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a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 March: Thehearings on the maintainability ofelection petitions filed by the Con-gress candidates concerning theelectronic voting machines con-tinued today at the High Court.

The single judge bench ofActing Chief Justice, NS Singh,had begun the hearings yester-day, 03 March, when both Mr.Mittal and Mr. N Dutta contin-

ued their arguments on themaintainability of the petitions.

Mr. Mittal is the counsel forthe Congress candidates and isa Supreme Court lawyer whileMr. Dutta is the counsel for therespondents [the winning SDFcandidates] and is also the Ad-vocate General of Nagaland.

The hearings concludedtoday with Justice NS Singhreserving his judgment for alater date.

High Court reserves judgement onmaintainability of EVM petitions

Caught him for rashdriving. Recovered from

his possession - onedriving licence, one blue

book, car keys, one

bottle of milk...

a NOW REPORT

RANGPO, 04 March: The rul-ing Sikkim Democratic Frontcelebrated its 13th FoundationDay today; however, the partypresident was far from im-pressed with his party function-aries, many of whom, he said,lacked commitment.

The party president, whileaddressing a huge gatheringhere at Mining Ground, la-mented that though his partywas now 13 years old and hisGovernment ten, the partyworkers still had little under-standing of their role in deliv-ering on the promises made tothe people.

“The person who had putup the flag should have in-structed me which rope to pull.Instead, I was directed towardsthe flag-post, I pulled the ropeand the flag came down,” hesaid.

Pointing out that the inci-dent would provide the oppo-sition parties with an opportu-nity to make a big issue out ofit and call it an ill omen for theSDF, Mr. Chamling said, “Aslong as I work wholeheartedlyfor the people of Sikkim, noth-ing bad will happen, neither to

THE PROBLEM IS NOT BAD OMENS, ITIS CASUAL ATTITUDES: CHAMLING

“A lazy public and a corrupt government lead to the extinction of a State”

PARTY PRESIDENT TURNS THE MIRROR ON PARTYWORKERS ON 13TH FOUNDATION DAY

Referring to the incidentleft many senior party workersred-faced with embarrassmentat the beginning of today’s cel-

ebration, the Chief Ministersaid it reflected on the casualapproach which many had to-wards their responsibilities. In-

cidentally, when the party presi-dent tugged at the rope to un-furl the SDF flag, it fluttereddown instead of unfurling. turn to pg 5

A Thai Princess in Rumtek

Thai Princess, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, being received at Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centreon Friday. The Princess is in Sikkim on a 2-day visit. turn to pg 5 for detailed report

iNSIDE

More seizures and people interrogated;couple suspects a conspiracy

FORGING THE CM’S SIGNATURE CASE

TURN TOpg 5

ON pg 7

A STEP BY STEPGUIDE TO MUSHROOM

CULTIVATION

Rajesh Hamal

in Sikkim to

help Tsunami

rehabilitation

effortsTURN TO pg 6

2; NOW!; 05 March, 2005 ED-SPACE

EXTERNAL

NEPAL

AFFAIRS

The timing of the presentcrisis in Nepal couldn’thave been worse. Febru-

ary First happened just as book-ings for the spring trekking sea-son were firming up and thetravel trade was looking for-ward to recouping losses of thepast years.

Although there was a 12percent increase in tourist arriv-als last year with 380,000 visi-tors, it was still way below the1998 peak of 500,000. Now,things are gloomy again.

There have been mass can-cellations after news of theking’s move and the subsequentMaoist blockade of highways.January had already shown a 16percent drop compared to Janu-ary 2004 and February’s figuresare expected to be worse.

After the emergency wasdeclared, Kathmandu-basedembassies have upgraded theirtravel advisories. Even theFrench, who have been themost laissez-faire aboutadvisories on Nepal haveposted warnings, mainly be-cause of communication diffi-culties after 01 February.

“We have given up hope forthis spring season,” says Trek-king Agents’ Association Nepal[TAAN] President DeepakMahat, “Now all we can do ishope for the best for the autumnseason.” Trekking agents havereceived mass cancellations bygroups booked for the March-May season and the only peo-ple still coming are individual

travellers who in any case arenot deterred by advisories.

