rajdhania NOW! supplement for GANGTOK

04-10 Dec, 2002 NOW! Vol 1 No 25

Jeeman(Meals)A PURE VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT

Sirf Khana, No Bar

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Opp. Elephant Mansion,Deorali, Gangtok. Ph: 281654

The latest initiative afoot is an attempt to beautify Gangtok. Aim-

ing too high I would say. Why? OK,let’s identify what’s ugly about thecapital city and then see how they canbe beautified:BUILDINGS: Concrete jungle forsome, but even forests have someorder in their chaos. Gangtok does noteven make any attempts at order. Con-crete bounces off concrete and thensettles down into whatever square feetit can encroach. Of course, we couldraze all the buildings down and revertthe capital to the Hill-Top it claims tobe. We could even deploy architectsfor some aesthetic improvements, butif it is babus we depend upon, then allwe will get is a uniform colour code orsome monotonous drivel like that.Wait... we could order artificial creep-ers and plants by the truck-load fromDhulabari and distribute them alongwith GCI sheets so that the ugly fa-cades can be covered up. I am suresuppliers will love this one. Could I geta cut on the order when the file is ac-tually moved on this one??VEHICLES: Ah! My favourite. Butbefore I proceed, let me sack off myTATA Sumo. OK, even that can waitbecause they are never going to im-plement it. Nothing contributes moreto Gangtok’s ugliness than the snarlof vehicles (parked or plying) on itsroads. Me suggests that the govern-ment buys off all the vehicles (as amember of NEC, they could actuallygets funds for it), sells them as scrapand invests the money to fund a mas-sive criss-cross of ropeways.Ranipool above becomes no-vehiclezone. What say?As for the beautification bit. With thebuildings and vehicles out of the way,the Gangtokians are pretty enough totake care of that aspect...

Taking AIDS awareness to the streets

December 1 is observed eachyear as the World AIDS Aware-

ness Day and this year the awarenessdrive kicked off with a youth rally.School children and members of vari-ous associations participated in theyouth rally organised by Nehru YuvaKendra and sponsored by the Depart-ment of Health & Family Welfare.This rally saw its participants carrybanners with slogans in tune with thenew focus of AIDS Awareness theworld over - Care and Support notStigma and Discrimination.

The rally started from Amdo

Golai and concluded at the Commu-nity Hall here after a stop-over atDeorali.

Akshay Sachdewa, Superintend-ent of Police (East) the chief guestof the rally, while talking on AIDS,said that life being precious one mustnot take chances with it. He alsourged the crowd not to discriminateagainst patients with AIDS.

The stop-over at Deorali was forboth enteretainment and awareness.At the Deorali Chorten gate, artistesfrom Sikkim Amateur Theatre As-sociation performed a street playAnanya Jivan. Deven played thelead role, while Ranjit Kumar, thewriter, enacted the role of Suki baba

(see pix).An AIDS awareness programme

for taxi drivers and casual labourerswas also conducted at Private busstand. This was organised by Volun-tary Health Association of Sikkim(VHAS) and sponsored by SikkimState Aids Control Society.

A street play, Parivartan, writ-ten by Tanka Subedi was stagedhere. Narad Adikari, Bhim Rawat,Khusan Timsina, Kala Subba andVarsha Rai were the main artistes ofthis play. Some taxi drivers and la-bourers also participated in a quizcontest on the topic of Aids.

Dr BB Rai, Executive Directorof VHAS informed the gatheringthat there were 24 HIV+ve patientsin Sikkim and 6 cases of full-blownAIDS.

A LOVE TRIANGLE IN SIKKIM

Sanjeevani, the first bilingual Hindi-Nepali film canned itsmahurat shot at Ganesh Tok on the November 24. It is produced by Ms. Tsering Choden Bhutia and directed by Shyam

Pradhan, both residents of the Rajdhani. Shyam Pradhan had him-self debuted as an actor in the 1977 love story, Romeo in Sikkim. Hedirected Bhool in 1994 and is currently working on another film,apart from Sanjeevani. Like his earlier films, Sanjeevani is also alove triangle and a story of unrequited love.

Why this penchant for unsuccessful love stories? “May be be-cause I’m an unsuccessful love story myself,” he says in jest..

