A capital transition Tenzin C.

Tashi
‘Gangtok, a collection of wooden stalls, Marwari shops and a few stone houses, numbers
some two thousand inhabitants’ observed Rene von Nebesky-Wojkowitz half a century
ago. Today just the number of vehicles on the roads easily out number the one time
demographic count of Gangtok.
So much of Sikkim’s in bound tourist traffic necessarily halts at Gangtok, the equivalent
of a base camp for the much in demand trips to Tso-mgo, Nathula and Baba Mandir, not
to forget the westwards exodus to Pelling, Yuksom and southwards to the statue of Guru
Padmasambhava at Samdruptse.
And yet, Gangtok does not really have much of a ‘personal’-for want of a better
descriptive- history, not surprising considering that it was the most recent in a succession
of capitals adopted by the Namgyal dynasty that ruled over Sikkim for 333 years, from
1642 to 1975.
Gangtok was where it all began and ended for Sikkim’s Namgyal Chogyals. Those of us
who have even a cursory acquaintance with the history of Sikkim will know that
Phuntsog Namgyal was from Gangtok. In fact, he was born in Gangtok in 1604.He was a
descendent of Guru Tashi, considered by many to be the first de jure ruler of Sikkim.
Guru Tashi, in turn, was a descendent of the legendary Khye Bumsa who had settled
down in the Chumbi valley in the 13th century. Guru Tashi married the daughter of an
important chieftain of Gangtok and shifted base there in the 16th century. Phuntsog
Namgyal, who was consecrated the first Chogyal of Sikkim by three great Nyingmapa
lamas, established his capital at Yuksom in 1642 A.D. though some academics argue that
the coronation actually happened in 1646 A.D.
After this all too brief claim to fame, Gangtok then faded out of the annals of Sikkim’s
history till about the 1890’s when it was chosen by Thutob Namgyal as his capital on
account of its central location. Gangtok witnessed the turbulent times of 1974-75 when
Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal was deposed as the king and Sikkim became the 22nd
state of India. To be fair to the twelfth Chogyal though, he had the misfortune to become
king of a Sikkim whose demographic profile was vastly altered from the blood
brotherhood times enjoyed by his ancestors, a Sikkim which could not really transcend
the multiple pluralities that so personified it at that point of time to meld a collective
national identity so critical to its survival as a Himalayan kingdom.
It was during Thutob’s reign that Sikkim’s relations with the British soured so much so
that he was removed from his country and detained at Ging, Darjeeling and Kurseong,
while John Claude White took over the administration of Sikkim as its first British
Political Officer. If I may digress a little here, Claude White is revered as a ‘hero’ by
many local people who never bothered to read up their own history. This can be mostly
attributed to the general perception that only a ‘good’ man would have something built in
his memory.
Incidentally, the White Memorial Hall, today one of Gangtok’s better known landmarks
was built by Claude White as a place where people could meet. Till the end of 1933, the
princely sum of Rs.42,843 was spent on its construction. Old Marwaris-many now sadly
no longer with us- had an interesting story to relate. Apparently there was a lot of
animated discussion about whether the White Hall should have a cemented roof, for even
the old palace which was built in the traditional style did not boast of one such. In the end
White Hall became the first building in Gangtok to have a concrete slab. Now of course
the significance of this historical building is lost in the concrete maze that is Gangtok
today.
At one point of time, a lot of officers would meet at White Hall to play billiards or
badminton. Today, apart from a stray photo exhibition, it remains mostly a parking area
for a sea of yellow taxi tops all waiting for tourists visiting the Flower Festival in the
vicinity.
Purists will argue that White was virtually a despot who took excessive liberties with a
mild king and successfully meddled with the order of succession even. It was White who
passed over Tsodak Namgyal, elder son of Maharaja Thutob Namgyal and anointed his
younger (and more amenable to British sensibilities) brother Sidkeong Tulku as the tenth
Chogyal. On the other hand, academics and researchers will thank White for the richness
of the legacy he left behind for them- detailed documentation and prolific photographs of
Sikkim, Tibet and Bhutan.
Nari Rustomji, Dewan of Sikkim, offers that, ‘Again, in recognition of Sikkim’s
importance, both strategically and for commerce, the British posted a Political Officer at
Gangtok, in the heart of Sikkim, where he was conveniently situated to keep a watchful
eye also on Tibet and Bhutan.’
It was Claude White who built the Residency-the residence of the British Political Officer
-on top of a hill in Gangtok in 1889. When the British left India in 1947, the Residency
went on to become India House, the residence of the Indian Political Officer and after
1975, it became the Raj Bhawan, the residence of the Governor of Sikkim. On another
hilltop, slightly lower, but quite close actually, was situated the old Palace. A fire
destroyed it sometime in the 1920’s or thereabouts. The then Maharaja Sir Tashi
Namgyal who never got around to building a new palace, continued residing in his half
brother and immediate predecessor , Sidkeong Tulku’s bungalow, what is today referred
to as the new Palace.
For many years, these two often competing centres of power, along with the Royal
Chapel of Tsuklakhang, were the only noteworthy sights of Gangtok.
By a strange twist of fate, both centres of power now lie empty. Wangchuk Namgyal,
consecrated the thirteenth Chogyal in what was termed an illegal ceremony by the
Government of India pursues a life of religious detachment, in retreat in remote places
outside of Sikkim. The historical Raj Bhawan has been rendered structurally unsafe by an
earthquake, Sikkim’s old nemesis. Though both are out of bounds for the average Joe,
from a vantage point high up on the hills, one can see both edifices perched proudly on
two prominent hillocks braving the ravages of time and history.