Worst hit have been Indiantourists because of the saturationcoverage of the Nepal crisis inthe Indian media. Even Indiangamblers who used to throngKathmandu’s casinos are thin onthe ground. People comingoverland from India has plum-meted to zero. “The army is

ready to take the tourist vehiclesin convoys,” said an NTB offi-cial, “But tourists normallydon’t agree to move like that.”

The tourism multiplier ben-efited everyone from taxi driv-ers in Kathmandu to Nepal’snational parks, porters, tea shopowners along trails and evenMaoists who taxed hikers.Now, with trekkers down to atrickle, everyone is hit. Theonly ones who have come outunscathed are domestic privateairlines which are compensat-ing for dollar-paying touristswith a record numbers of pas-sengers because of blockedhighways.

But international airlineshave suffered. Qatar Airwaysbrought only five passengersfrom Malaysia on a flight thisweek, although its Doha flightsare full. Cosmic Air flew only12 passengers to Dhaka on the

same day. Sahara Air suspendedflights and is due to resume onlyon15 March. Austrian Airlineshas suspended flights forMarch. Airlines that used to de-pend on tourists are turning nowto ferrying Nepali migrant work-ers to the Gulf. Phuket Air,scheduled to begin Bangkok-Kathmandu-Dubai flights nextmonth is doing just that.

Although the Sagarmatha,Manang and Mustang regionsare trouble-free, tour operatorsare finding it hard to convincevisitors that trips will not bedisrupted. Among those stillbraving it are tourists fromother conflict zones like Israelwho don’t pay attention toadvisories anyway. In 2004,Nepal had 108 percent moreIsraeli tourists compared to theprevious year.

The only hope for tour op-erators now is Tibet. There isheavy booking for spring intothe monsoon for Lhasa-boundKathmandu stopovers. “Tibet islooking good,” says NATTAVice President Dhruba NarayanShrestha, “The fact thatKathmandu is ok is spreadingthrough word-of-mouth. We aregoing to amplify this good newsthrough a travel mart here.”

Even so, the Maoist block-ade of the Arniko Highwaysince 1 February has hurtoverlanders and many have hadto be ferried to and fromTatopani by helicopter.

[courtesy: Nepali Times,Kathmandu]

Trekking To A TrickleThe current crisis in Nepal couldn’t have

come at a worse time for tourism

After decades of drought, itseems it is raining democracyin the Middle East. There are

clear signs of change around the region:Demonstrators in Lebanon toppled theirgovernment, opposition pressure forcedEgypt to allow multi-candidate presi-dential elections, Iraqis defied threatsfrom insurgents to go to the polls, andPalestinians turned out to vote evenunder the heavy hand of Israeli occupa-tion. Throughout the region, people arein awe and inspired by the winds ofchange. Members of the Syrian opposi-tion have said they hope for a demo-cratic spillover from Lebanon. Even thetop U.S. commander in the Middle Eastexpressed optimism about recent events,calling them “monumental, if not revo-lutionary.”

Despite our fears and misgivings,we the people of this region have shown

a genuine commitment to the principlesof democratic governance and we aretaking great risks to claim our libertyand freedom.

But joy and optimism alone cannotsustain us. For in order to achieve ourdreams, we must achieve peace, sinceit is the cornerstone of any true democ-racy. Failure to produce it in the pasthas been an Achilles’ heel that hasbrought down democratic movementsfor nearly 60 years. For in these timesof war, authoritative regimes have jus-tified crushing opposition movements

in the name of “security.” The result isthat we have been rolling the same stoneup and down the same hill, and whilethere have been high moments of opti-mism, there has been little real progress.

At this current high point, democratsacross the region are looking to theUnited States to deliver on its promiseof peace. We need no intervention onthe front of democracy. Not only doessimple logic tell us that democracy can-not be imposed, but we have proven thatwe are capable of creating it on our own.However, what we do need are the rightconditions in which democracy canflourish, and this is something the U.S.can help us forge. America must play acrucial role in promoting democracy inthe region by being a fair and just bro-ker for peace.