The film stars Jharna Rashid in the central role while Amrit JangBasnett plays the male lead. Well known Nepali film actor, SushilChettri plays the second lead, apart from adding star value to the film.

The film will be completely shot in Sikkim with only few indoorsequences being done in Nepal. According to the producer, Bhutia,

“This will greatly benefit the tourism indus-try in Sikkim as it will showcase the best ofthe state to the outside world.”

The first phase of shooting will mainlysee the filming of songs at various locationsin the State. The first song was filmed atGangtok with the Titanic, White Hall, ZeroPoint and the Assembly as backdrop. Theteam is now shooting the second song atRavangla and Namchi in South Sikkim.

“The songs are the main attraction of thefilm and are of top notch quality. We haveused A-class singers, technicians and record-ing facilities. They are of high productionvalue and the dances are being choreo-graphed by award winning dance directorKamal Rai,” says the Director.

The film is being dubbed in both Hindiand Nepali. All the songs are being shot inboth languages as well as the scenes.

a NOW REPORT

THE BEAUTY OF IT

a NOW REPORT

Sikkim Amateur Theatre artists perform a street play on AIDS awareness at Deorali

[top] while the writer, Ranjit Kumar, essays the role of Suki Baba [left]. NOW! pix

turn to pg (ii)A song sequence from Sanjeevani being filmed at Titanic

7

04-10 Dec, 2002iirajdhani

Gangtokians will tend to theplants in their rooftop nurseries deli-

cately, but when it comes to blooms inthe public domain, they can be ruthless.If not for the empty vase at home, thenthey will uproot unguarded plants forgrafting experiments of their own. Thenthere are the pathological anarchists who

will deface and destroy any initiative inthe public domain. It is against this back-drop that the Phool Khiley hain GulshanGulshan project of the Gangtok Beauti-fication Committee completed sevenmonths since it was first started in themonth of April this year.

VB Pathak, DC, East toldNOW! that this project was launchedto transform Gangtok from a “Jun-

KYA PHOOL KHILENGE GULSHANGULSHAN IN GANGTOK?

� The Gangtok Beautification Project is ambitious to say the least

gle of Concrete” to the “City ofFlowers.” Collecting some localgentry, businessmen and voluntaryassociations, the Gangtok Beautifi-cation Committee was formed andthe project initiated.

“The Green House set up underthis project at Bhanupath near Sik-kim Guest House is more or lessfunctional now,” informed the DC.

The DC agreed that this projectsuffered some set backs as someflowers were uprooted and lost.Now, the Committee has made morepermanent arrangements for thesafety of the flowers. The earlier ini-tiative was further affected by theabsence of gardeners to tend to the“phools” in Gangtok’s “Gulshan.”Now, even this has been taken careof since the project appointed its ownteam of gardeners.

Haatfeltdebut

a NOW! pic

No blazing sun, no slush on

the soles and no irratating

plastic sheets either. Sunday

shopping is a different

experience now...

a NOW REPORT

They’reback

Is there really a market for suchfilms? “It is very difficult and in-creases our work twice over. I amtaking a risk but I thought if a Rojacan be done in Hindi and Tamil, whynot try this too. I feel there’s a chancenowadays. Many small filmmakersare getting an opportunity to experi-ment. It may be a superflop or it maybe a super-hit, you’ll never know tillyou try,” asserts Mr. Pradhan.

Whether it’s a hit or a flop, this“Home” production has all the goodwishes of the people here. Apartfrom generating a great deal of ex-citement for the dozens of collegegirls and Home Guard constableswho are going great guns as extrasin the film!

The Gangtok beautificationdrive which has limited its activitiesto flower pots at strategic locations,has seen some improvement on thisfront. The DC feels that ever sincemore and more fellow Gangtokiansstarted appreciating their efforts, theincidence of flower thefts too hasgone down.

“Once things are set up then thisproject can also improve the imageof Gangtok from the tourism pointof view. Public displays of differentkinds of flowers could becomeGangtok’s USP among prospectivevisitors,” he added.

Mr. Pathak maintains that theproject is progressing well. Its suc-cess or failure will demonstrate howfar a public-private partnership cantake a concept - in this case the beau-tification of the rajdhani.

