rajdhania NOW! supplement for GANGTOK

18-24 Dec, 2002 NOW! Vol 1 No 27

7

CONTACT:

FOR

Classes Nursery to 1 &

Child Day Care CentreWith separate room, beds,

Lots of toys and experienced Ayas

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

The day’s have becomeshorter and I am not liking it.

A day is still 24 hrs, but there issimply not enough daylight todream in any more. Longer daysmeans more time to wile, towaste. Like most folks, I neverseem to have enough time, so thethought of losing even an hour ofit is distressing indeed. It meansone less hour to procrastinateabout something.I’ve mastered the art of procrasti-nation - and believe me, it is anart. I had planned to share someof my best procrastination tech-niques in celebration of the State-wide Observation of Procrastina-tion Week, but well, the Secretaryon punishment posting toDiscoordination Deptt. nevercould get the file off his table. Hehas too much on his plate atpresent, what with new politicalalignments being forged andphone calls suddenly on the rise.Been doing a lot of touring of lateI am told.Bet you did not even notice andthat is why I say procrastinationis an art. I’ve still not gotten aroundto saying what I intend to.You see, since I’m self-employedand because the local rag has acolumn to fill, I am not really ex-pected to get to the point so longas the right amount of columncms are filled. I am thus account-able only to myself and because Iknow when a deadline’s ap-proaching I can’t even give my-self false deadlines - since I amin the know, I just ignore them.And then there is that adrenalinerush of knowing I have no “wiggleroom” that I am absolute junkiefor. They say that planning pansthings out better, improves things.I won’t really know, would I? Neverreally known any way other thanthe deadline nudging buzz.At the time when should havelong finished this piece, for exam-ple, I was busy watching the runof blocks as my computerdefragmented. I might have doneit in the morning, but hey, I hadjust reloaded (for the third time),my word processing software.Then there were the books to ar-range, the midnight movie towatch, the internet to browse andthere I was with frantic phone callscalling in the piece. Of course, thenet-server could have gone down,the electricity could have blackedout, a writer’s block could haveset in...But hey, hey, it didn’t. You haveread this piece so far and I haveearned my retainership....

It’s a season for turning fifty in Sikkim. The Mangan Senior Secondary School celebrated its golden

jubilee a week ago and more schoolsline up to turn fifty next year and inbetween came the fiftieth anniversaryof the Yuthok Shield at Paljor NamgyalGirls Senior Secondary School whichwas observed here at the school cam-pus on Monday. The Shield, institutedby Princess Pema Chuki, daughter ofthe erstwhile Chogyal Sir TashiNamgyal in 1952 and awarded each year

to the best performing house of theschool was snapped up this year byRabong House with its captain, KarmaDoma receiving it from Princess Chuki’sdaughter, Princess Sonam Dolkar.

The school also held its annualfunction on the day and put a tightand entertaining set of five perform-ances which included an Action Songby the primary section students, apantomime “Welcome to Christmas”,Seasons of Song, a violin duet by RodaLepcha and Kavita Lama, and a Sik-kimese and a Nepali dance.

The Yuthok Shield holds specialsignificance for PNGSSS, not only be-

cause of its history, but also for whatit stands for. The Shield is awardedeach year for overall excellence in cur-ricular and co-curricular activities. TheShield has been passed down the yearsin its original form as it was presentedthe late Princess and was only thisyear that the mount was changed, im-proved and polished, making RabongHouse’s victory even more special.

Making Rabong House’s sweepof the awards complete was the si-multaneous selection of its captain,Karma Doma for the best All-rounderAward. The award for the junior sec-tion was bagged by Rebecca Tamang.

Royal bonds reinforced at PNGSSS

YUTHOK SHIELD TURNS 50School authorities, while talking of

Princess Pema Chuki’s association withthe school, which is celebrated to thisday in the form of the Shield, revealthat the Princess was specially inter-ested in schools and education in Sik-kim and chose PNGSSS for the honourbecause of the special bond she devel-oped for it while teaching here for twoyears, back in the early fifties.

“The Princess, we are told, usedto come to teach riding a horse,” theyreminisce of the old days. Those musthave been the days...

[clockwise] PNGSSS studentsprepare for the pantomime, “Wel-come to Christmas”; Girls’ Schoolviolinists serenade the audience;the Yuthok family at the the 50thanniversary of the Yuthok Shield

a NOW REPORT

PROCRASTINATION’SNO THEFT

kaantekaantekaante

SHOW TIMINGS: 11 AM,2:15 PM, 5:30 PM

DENZONG

at

from friday

18-24 Dec, 2002iirajdhani

8

The first correct entry gets to play

1hr Pool and 1/2 hr playstation

at Jordy’s, Kundeh-Khang Bldg.,

Next to Sadar Thana, Tibet Road.