-editorial featured in The Daily Star,Beirut

“Leave democracy to us buthelp bring on the peace”

The Mid-East is clear

on the role it wants

America to play in its

affairs - a fair a just

broker for peace...

WELCOME PRIMITIVE TRIBESTATUS, CONDEMNING

CRITICS

Through this letter, I want to extendmy gratitude to to the honourable

Chief Minister and his colleagues fortaking the bold step of giving PrimitiveTribe Group status to the Lepcha com-munity of Sikkim. We optimisticallyhope to get an early declaration fromthe Central Government also. The vi-sion of the Chief Minister to instal theStairway to heaven is another warm ges-ture to be welcomed.

Here, I also condemn those un-healthy people who raise their lostvoices without a prior knowledge of theterm “Primitive Tribe.”

Similarly, I vehemently object andcondemn the “Ragtime” in NOW! dated1/03/05. The sketch of an invisible Lepchawas ludicrous and mischievous and com-pletely intended to malign and humiliatethe Lepcha community. From this plat-form, I would like remind that the Lepchacommunity lives with a rich culture and

� L E T T E R S

turn to pg 6

Cultured, Not PickledTurn to any corner of the world and one comes across voicesof protest from a culture under threat, a way of life nearingextinction. While there are always external elements likethe influence of globalisation and the pressure to homog-enise which eat away at the edifice of a culture, the biggestrisk comes from those who refuse to let cultures breathe -those who view it as relics which need to be preserved, notnecessarily living systems which need to be nurtured. Fornurturing would mean allowing it to grow and there are toomany who see cultures as perfect and any growth as blem-ishes. They refuse to accept that culture is not somethingthat can be pickled and preserved as a museum piece forposterity. Culture, because it is about a people, is vibrant,alive and current. It is spontaneous, almost instinctive, andnot something that is learnt. It is imbibed. Since culture formsa part of evolution, it is also subject to fresh interpretations,nuances and relevance.

Because culture is about people, it cannot survive onstate patronage alone - that would be relegating it to thestatus of a museum display. Recently, members of the Mu-seums Association of India were in Gangtok for their an-nual general conference. The focus of the conference was“Intangible Heritage - Preservation & Portrayal.” In layman’sterms, they were speaking of ecomuseology, the science,or rather the attempt, to allow cultures to breathe and thriveunencumbered in their natural habitat. But even this comeswith its pitfalls. In the Journal of Indian Museums releasedat the conference, the editorial spoke of the “very amateur-ish and vulgar commercialisation” of culture that one seesin the tourism sector of Rajasthan. The message - preser-vation of cultures should not come at the cost of reducingvibrant lifestyles into caricatures. This can happen only ifthe people to whom the culture belongs want to nurture it.

For the same reason, if a people reject their Culture asripe for extinction, no amount of preservation helps. Yet, aculture should not be dismissed even before we have under-stood it. It is important that the repository of culture is passedon to the next generation to nurture and craft as it feels right.And yes, people can discard a culture if they want to, but onlyafter they have understood it and decided that it does notserve their purpose any more. What the current holders ofculture can do is pass it on to the next generation in as un-adulterated form as possible. What the younger generation,equipped with its better education, can do is research deeperinto their roots. Then, even if the physical form of culturesdwindle away, at least records will remain for future genera-tions if it feels inclined to revive the same.

05 March, 2005; NOW! 3� RAJDHANI

DOON HERITAGE SCHOOL

Siliguri’s largest English medium, co-educational Secular School announcesissue of Registration forms for Admission for 2005-2006

For Nursery to Seven from 15th Feb, 2005Facilities offered:

* No Home-Work upto Class V. Continuous assesment & evaluation System* Sophisticated Sporting Facilities* Hi-Tech Facilities

* AC Dining Hall* Boarding cum Day School

* Devotes individual attention to students* Regular Health check-ups* Emphasis on Extra-curricular actitivies

The school owns 12 acres of land comprising of following buildings:* Academic Block

