Settlement House: The lone Historical structure of Assam Lingzey

The Settlement House of Assam Lingzey

While going to Gaucharan village any individual can notice this old house. This is probably the oldest structure of Assam Lingzey. I have seen this old construction since my college days and was always keen to know more about it. Everyone in my village knows this House as Kazi Kothi and for many years, I too knew it with the same name. Few months back, while taking interview to an aged person of my village I came to know about the real name of this House.  It was earlier known as Settlement House.

Recently, with two of my students I visited this place. I was unable to meet any member of the Kazi family as they all stay at Gangtok. But, with the help of the neighbours I had been able to collect little information about the historical importance of this House. The House was constructed by a person called Gyaltshen Kazi somewhere in 1925. Build with the plank of Pippli and stone wall, the house has many unique features. To keep the stones unshaken, they were plastered by yellow mud. The most amazing part of this construction is that even after the lapse of 86 years the House seems to be a new one. The caretaker informed us that the nothing is repaired except few beams of Barendah. I was told by the villagers that the Kazi was having his landed property somewhere nearby to present day Lingzey, which he exchanged with a Mandal Kuviman Rai. While asking the lineage of this Kazi, the villagers told me that he belonged to a Thikadari Kazi family, which according to them does not belong to the genuine Kazi pedigree.

Excellent stone work   

The present owner of this House (as per the version of the villagers) is Mr. Tenzong Khangsarpa. The most important thing here is the title Khangsarpa used by the owner. This title is a very familiar one which is known to every Sikkimese due to their first Chief Minister Kazi Lhendup Dorjee Khangsarpa. If the villagers are true enough in their affirmation, then the person Gyaltshen Kazi must belong to the original Kazi lineage.

Few people told me that there used to be a Thinguro to punish the criminals. But, when we visited the House we did not get any germane in their statement. Possibly, it was removed after the abolition of Landlordism in Sikkim. They further informed us that the unsolved cases of the adjacent villages used to get settle at this House. Therefore, the House has got a new name of Settlement House which was alien to the native tongues of Assam Lingzey.   

How cognizant are we to preserve our Heritage?

 We cannot live by History, we cannot ignore it either. It seems that Sikkimese populace will never appreciate this saying. The heritage of our state is always neglected by our people who are acquainted to live in the modern acquisitive world. They have almost forgotten the fact that our roots are somehow connected to our past and we need to preserve them to keep our glory alive. It is the tale of a Foundation of an almost forgotten figure of Sikkimese politics Late Kazi Lhendup Dorjee Khangsarpa, who once had single handedly driven the entire politics of Sikkim. He was not only the first Chief Minister of Democratic Sikkim but can also be regarded as the father of Democracy in Sikkim.

The L.D Kazi Foundation at Gangtok

In the heart of the Capital City and in between the fresh and stunning edifices there lies an old House related to this founding father of Democracy. Situated on the back side of the very famous Bansilal Petrol Pump at the busiest place of Gangtok, the structure is at its brink of decay. In an old signboard it is written as L.D. KAZI FOUNDATION and is locked since a long period. Though, it is situated in the heart of Gangtok none of the enlightened eyes have ever bothered to speak something about this old structure.  It is to be mentioned here that this structure is probably the only part of a set in Sikkim allied to Late Kazi Lhendup Dorjee.

I have seen this construction since my childhood at the very same condition and even today while coming to Namchi I do have a glimpse or twice to this old House. I do not have much information about the year of its construction and about its proprietor, but, I definitely can say that it is related to the First Chief Minister of Sikkim and is totally in an abandon condition. We consider tourism sector as the major source of income in our state and accordingly it has played a vital role for strengthening our State’s economy.  But, what kind of impression the structure is leaving among the eyes of the tourists is another topic for discussion. A place that is associated with the Father of Democracy in Sikkim has now become a rest house for the immigrant Nepali coolies, who are spending their leisure time in listening Lok Dohori on their cell phones.    

Once I have posted a similar article entitled PARADISE LOST on my blog and that too was associated with the conservation of monuments in Sikkim. I should consider myself as the luckiest fellow that I had been able to take some pictures of Rani Khola Bridge at Ranipool. Now a day, the said bridge has been dismantled and nobody objected to this act as they all are adapted in living with the present. In the case of L.D Kazi Foundation too, I am very much sure that this structure will be demolished in a near future and it will be replaced by some modern edifices.

Nepali Coolies in front of the Foundation

The main reason for the abandonment of a place with such historical importance is that our people have developed an attitude of “Nothing is there in Dead Past”. Further, the youths are always busy in gaining political favors from their concerned Political Parties. Similarly, the unemployed people with higher degrees are waiting for their fortunes and the most enlightened section of the society, i.e. the bureaucrats have parallel themselves with the Terminators and finally, the villagers who have nothing to do with this. Under such a situation where people are busy in their own way, places like L D Kazi Foundation, Rani Khola Bridge, Rorathang Mining, Lingtam Dak Bungalow have probably meet an untimed downfall.  

 Being a student and a lover of History, I would like to plea the State Government and the Department to take some strong measures to protect such places. If the Foundation is a private property then the related Department for the conservation of such monuments should provide financial support for its renovation and if it is directly associated with the Department and if the said Department cannot handle these monuments, they should hand them over to some other higher authorities to protect and preserve them. If they will not be protected in time, then our history in the coming years will be almost analogous to those of Jawara tribes of Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Wake-Up Dude....!!!

This again is an evidence of our indifference towards our traditional riches. The captions added below the photograph suggest that it is a Sikkimese monastery. From the outer looks, it can be conjectured that this is the monastery of Tashiding. It seems that a religious rite is captured by the photographer who was really serious about preserving these valuable moments. We need to pay our sincere courtesy to the Das Studio, Darjeeling for collecting and conserving the rare sight. On the contrary, we may put the so called aristocratic rulers of the then Sikkim into the hot suit for being so indulgent in their materialistic perspectives and thus ignoring the interest of the greater institution. This is a serious point of discussion--- if the photograph could be procured by a studio of Darjeeling, why could the same not be done by the much acclaimed Sikkimese nationalists? Once again, we come to the observation that either they were too conservative to share those belongings with mass people or they did not really think about the importance of the same because they were well accomplished in their realms of wealth and power.

Paradise Forgotten

The photographs pasted here show an insulted heritage of old Sikkim. It is a bridge located at Ranipool in the east district of Sikkim. It is barren today to look at and describes its pathetic condition from its superficial look itself. Indeed, we have forgotten to pay honour to the traditional heritage of ours and speak in big words about our present development and civilization. The desolate looking bridge which has been the subject of utter dismay today was once the lifeline of Sikkim. Transportation and communication of every means were possible from Gangtok to other parts only over this bridge. Constructed in the times of British Rule in India, it was certainly the witness of the then scenario which was gradually moving towards the modern day civilization. But, the ignoring attitude of the policies of our present day system has let it go for its untimely demise. What can be more pathetic than this that we are not serious enough to preserve our old prosperity and claim ourselves to be the most brilliant creature? If we happen to move on to the cities like London, Paris and Rome and even to our own Kolkata, we can see how old tradition and heritage is preserved. The example of the train looking vehicle plying on the streets of Kolkata with hardly one or two passengers is enough to make a distinction between our indifferent attitude towards heritage and their keen interest in those things.

Now, some questions come to our mind.

Why are we not paying proper heed to our heritage? Why can’t we preserve and rejuvenate these legendary belongings? Why do we disregard the values of these memorable evidences? Who can answer?

This ,again is a question!!!