SUBMIT ENTRIES AT JORDY’S

ANSWER:

........................................................................

NAME:

................................................................

LAST WEEK’S ANSWER:

LAYS CHIPS.WINNER:

MANISH, GTK.

AD MAD

CONTESTIn the Perk ad,

what do you mean by‘KBKB’?

NEW ARRIVALS

ACCIDENT DEATH

A driver was killed and his daugh-ter seriously injured when the

taxi they were travelling fell off theroad near Ipecac Garden here atSaramsa on December 15. Officialsources reveal that the vehicle waspart of a picnic entourage fromPakyong. The daughter is recuperat-ing at STNM Hospital here at present.

DOMESTIC SERVANT

HELPS HERSELF TO

CASH AND JEWELLERY

The absolute necessity of havingone around makes people care-

less about the kind of domestic helpthey hire at home. A family at 4thMile, Tadong, learnt this the hard waywhen on December 8, earlier thismonth, they returned from shoppingto a ransacked home and a missing maid.The almirah had been prised open andthe Rs. 2,000 kept inside in cash alongwith some gold ornaments were foundmissing. Although a complaint waspromptly lodged, there are scantchances that the domestic help will betraced or the loot returned. Frequentappeals by Sikkim Police urging fami-lies to maintain details about their serv-ants have fallen on deaf ears. The leastthat can be done is to provide the thanawith a photograph and permanent ad-dress details of every domestic helphired in the capital. While the presentcase if just of a petty theft, it was notvery long ago that a domestic help alsomurdered a couple at Ranipool.

NAUGHTY VCDs

These are not titles that one asksfor over the counter. They are sur-

reptitiously signalled and exchanged.Naughty movies, some of even sternerstuff are banned by law, but still incirculation and every now and thenthere is a bust and some arrests. In thesame vein, on December 13 one BharatChettri of Darjeeling was picked upfrom a Tibet Road shop and found inpossession of “obscene” VCDs whichhe had obviously brought along to sell.

Sprucing up for Losoong

Two Sonam Gyatsos and one Topjor Tamang, all three graduates from the Government Institute of Cot-tage Industries, have been hard at work at Enchey Monastery here, giving the monastery a fresh coat ofpaint in preparation for Losoong, the Sikkimese New Year.They had already spent seventeen man-days each when NOW! caught up with the trio on Monday as theydeftly painted Buddhist prayers on the prayer wheels at the monastery. Frayed paint brushes, paint strewnclothes and numb fingers prove the deligence of their work.“There is still a lot of work to be done, but we will finish in time for Losoong,” informs one of the SonamGyatsos even as his colleagues concentrate hard on the work at hand and don’t even look up when thephotographer clicks away. A facelift before Losoong is incidentally an annual ritual at Enchey.

a NOW! pic

THE WOODEN BOWL

Simple meditations for daily life

In Japanese,there is an expression,ichigo ichie, which is mostly associated with the tea ceremony. It

means ‘one meeting, one life,’ and re-fers to the fact that each tea gatheringis totally unique. Even if it happenedagain, the mood, the weather, theplacement of the objects in the room– something would be different. Eachgathering is a once in a lifetime event.In a sense, ichigo ichie is the secret ofthe present moment, because when weare fully awake to the uniqueness ofeach new situation, we are fully alive.This is what The Wooden Bowl, a newbook offers – a way of being presentto ourselves, to nature, and to otherpeople. This is a book that shows youhow to meditate all by yourself. Itdoesn’t require that you have a teacheror that you travel anywhere special.The writer suggests that the more wemeditate, the broader our understand-ing of life is, and the more we are ableto understand that the present has noborders. The book is a good guide topersonal meditation that is not rigidor difficult.