Gangtok bazaar sprawls some few hundred feet below the Palace Ridge. Peggy
Williamson, the wife of the much loved British Political Officer, Frederick Williamson
(1891-1935) rued in her memoirs that in 1934, ‘The local bazaar in Gangtok was rather
small; sugar and flour could be bought there but not much else’ necessitating that the
main provisions of the Residency had to be ordered all the way from Calcutta, that too
‘only once a year and by an elaborate stocktake’.
But White distinctly mentions, ‘the Gangtak bazaar possesses its two or three shops for
the sale of European provisions, beers and wines’. It makes one think, what happened to
these shops by the time the Williamsons came to take up residence at Gangtok? My
personal inference would be the most logical one- money was very scarce in those days,
indeed the Maharaja himself was dependent on the British for monetary succor, and
probably these little enterprises were too ahead of their times and inevitably could not
sustain themselves.
A photo of Gangtok bazaar in the 1930’shows two rows of pert little wooden stalls lined
up neatly on either side of the main street, and buyers and sellers milling around wares
displayed on the street itself. No cars can be seen at all! Photos from the 60’s show a few
concrete buildings where there were none earlier, along with a few stray cars Today,
only a few of these vintage wooden stalls still survive in the bazaar and cars and more
cars eat up what space the buildings have not taken up. The multi-storied buildings in the
bazaar sell everything from smuggled Chinese goods to the latest plasma televisions to
yes, sugar and flour still!
The few wooden stalls that still stand sandwiched between towering concrete neighbours
seem to be fighting a losing battle. What we all know and leave unsaid is that sooner or
later, we will find another little wooden stall boarded up, with a little handwritten
explanation that the establishment that used to exist there is temporarily closed or
relocated elsewhere and another piece of history will bite the dust. Construction will take
place at a frenzied pace under the mandatory blue tarpaulins and very soon another
modern monolith will drive another nail in the coffin of the historic bazaar.
That brings to mind what actually triggered off the sudden craze to demolish the wooden
structures. In one word- banks. Banks catapulted into the stratosphere the going rentals of
space in town not so many years back. Today there exists something like 27-28 banks in
Gangtok alone. Walk through Gangtok town, or even its suburbs. Every third building
seems to house a bank or an ATM of a bank, a far cry from the times of the one and only
Jethmull Bhojraj, bankers to the State. A friend helpfully pointed out that even today, the
bustling Raj Enterprises in the heart of the bazaar still proudly writes ‘Chota Bank’ in
brackets on its signboard. But I am sure the imagery is lost on most people of today.
It’s a vicious cycle actually. Owners of wooden structures raze them to make a killing
renting out the new concrete floor space to banks and banks come here because
everybody is in a hurry to avail of loans to fund further construction. Perhaps we will
soon enter the Guinness book of world records for having the highest density of banks in
the smallest area!
Contrast this scenario with earlier times when Gangtok was an ‘A Class’ bazaar. Old
administrative reports of Sikkim explain that there were three classes of bazaars classified
on the basis of their control or management.
A Class bazaars where revenues from taxation were merged into General Revenues of the
State.
B Class bazaars where the landlords of the Elakhas where the bazaars existed were
allowed to enjoy the revenues of taxation on the understanding that they used the
revenues to better the lives of the people who lived in the bazaars. These landlords paid a
house tax to the State for the number of houses in the bazaar but did not account for the
revenues to the State. They however looked after sanitation et al of the bazaars.
C Class bazaars were those where no market was held.
The markets in class A and B bazaars were held only once a week and traders were taxed
two annas per load for the sundry goods put up for sale on the haat days. Some seventy
years later, circa 2007, one pays five rupees- 80 annas- just to park one’s vehicle for a
few minutes in the bazaar!
Intriguingly enough, for all the relentless urbanization of recent years, Gangtok remains
essentially a bazaar at heart. Old historical photos show the vintage Gangtok bazaar
located on the Ridge near the Palace gate. In 1887, Claude White made his maiden visit
to Sikkim and went all the way up to Gangtok. He later recollects in his epic book
‘Sikkim and Bhutan’: ‘On reaching Gangtak, we pitched our tents on the ridge, close to
the Maharaja’s palace, then covered with jungle, now the site of a flourishing bazaar,
with post and telegraph offices, dak bungalow or resthouse, charitable hospital and
dispensary, and many large and flourishing shops, including that of the State bankers’.
In 1914, the bazaar was removed thence to its present location as we know it today. Old
records state that the total expenses incurred in shifting Gangtok bazaar from the
commencement of operations till the end of 1915 was all of Rs.18,293!The figures really
drive home how much spending power one rupee had those days!
Some years later, as the bazaar grew, as did malpractices, the Bazaar Committee of
Gangtok was formed. Assisted by the Sub- Committes of Rangpo, Pakyong, Rhenock,
Singtam, Soreng and Naya Bazaar, the Committee controlled the commodities commonly
used by the poorer people: kerosene and mustard oil, sugar, rice, salt, flour, wheat, ghee
and dal and also other articles. The Sub-Committees forwarded weekly rate lists and any
irregularities were punished. I sometimes wonder how the Bazaar Committee would have
dealt with a modern day cheat from a rural area that stains his eggs brown in tea and
passes it off as ‘basti’ or fertilized eggs!
Fast forward to today, almost a hundred years old in its present location, Gangtok bazaar
metamorphoses into a mall in the evenings. From king’s capital to tourist’s mall, it’s been
a long journey for Gangtok.