latter’s contact with British India. Because, before the advent of the British, camera, photographs and sketches were dreamlike things to the Sikkimese society.  

The account of Chak- Tha greatly allured me in the beginning but, when I heard the whole narrative I found it to be larger-than-life. The half naked body along with some other unknown object proves that he was a great Tantric Lama who certainly was the follower of Tibetan Tantricism. The Dammaru in front of him (right hand side), his hair-style, and a Trisul kind of entity on his left hand makes it clear that Chak- Tha was a great Tantric Lama who in all probability exhibited his acquaintance in front of the villagers and those acts of the Rimpoche later became the legends in the village and transferred from one generation to another. But, apart from all other issues, it is a fact that Chak Tha was a native of Tashiding (Gangyap) and his family still lives at the very same place where he had his eminence.

The picture was possibly taken by some British officials on their way to the famous Tashiding monastery.