Pages 185 price 195

Available at RACHNA BOOKS,

Development Area

OneMeeting,One Life

The Nagaland handloom and handicrafts Development Corporation is having an exhibition cum sale at the OldChildren’s Park, Gangtok. The exhibition is part of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Handicrafts Resurgenceand was inaugurated on the 12th of December by Mr. D.K.Kharel, Director, Industries. On sale are the famous

colourful handwoven naga shawls with prices ranging from Rs. 400 to Rs. 1000. Also availabe are slingbags, pouch bags,file covers, c o a s t e r s a n d o t h e r w o o d e n d e c o r a t i v e i t e m s . H a n d w o v e n c u s hi o n c o v e r s i ns u b t l e h u e s a n d s o p h i s t i c a t e d d e s i g n s c o m e a t R s . 2 2 5 a p i e c e . C a n e b a s k e t s , t r a y s a n dt e a c o s i e s a r e s o m e o f t h e o t h e r i t e m s o n s a l e . P a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g a r e t h e p i c n i cb a s k e t s a n d c a n e t i f f i n c a r r i e r s . A c c o r d i n g t o M r. K h u k i y e C h o p h y, B r a n c h M a n a g e r ,N a g a l a n d S a l e s E m p o r i u m , N e w D e l h i , t h i s i s t h e f i r s t t i m e h e h a s b r o u g h t t h e e x h i b i -t i o n t o G a n g t o k b u t n o w h o p e s t o m a k e i t a n a n n u a l f e a t u r e . W i t h S i k k i m n o w a p a r t o ft h e n o r t h - e a s t c o u n c i l , w e c a n l o o k f o r w a r d t o t h e s e e x c h a n g e p r o g r a m m e s . T h e s a l e i so n t i l l t h e 2 1 s t o f D e c e m b e r.

The Nagas are here

THIS WEEK ON X-FACTORMEET

Avril LavigneSelling millions of records and

inspiring the year's hottest style leaves herat a loss for words

18-24 Dec, 2002 iiirajdhani

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

Last week’s answer:BRUCE LEE. Winner: Kharka, Law College.

WHO STARS AS MYSTIQUE IN ‘X-MEN’?

� HALLE BERRY

� STRAW BERRY

� GOOSE BERRY

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

CONTESTWHERE IS THE NAGALAND HANDICRAFTS EXHIBITION BEING

HELD?

� OLD CHILDREN’S PARK

� MILLENNIUM PARK

� RIDGE PARK

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

Last Week’s answer: TITANIC Winner: Chewang Lepcha, Upper Kazi Road. Tick

mark the correct answer and reach the entry to Oberois’ 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.

OUT NOW!

13

• We’re sure everyone who’strudged up to the relocated andre-christened Old Children’s Parkshopping complex would havecome across this curiouslynamed new fast food joint- ‘Willyf’.We asked the proprietor why itwas called ‘Willyf’. It should havebeen Willy’s, he tells us sheep-ishly. Never mind the name, thisplace hassome reallygood rolls inboth veg and non- veg variants.They also offer some other stufflike chowmein but their rolls arethe item that’s really got peopleon the roll. Service is pretty fasttoo, quite reminiscent of Calcut-ta’s roll culture actually. Check itout!• Something to chew on-literally.Wrigley’s has launched its CoolAir chewing gum. The telly ad isreally rad and we like the punchline too- ‘Bite it. Breathe free’. Thatabout sums it up, huh? So the nexttime you’ve bitten into somethingstinky and the person happens tobe in the vicinity, relax. Actuallychomp really hard and good luckto you!• Lately the one rupee segmentseems to be booming. Is this an

indication of shrinking appetitesor the classic case of the eyesbeing bigger than the stomach?Anyway, the panwallah below ouroffice informs us that another cu-riously named product, MamaPunte Chicken bhujiya manufac-tured by the Chaudhury Group,Nepal is selling like hot cakes.Kids seem to relish the 10 gm

pack for Re.1/-.• What ’s upwith the

branded biggies? Bisleri is nowavailable in a ‘more bada’ bottlethat contains 20% more mineralwater that is being tom-tommedas ‘More Bisleri , same price’.Perk chocolate is also bigger, asbrand personality Preity Zinta tellsus. With her perky appeal, shecould sell fridges to the polarbears! Meanwhile Cadbury’s hasdecided to go chunky! What next?!• So what’s ‘Hot Stuff Karma’been up to all this while? Plenty,he says, surrounded with loadsof winter stuff – jacket, pulloversand the like. Go check it out. Mean-while Tenzing of Cloud Nine sayshe’ll be getting another consign-ment of stuff soon. Dunno aboutwarm but you can sure be hepthis winter!

A HANDSOME REWARD

8

so you think you

know your

hometown?THINK AGAIN!!!

so you think you

know your

hometown?

Two member teams.

A set of clues.

‘Pitstops’ in and around Gangtok.

Tasks to be performed.

Tokens to be earned.