December 5, this Friday shouldbe a glamorous evening to look

forward to. A fashion show accom-panied by dances and musical per-formances is being organised at theIndoor Gymnasium Hall at PaljorStadium here.

The show, organised by a groupof young fashion and music enthu-siasts led by the capital’s choreog-rapher Kiran Lama, promises a galaevening of ethnic, casual, formal andfusion wear. The show will be cho-reographed by (who else) Lama andthe models, all local, will be givenbeauty touches by Lily Subba.

The evening will also feature fu-sion and dance performances by lo-cal performers and the major attrac-tion of the evening, it seems, will beGanga Pradhan, the pop singer fromNepal. The performance by Pradhanwill be a part of the musical half ofthe show alongside Sai Band.

A lovetriangle...Contd from pg (i)

a NOW REPORT

An evening of fusionentertainment

It might have taken the regularssome time to trace their vendor at

the Sunday haat shopping this Sun-day, but there were few complaints.“The new complex althoughcramped is much more convenient,”said one early morning shopper fromTibet Road as she left the haat at OldChildren’s Park Taxi Stand.

This was after all the first Sun-day haat at the new location after thedeadlock between the vendors andthe UD&HD was finally broken ear-

lier last month. Vegetable vendorswere apprehensive about businessuntil the rather brisk trade this Sun-day allayed their fears.

“At least now we don’t have toduck under grimy plastic sheets orrisk dehydration under the glaringsun,” said another Sunday shopper.

The vegetable vendors, all ofwhom have been accomodated at thebasement of what was to be a car-

park at Old Children’s Park here alsoadmitted that the new arrangementwas surprisingly brighter than theyhad expected.

The Lall Bazaar complex hasnow finally be completely vacatedto make way for a multi-storeyedshopping complex. Most rationshops, however, were still not readyfor the last haat, but should be func-tional by the coming Sunday.

Yes, the people who madedriving around the capital somuch more comfortable are backwith their contraptions toimprove riding quality of eventhe left out stretches. Working onthe Stretch from Vajra to ZeroPoint, all commuter await thetime when they have reached theimproved roads to Ranipool andbeyond. The piles of chippedstone along NH31A, most hopeare for this smoothening of thehighway...

a NOW REPORT

Old Children’s Park gets its first round of haat bargains on December 1

NEW ARRIVALS

Reiki-108 questions and answers

Reiki is a simple hands-onhealing technique, a form ofenergy medicine. Through

the use of soothing hands laid on thebody in certain positions, the proc-ess of healing is accelerated. The es-sence of this form ofhealing is passed onfrom teacher to stu-dent through a seriesof mystic initiationswhich in Reiki arecalled empower-ment.

This guide onReiki by internation-ally famed ReikiMaster Paula Horanexplains in clear andsimple terms almostall the questions that

normally come to one’s mind regard-ing Reiki. The information is short andto the point and in an easy user friendlyformat. Through 108 simple questionsand answers the writer seeks to dispelall the misconceptions and doubtsabout Reiki. The book can be used likea guide and the question and answerformat recreates a sense of engagingin a dialogue with the reader.

For those tryingto get in touch withtheir inner selves, theability to feel. WhichReiki promotes willhelp you find yourown answers. As thewriter claims, “ Themore you call on uni-versal life force en-ergy, the quicker itwill respond.”Pages 144; Price 150

Available at Good

Books, MG Marg

Let’s talk about Reiki

8

04-10 Dec, 2002 iiirajdhani

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

Last week’s answer: 8 MILE. Winner: Sumit Bansal, MGMarg

WHAT IS THE NEW BOND MOVIE CALLED?

� DIE ANOTHER DAY

� DIE SOMEDAY

� DIE TODAY

Pick the correct answer and win

an Audio CD of your choice sponsored by

Hot Stuff, MG Marg. In case of more than one

correct entry, the winner will be decided by a

draw of lots. The prizes cannot be exchanged

or reimbursed in cash. Cut out this comptt. and

reach the entries to NOW! Gairi Gaon, Tadong;

or Oberois, MG Marg; or

Jordy’s, Tibet Road, on or before Sunday.

MigtinT H E

AROUND GANGTOK

CONTESTNAME THE MOVIE SHOT IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS

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MG Marg, Jordy’s, Tibet Road, or NOW! Gair Gaon before Sunday and you stand

to win a free meal for two at Migtin Restaurant, Tibet Road. The Winner’s Coupon

should be collected from the NOW! office, Gairi Gaon, Tadong.

