Word: gangtok
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...hour, tooth-loosening drive west of Gangtok, Sikkim's capital, the monastery is at the center of a divisive and sometimes violent battle within Tibetan Buddhism's Kagyupa (Black Hat) sect: Who is the rightful 17th Karmapa? Is it the New Delhi Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje? Or is it the Tibetan Karmapa-Ugyen Trinley Dorje-endorsed by the Dalai Lama...
...REMEMBRANCE Just a short walk from drab, downtown Gangtok is the nostalgic Nor-Khill Hotel, tel: (91-3592) 225637. Built by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim in 1932 as a guesthouse for visiting dignitaries, it's a stunning example of old-school Sikkimese architecture. And its red pillars, peaked roof and intricate carvings are a huge contrast to the concrete blocks of modern Gangtok. Whiling away an afternoon on the terrace is a pleasant diversion from shopping for handicrafts. It also offers a chance to bump into celeb guests like Bollywood star Danny Dengzopa or the Dalai Lama. The Dragon...
...process of annexation actually began in April 1973, when the Chogyal asked Indian troops to help control demonstrators who were threatening to storm his palace in Gangtok. The riots stemmed from a controversy over the nation's electoral procedures-a system that inadequately represented the settlers from neighboring Nepal, who make up 75% of Sikkim's population of 210,000. India subdued the demonstrators -whom they may have instigated in the first place-and then pressured the Chogyal into accepting a constitutional agreement that virtually stripped him of all power...
Thousands of angry demonstrators stormed into Gangtok to lay siege to the King's palace. They demanded his removal, as well as a written constitution and various administrative reforms. Though Indian officials in Sikkim barred foreign reporters from the country, a few details of the fighting filtered out. In a telephone interview from Gangtok, 20-year-old Crown Prince Tenzing Namgyal made a series of oblique references to "the element outside us that has been causing problems ... we have several times been approached by the political officer to hand over all power to the government of ....," at which point...
...between a Sikkimese youth and a Calcutta hairdresser in the hope of importing the kingdom's first coiffeuse. She describes her home as "a poorish palace but a palace." It is a 64-year-old, two-story white stucco building with five bedrooms and a tin roof. In Gangtok, the family gets around in a white Mercedes convertible. On foreign trips, however, they make a point of flying economy class and often stay with friends. "It's no great Oriental splendor we live in," Hope observes...