* Administrative Block* Accomodation for Teaching & Non-Teaching Staff* Spacious Library, Computer Room, Activity Room

* Kitchen & Mess Area* Separate hostel for boys & girls

* In Second phase there will be a swimming pool, Gym & Play grounds

KOLABARI, CHAMPASARI, SILIGURI, DIST. DARJEELING

A day cum residential school

Principal Dr. A. Mukherjee formerlyfrom Doon School Dehradun &Senior Faculty from Dehradun

For details, contact: Arjun Elizah, c/oSushil Kr. Agarwal, Distributor BSNL,

MG Marg, Gangtok. ph: 03592-229988, 94341-09988

WEATHERUPDATE

GANGTOK &SURROUNDING AREASThe Weather Yesterday

MAX TEMP: 15.3 Degree Celsius

MIN TEMP: 11.7 Degree Celsius

Rainfall: nill

Relative humidity: 92%

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 March: ACivil Writ Petition has beenfiled in the High Court ofSikkim by S. Narendra & Co.of Mumbai, against the StateHealth Care, Human Service &Family Welfare Departmentand the State Food Authority,challenging the notification is-sued by the State Food Author-ity prohibiting the sale of Ev-erest Chat Masala in Sikkim.

The notification [dated 15

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 March: Vol-untarily Health Association ofSikkim [VHAS] felicitated itsvice-president, Dr. JPTamang, yesterday ata function held here atHotel New Castle,Deorali, that was at-tended by VHASmembers and Dr.Tamang’s students.The recipient of theNational Bio-ScienceAward for Career De-velopment for theyear 2004-05, Dr.Tamang, returned re-cently from theawards ceremony in New Delhi.

Speaking about his research[the award comes in recognitionfor his research contributions inthe field of microbiology of fer-mented food and beverages ofthe Himalayan region of India,Nepal and Bhutan], Dr. Tamangsaid that patience was importantfor all researchers. Encouraging

the researchers, he also stressedon the importance of teamwork,which was required for successin any field.

He also expressed concern

that many people were embar-rassed to talk about fermentedfood even though it was a partof the local cuisine and cultureand thus needed to be high-lighted and promoted in a posi-tive manner.

“The real scientists are ourforefathers who discoveredall these exotic food items.

Today, we are merely con-ducting research on theseitems,” he said modestly.

He also expressed his grati-tude to the Sikkim Govern-

ment, authorities ofthe Sikkim Govern-ment College [SGC]in Tadong [where heis currently teachingas Reader in the De-partment of Botany],and all those linkedwith his research.

“The credit forthis award goes notonly to me but to theentire society,” headded.

Dr. Tamang ob-tained his master’s and doctor-ate degrees from North BengalUniversity and did his post-doctoral research at the Na-tional Food Research Institute,Tsukuba, Japan.

Dr. Tamang’s major area ofresearch focuses on microbiol-ogy of traditional fermentedfoods and beverages of the NorthEast with emphasis on microbial

taxonomy and diversity, foodsafety, functional properties andnutritional value of fermentedfoods. He has developed starterculture for kinema production us-ing potent cultures.

He is also a research guideat SGC and under his guidanceSoroj Thapa [2001] andSailendra Dewan [2002] havebeen awarded Ph.D’s by NBU.At present, three researchscholars are working under hisguidance and supervision at theFood Microbiology Laboratory.

He has published a numberof research papers in nationaland international journals. Dr.Tamang has filed for patent reg-istration on “A process for pro-duction of kinema fermentedsoybean food, using a purestarter culture”.

He is member of variousprofessional bodies, includingNational Academy of Sciences[Allahabad], Asia-Pacific FoodAnalysis Network [Australia]and International Foundationfor Science [Sweden].

pic:

AR

UN

CH

ET

TR

I

July, 2004] issued by Dr. DKSubba, Food [Health] Authority,under the Prevention of FoodAdulteration Act, 1954, andSikkim Prevention of FoodAdulteration Rules, 1991, hasbeen challenged by the peti-tioner on the grounds that thepower to declare a substance as“injurious to health” was vestedonly with the Central Govern-ment and the State Governmentdid not enjoy such powers.