So what’s the WIFM factor?(what’s in it for me)

Rs. 10,000 FIRST PRIZE,

Rs. 5,000 SECOND PRIZE, Rs. 2,500 THIRD PRIZE

plus GIFT Hampers from Coke, Britannia & Kelloggs

PLENTY

December 29, 2002Join in the fun!

ENTRY FEES (Per Team): Rs. 200 ONLY.

GET YOUR FORMS AT NOW! OFFICE, OBEROI’S BARBIQUE &

PANORAMA COLOR LAB

treas reHUNTU

SIKKIM TOURISM in association with

TAAS & SHRA

presents the Gangtok

an event conceived and organised by NOW!

Sikkim Tourism TAASTAAS

Supported by

JEEMAN (MEALS), YUKSOM BREWERIES LTD., LITTLE ITALY,

JORDY’S, AROMA BIO-ORGANIC TEA, SIKKIM MOTORS,

SNOD (Deorali) & TRADE-WINGS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

SIKKIMMOTORS

JMJeeman(Meals)

clean good fun...

SNOD

Pan o r amaColor Lab prese

nts

18-24 Dec, 2002iv rajdhani

CROSSWORD

QQuickBITE

T H E

027

WinWin100100100100100Rs.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: ACROSS 1. Physician 8. Agree 9. Spear 10. Unbolt 12. Line 14. Leap 15. Parent 17. Steer 18. Plain20. State-room BELOW: 2. Her 3. Swells 4. Cash 5. Ape-like 6. Valueless 7. Argentina 11. Bravest 13. Pamper 16. Brat 19. Ado.WINNER: CHUMSANG LHAMU, GANGTOK.

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

14

PANORAMA COLOR LAB offers a panorama of photoservices: Mounting and Hard-board lamination, enlargements,slide processing and framing in imported mould.

MG Marg, Gangtok, Sikkim - 737 101. ph: 25098 / 22488

Across6. Republic in S NorthAmerica7. Rip8. Heap9. Reptiles10. Absorbent cloth12. Elevate15. Give pleasure to17. Male offspring18. Fruit of the pine19. Tooth coveringDown1. Physician2. Animate existence3. More unfavourable4. Capital of Canada5. Inhabitant of Denmark11. Rubber13. Evening14. Abnormal bodytemperature16. Large cat17. Thick slice

Buzz. . .

BAZAAR

DOodh DoOdh.. doodh

Wonderful doOdh!

Tadong; Tuesday;

0615 Hours

pic by KARCHOONG DIYALI

SATTE PE SATTA

A strange new phenomenon istaking place in town. Groupsof men are seen huddling to-gether at various spots, a lookof enraptured attention on theirfaces. In nooks and corners, atbylanes and staircases, all dayyou can find them here. Reports are coming inof driverless taxi stands, disappearing ‘naamles’and office staff playing hookey. What is goingon? Are these men planning a conquest on dis-tant lands? Are they discussing things of na-tional concern or maybe some grandiose busi-ness plans. No way. All of them are lottery ad-dicts waiting for the next high. Which comes

promptly every half hour. This new lottery is tak-ing the town by storm. All you need is to get 1digit (oops) 2 digits right and you too can win allday.Nice way to keep the citizens busy.

PAYTIME

We had written last week that the SikkimesePlaywin girls have not been paid a penny yet fortheir work. Well, the pennies have started rollingin from this week onwards. The girls will now bepaid a sum of Rs. 2500 per episode. Not a for-tune certainly but it’s a beginning. A consolidated

sum of Rs. 5000 will be paid to each girl for herwardrobe. Plans are on to rope in NIFT de-signer and NOW! fashion consultant JyotsnaPeriyar for designing the clothes.Did someone suggest fusion!!

HAVE MERCY

Education is an expensive propositionthese days. What with fees, uniform,books and all the extras that are always

needed. But it gets too much whenschools deliberately fleece the hap-less parents. Many schools make it

mandatory to buy certain itemsfrom the school itself. But in-stead of trying to provide it inconcessional rates the schoolsturn it into a profit making ven-ture for themselves. A parentwho admitted his child in a mid-dle level school was quitestumped to be handed a bill of

Rs. 500 for a badge, a tie and another small item.‘How can they do this?’ he fumed.

MATCHLESS

A reader writes in to ask why matches are al-ways sold for Rs 1 all over Gangtok, when thewritten price is 75p all taxes inclusive. Is thattrue?

WHEN IT COMES TO HARD CASH

nothing else matters