The first correct entry gets to play

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at Jordy’s, Kundeh-Khang Bldg.,

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LAST WEEK’S ANSWER:

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AD MAD

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OUT NOW!

Thanda

matlab???

• November is the time when theslight nip in the air heralds thecoming of winter. And the hint ofwinter is the perfect time to launchwinter wear. So one of the mostpopular brands Monte Carlo haslaunched its new winter wear col-lection 2002-03. There are over150 designs in different lengthsand styles- from the classic pullo-vers and cardigans to open frontzipper jackets. Women get tochoose somepretty interestingnecklines thiswinter. Check out the new arrivalsat Neel Kamal, M.G.Marg.• There’s something about theseplastic containers that mostwomen can ’t seem to resist.‘Handy’, they say. NOW! givesyou some handy news. Womenwho have long used their katorisand other containers to store stuffin the freezer can now switch toFreazy. Freazy from Ravika Poly-Plastech is a fridge containerspecially designed for using in thefreezer. The best part is thesestack on each other and give youoptimal utilization of your freezerspace.• The toothpaste market seessome zingy new entrants this time!Close up introduces a new vari-ant of the popular brand-Lemon

Mint- in a zesty lemon colourpackaging. Makers HLL have tiedup with Filmfare to give free sam-ples of this new flavour. The ideais to not only make people awareof the product but to induce trialand hopefully convince them tobuy as well.· Fisher Price continues to ex-pand its range of products thathelp children develop their skills-motor and creative. The Magna

Doodle is am a g n e t i cboard in keep-

ing with the Fisher Price philoso-phy of quality child-friendly prod-ucts that helps your child unleashhis creativity in a fun way. Thereare six shape stampers that keephim company as he doodles anddraws to glory. Additionally, thereis a magic eraser that makes thewhole process easy and no fuss.· ‘As easy as child’s play’ is howthe new Santro zip Plus Auto-matic is defined. Another newvariation of the same old car, yousay? Wait, this is different-it hasno clutch! No clutch? In a car?Yup, this is due to an engineeringmarvel- a state-of the art 4 speedelectronically controlled gearboxthat makes it the simplest car todrive. Or so makers Hyundai say.Child’s play anyone?

Limboo culture on celluloid

On December 15, at the premierof Numafung, moviegoers in

Sikkim will get an insight into NabinSubba’s saga woven intricately intothe nuances of Limbu culture. Whatshould make the premier even moreexciting is that the two major rolesin the movie are being played by lo-cal Sikkimese actors. WhileAnupama Subba plays the lead role,Ningwa Hangma Limbu gives an im-pressive performance as a child art-ist.

Nabin Subba, the director, al-ready well known in Nepal for hisnumerous documentaries and more sofor his movie on the Sherpa cultureand tradition , Khangri which baggedtwo international film festival awards,directs this movie based on ehtnicLimbu tradition and culture.

Anupama Subba plays the leadrole of Numa and the movie revolvesaround how she gets entangled in anegative marriage and how shefights back the system despite beingexploited time and again in the nameof tradition and culture. In real life,

Anupama is employed with the De-partment of Health in Gangtok.

Another brilliant performance inthe movie is reportedly that byNingwa Hangma Limbu, a child art-ist and a standard VIII student atJoybells School in Gangtok. NingwaHangma is not new to the Nepalisilverscreen either. She debuted withThatama and she is better known forher performance in Deuta, a tele-series aired on channels in Nepal.Her performance in Numafung alsofetched her several accolades andfelicitations from institutions in Ne-pal, Sikkim and Hong Kong, whereshe even bagged the Best Child Art-ist award.

The movie is in Nepali and wasshot entirely in Panchthar in westNepal on a shoestring budget of Rs.45 lakhs. Lauded by critics, thisshould be one to watch out for.

by KARCHOONG DIYALI

Anupama Subba as Numa in NabinSubba’s critically acclaimed Numafung which

is slated for a December 15 Sikkim premier.