Further, the Prevention ofFood Adulteration Act, 1954,

was concerned with the “preven-tion of adulteration of food andnot intended to prohibit any arti-cle used as food or otherwise,”the writ petition pointed out.

The petition also contendsthat the Food Authority has onlythe limited power of issuing anorder of “prohibition for a shortterm” to ascertain the cause ofoutbreak of any infectious dis-ease and take appropriate meas-ures to control the situation.“Beyond that, the State authori-ties have no power,” it further

Colleagues felicitate Dr. Tamangon National Award

BANNED EVEREST CHAT MASALA ATTEMPTS A COMEBACKIN LAND OF KHANGCHENDZONGA VIA HIGH COURT

pointed out implying that a per-manent ban on sale of any prod-uct was outside its purview.

While stating that it waspermissible under Article 19[6]of the Constitution of India toimpose reasonable restriction inthe interest of general public,the petition argued that the re-striction has to be “commensu-rate with the danger posed”.

While claiming that EverestChat Masala was being manu-factured after obtaining neces-sary permission as provided un-

der Rule 50 of the Preventionof Food Adulteration Rules,1955, the petition labelled theprohibition as discriminatory, assimilar other products werefreely available in the State.

Documents tabled revealthat the “adulteration” con-firmed by the Guwahati foodtesting laboratory was “excesssalt.” The petitioners argue thatchat masala is salty in natureand imply how excess salt canbe taken as adulteration. TheHigh Court has reserved itsjudgement on the matter.

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Spring Book Fairbegins on 11th

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 March:Sikkim Akademi is organisingthe third Spring Book Fair 2005and second State-level paintingexhibition from 11 to 14 Marchin the newly constructed shop-ping complex in front ofGangtok Sadar Thana.

The participants this yearwill be Sahitya Akademi, NewDelhi/ Kolkata; National BookTrust, India; Oxford UniversityPress; Orient Longman; SajhaPrakashan, Nepal; and NationalLibrary, Siliguri.

From Gangtok, the partici-pants are Nirman Prakashan,Janapaksha, Jainco, Alphabetsand Good Books. Many otherrenowned publishers and book-sellers are also expected to par-ticipate in the book fair.

The second annual paintingexhibition, organised in col-laboration with Lalit KalaAkademi, New Delhi, will alsobe held simultaneously in the

turn to pg 6

4; NOW!; 05 March, 2005 NEWSSCAN �

Leather Exhibition-cum-SaleITEMS: Leather Bags, Jackets ,

Wallets, Belts, Kholapuri Chappals,Shoes and many more

VENUE: Top Floor, Super Market,

Opp. Denzong Cinema Hall

FROM 1ST TO 18TH MARCH, 2005

SSB LanceNaik diesin road

accidenta NOW REPORT

DENTAM, 04 March: AnSSB personnel was reportedlykilled in an accident nearDentam, West Sikkim. The ac-cident took place at a placecalled Bhaisi Gaon when a SSBTata, JK-02-B8470, fell off theroad and crashed into the maizefields about 100 feet below.

The accident occurred onthe night of 02 March; the truckwas carrying SSB personnel ofthe 24th Battalion, which wason its way to Uttarey fromGangtok. They had reportedlyjust collected their salary atGangtok. It has been informedthat along with SSB constables,an officer, Inspector BirendraKumar Singti, was also presentin the vehicle.

Though most of the passen-gers, including the driver, sus-tained minor injuries and wereimmediately rushed to theDentam PHC, Lance Naik PKRana died on his way to the PHC.

It is believed that he dieddue to internal injuries, as therewere no external signs of anyserious wounds. The injuredpersonnel were then referred toGeyzing hospital; one has beenreferred to STNM, Gangtok.

OPENING SHORTLY!!!OPD extension at NAMNAM, near Assembly.

FACILITIES AVAILABLE:* OPDS - all specialities

* Investigations (Biochemical and Haematological)* Ambulance available for patient transport to the CRH

Now Central Referral Hospital isavailable in the heart of town!

PURAN TAMANG

NAMCHI, 04 March: SpeedPost Service was finallylaunched at Namchi Post Of-fice today. Though a sign-board announcing the launchof the service had been put upa couple of months ago, theservice was made availableonly from today after the in-augural function at the PostOffice here at around 11 AM.The launch of this service wasnot possible earlier due toshortage of booking materialsand tariff, it was informed.

The Speed Post service willalso be started at Geyzing inWest Sikkim on 10 March andMangan in North Sikkim on 12March, informed an officialfrom the Gangtok Head PostOffice who was present here for

the inauguration.He also shared the Postal

Department’s plans to start Ru-ral Postal Life Insurance[RPLI] and Postal Saving

Scheme along with variousother facilities that will makelife easier for the people of ru-ral areas.

The function was attended

by the officials of Postal Serv-ices from Gangtok, includingDR Marak, director, G.Goswami, assistant superin-tendent, DB Rai, PRO, and thestaff of Namchi Post Office.

Following the launch func-tion, an awareness programmewas also organised for the staffof Namchi Postal Servicewhere subjects like various sav-ing schemes offered by the postoffices like senior citizens’ sav-ing schemes, monthly incomeschemes, term deposit, recur-ring deposit and saving ac-count, along with the interestmaturity, value and tax conces-sion were discussed.

The booking material andtariff for Speed Post Servicewere also made available todaywith both national and interna-tional facilities.

The board has been there for quite some time now.The service began today.

Speed Post Service makes it to Namchi, finally

the party nor to the public.But we should learn to bemore serious about our workfrom this incident.”

Stating that the government

in the Rs. 22,46,79,000budget passed recently for thefiscal year 2005-06. “Now, Ishall personally monitor theperformance of each depart-ment,” he added.

Referring to recent contro-versies arising out of a tusslebetween the management andlabourers “instigated byCITU,” the CM reminded thegathering of party supportersfrom all across the state thateven though the neighbouringstate had a “CITU Govern-ment,” the labourers ofDarjeeling, Kalimpong andSiliguri were still starving.

Urging the Sikkimese peo-ple not to be misled by the“outside forces” who wereplaying politics in the name oflabour issues, Mr. Chamling

warned that his governmentwould not tolerate militanttrade unionism in Sikkim.

The Chief Minister also re-iterated that his Government haddeclared 2005 as the YouthRevolutionary Year and addedthat the main focus of the Gov-ernment this year will be to cre-ate awareness, develop skillsand motivate the youths towardsservice sectors so that their ca-pabilities were honed in tunewith the future plans for Sikkim.

Sikkim needs around10,000 trained youth in thepower sector, 1000 each astrekking guides, travel agents,hoteliers, drivers, vehicle own-ers, interpreters, guides, etc, theCM stressed. He called uponthe local youth to avail trainingsbeing sponsored by the Gov-ernment in this regard.

The Chief Minister, whileinforming that his Governmentwas targeting to make Sikkima poverty free State by 2015,urged all sections of society tocooperate with the Governmentand get more involved in theaffairs of the State.

“A lazy public and a corruptgovernment lead to the extinc-tion of a State,” he said.

The problem is not bad omens, it is casual attitudes: Chamling

Contd from pg 1had 37,851 employees, 12 Min-isters, 32 MLAs, and severaldepartmental heads, the CMrued the fact that work done sofar was still not satisfactory.“This is because not everyoneis working sincerely. Too many

are working only for personalgain,” he said.

All this will now changefor the better, he added, reveal-ing that Ministers, MLAs anddepartment heads had beengiven 100 days to start imple-menting the provisions laid out

KALIMPONG, 04 March:Inspired by the success ofLepchas from Sikkim in se-curing government supportfor Primitive Tribe Group sta-tus, the Lepchas from theDarjeeling Hills reiterated thedemand for similar status forthemselves in West Bengal.