Ningwa Hangma Limbu NOW!EVERYONE CAN

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17

ACROSS1. Cut into small pieces3. Small tree6. Very small lake7. Pertaining to the races9. Point in question10. Beat up11. Ocean13. Small blemish15. Firearm18. Window support19. Flat-fish20. Stories21. RushDOWN1. Infected2. Leases3. Sheath for a sword4. Debris5. Incandescent lamp8. Uneasy12. Cure14. Pertaining to punishment16. Surface upon which onewalks17. Oversupply

04-10 Dec, 2002iv rajdhani

CROSSWORD

QQuickBITE

T H E

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LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: ACROSS 1. Sonstress 6. Arched 7. Lava 10. Yeast 11. Urals 12. Ran 13. Smile 14. Smell 16.Ones18. Cave In 19. Dorchester BELOW: 1. Sacly 2. Nectarine 3. Spectres 4. Eel 5. Hats 8. Amazement 9. Sunshade 13. Shop15. Lunar 17. Sir. WINNER: NO CORRECT ENTRIES

100100100100100Rs.

Solve the crossword correctly. Rush it to Oberois (MG Marg) or NOW! Gairi Gaon,Tadong, on or before Sunday and a lucky draw of all correct entries will win theChosen One a Snacks Coupon worth Rs. 100 at Quick Bite, MG Marg.

SNACKS COUPONS TO BE COLLECTED FROM NOW! OFFICE

SNACKS COUPONS WORTH

GOOD MORNING, GANGTOK

The office of the SP (East) has decided to crack-

down on incidents of eve-teasing and molest-

ing. If anyone has any such complaint against

anyone, the victim should not hesitate to report

the matter immediately at the nearest police

station. We promise to take prompt and appro-

priate action against the accused person.

SIKKIM POLICE Office of the SP, East

Buzz. . .

BAZAARNEW CLUB IN TOWN

We are irresistible”, that’s whata newly formed

entertainment club THE GOLDENCIRCLE say about themselves.While that remains to be seen, thisexclusive members only clubpromises to provide qualityentertainment along with valueadded services and information ataffordable prices. All you need istwo passport photos and a one timedeposit of Rs.600. The club whichstarted just a week back claims toalready have more than 150members. The club is presenting itsfirst entertainment show on the 21st

of December. Members will betreated to a fashion show, groupdances, magic show and aperformance by rock group StillWaters. Only I-card carryingmembers will be allowed in to“maintain exclusivity and avoidsecurity hassles”. Those interestedcan contact thegoldencircle@midastouchinc.com or call 220677/225521.

Things are really beginning tohappen around here!

WHERE’S THE MONEY,

HONEY?

The made in Sikkim tag seemsto have no value for the Zee TV

management. While they were quitehappy to pay has been actressBhagyaswari a sum of Rs. 1 lakh topresent the results of the SikkimLotto draw and nearly Rs. 30,000/-to the two models from Calcutta,apart from travel andaccommodation, the Sikkimese girlswho have toiled hard for the lastthree months to perfect their “auraaj ka lucky number” act have notbeen paid a penny yet. The poorgirls keep asking, “Mera numberkab aayega”?!

Zee TV please pay to win.

THE TERMINATOR

A shared taxi is a great way totravel in town. One is privy to

a whole lot of irreverentobservations. The favourite topicamong the drivers is the SP East.What he did and what he said. How

much fine they had to pay and howunfair it all was etc. On one sharedride to the office the driver keptdoing everything that would makethe SP see red. From stopping atwrong places for passengers toovertaking, to parking where he wasnot supposed to. His constant refrainthroughout was “Akshay lemarcha”!

REMAINS OF THE DAY

Walking through Lal bazaar onSaturday evening one felt a

profound sense of sadness. Theempty sheds where once there werestalls, the children on theirmakeshift swings, the men fromsome departments measuring theempty space all added to a greatsense of loss. All the famaliar facesand shops were gone. This marketwhich was built in 1956 and namedafter J.Lal, a Dewan of the Chogyalhas been an intrinsic part of theRajdhani. One of the few placeswhere different cultures and peoplecame together daily. A part of ourcollective heritage and a greatattraction for visitors. It is lostforever. There will be other marketsand other bazaars but never againthe Lal Bazaar we knew and loved.

All that you CAN leave behind?

Nam-Nang. Tuesday. 6:17 AM

- Picture by KARCHOONG DIYALI

18