Expressing fears over the to-

tal extinction of the tribe, L.Tamsang, general secretary tothe Indigenous Lepcha TribalAssociation [ILTA], said thatwhile their counterparts inSikkim had been recognised asPrimitive Tribal Group [PTG],the demand of the Lepchas ofthe Darjeeling Hills for similarstatus, which has been voiced

since 1950 remains ignored.“We are delighted, thrilled

and congratulate the Lepchas ofSikkim and above all Dr.Pawan Chamling and his min-isters and MLA for workinghard for the backward tribe andgiving tangible results in thisregard,” Mr. Tamsang said.

The ILTA said that the

Lepchas of Darjeeling were “ex-tremely backward” – economi-cally, educationally politically.

“If such a status is alsogranted to us, we will be able tosafeguard our culture traditionand tribe as well as develop our-selves,” Mr. Tamsang said. WBLepchas were granted theScheduled Tribe status in 1950.

Darj Lepchas congratulate Sikkim counterparts onPTG status, relaunch their demands for same

05 March, 2005; NOW! 5� NEWSSCAN

More seizures and people interrogated;couple suspects a conspiracy

RANJIT SINGH

GANGTOK, 04 March:Crime Branch officials revealthat they would be objecting tothe bail application moved byMrs. Rajni Khanna who wasarrested a couple of days agofor having allegedly forged theChief Minister’s recommenda-tion on an application ad-dressed to the Principal Secre-tary to the CM.

Apart from Mrs. Khanna,her husband, Anil Khanna, aformer IPS officer of theRajasthan cadre, too is under

FORGING THE CM’S SIGNATURE CASEthe police scanner for his sus-pected involvement in the for-gery case, it is learnt.

“He has been directed notto leave town,” informs an of-ficial of the Crime Branch.

It was also revealed that Mr.Khanna had stated to the policethat he was innocent and thatsome people were conspiringagainst him.

Incidentally, police sourcesreveal that some more seizureshave taken place but are not re-vealing details. It was alsomade known that apart from thehusband and wife, about six

other people were also beinginterrogated to ferret out moredetails on the case.

The forgery in question re-lates to a recommendation thatthe accused is alleged to haveadded to her application tomake books and stationery sup-plies to Tashi Namgyal Acad-emy here. Crime Branch offi-cials reveal that the CM’s sig-nature, the seal of his office andnoting were all forged on thesaid application.

Crime Branch officialsalso denied media reports thatthe accused had been releasedon bail.

“Nothing of that sort; Mrs.

Khanna has not been grantedbail yet,” clarified one official.

He further informed that thebail hearing scheduled for 03March had to be postponed dueto the absence of the publicprosecutor. The next date is setfor 05 March.

Police officials add that thecouple is contesting the chargeslevelled against them.

Mrs. Khanna, it is learnt,had been brought to the policeheadquarters for interrogationwhere she reportedly made astatement to the effect that shewas innocent and that there wasa conspiracy in the whole for-gery issue.

“Her husband too has beenasked to come to the policeheadquarters for interrogation,”say crime branch officials.

Incidentally, he too is main-taining the same line that thereis a conspiracy behind the alle-gation that his wife had forgedthe signature of the Chief Min-ister in order to gain the rightto supply textbooks to the TashiNamgyal Academy.

This is also what Mrs.Khanna’s mother believes. “Mydaughter is just 26 years old;how can she commit such a bigcrime?” she questions addingthat her daughter had confidedto her about her innocence.

TENZIN DOMA

GANGTOK, 04 March:The Princess of Thailand,Maha Chakri Sirindhorn,visited Rumtek DharmaCharka Centre at around 4PM today.

The reception party at themonastery consisted of T.Gelek, Additional Secretary,Ecclesiastical Department;Sherap Tharchan, general sec-retary of Ralang Monastery,along with Prabha Rai, JointSecretary, Home Department.

Gyalshab Rinpoche, one ofthe regents of Rumtek Monas-tery, was there to receive her inthe visiting room. He wel-comed her with a khada and astatue of Lord Buddha, whichhe presented to her. The Thaiprincess expressed her happi-ness to be at the monastery.

During their conversation,Gyalshab Rinpoche gave her abrief about the history of theRumtek Monastery, includingthe controversy regarding thereincarnation of the 17thGyalwa Karmapa.

The Princess also visitedthe main prayer hall. Prayerswere offered by the monks ofthe monastery for world peaceand for the long life of the Prin-cess there.

She was also taken to the

Substanceabuse tackled

at Namchicollege

a NOW REPORT

NAMCHI, 04 March:Koinonia Students Fellowship ofNamchi Government College, incollaboration with FECAI andTendong Educational Institute,Namchi, today organised anawareness programme on alco-holism, drugs and STD at theConference Hall of NamchiGovernment College.

During the programme,Joint Director, IEC, Health De-partment, and PJ Pradhan, acounsellor from Gangtok, edu-cated the college youths on thevarious aspects of the drug, al-coholism and sexually trans-mitted diseases.

While a radio play was pre-sented by the student membersof Koinonia, the main attrac-tion of the programme wasSoul Winners, a band fromDarjeeling, who played anumber of gospel songs.

Appreciating the pro-gramme, the vice-principal ofthe college, Dashrat Kharelwho was present as the chiefguest, stressed upon the needof holding such programmes inthe future for the benefit of thestudents.

The Students’ Koinonia wasformed in Namchi in 1998.Though the organisation has inthe past conducted such pro-grammes elsewhere in the re-gion, today’s programme wasthe first of its kind to be held inNamchi Government College.

The programme was alsoattended by Daya RatnaPradhan, director of FECAI,Aaron Subba, FECAI member,and lecturers and students fromthe college.

Thai princess visits Rumtek monastery

Golden Stupa, which has theholy relics of the 16th Karmapaof the Kagyu lineage.

She was accompanied byChirasak Thanesnant, Ambassa-dor of Thailand, Vivek Katju,Ambassador of India to Thai-land, along with officials of theThai Embassy and media personsfrom Thailand. The delegationaccompanying the Princess wasreceived with khadas, rosariesand packets of Sikkim Tea.

[above] Thai Princess MahaChakri Sirindhorn with

Gyalsab Rimpoche[left] Students greet the

Princess with Khadas outsideRuimtek Monastery

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a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 March: ALeather Exhibition cum Sale iscurrently being held here at thetop floor of Super Market, Op-posite Denzong Cinema Hall.On display at the ten stalls fromplaces like Kolkata, Kanpur,Arga, Indore and Maharastraare a wide range of leathergoods like bags, jackets, wal-lets, belts, Kolapuri chappals,shoes and some branded items.

“We have a large variety ofleather jackets available in dif-ferent colours, and brandedshoes like Boyz, Le Fore,Cathula and others brands fromAgra,” informed Javed Akhtar,manager of the exposition.

For the ladies, the stalls alsohave a huge collection of boots. FORM IV

(See Rule 8)Statement about ownership and other particulars aboutNOW!, and English daily published from Gangtok, Sikkim.

1. Place of publication : Gangtok2. Periodicity : Daily3. Printer’s Name : Baba Offset Press Works

Pvt. Ltd.Nationality : IndianAddress : Tadong, NH 31A, Gangtok

East Sikkim4. Publisher’s Name : Lt. Col. [retd.] P. Dorjee

Nationality : IndianAddress : c/o NOW!, Gairi Gaon,

Tadong, Gangtok,East Sikkim

5. Editor’s Name : Pema WangchukNationality : IndianAddress : Gairi Gaon, Tadong,

Gangtok, East Sikkim

I Lt. Col. [retd.] P. Dorjee hereby declare that the particu-lars given above are true are true to the best of my knowl-edge and belief.

sd/-Date: 04 March, 2005 [Lt. Col. (retd.) P. Dorjee]

Publisher, NOW!

tradition from the times of godsand goddesses. For this we haveplenty of evidence. Moreover,the Lepcha community is in noconfusion of what the cartoonintends to depict.

An apology and clarifica-tion is a must from the con-cerned artist.Ongden Lepcha, Upper Sichey,GangtokThe artist has already apologisedfor the unintentional hurt the said“Ragtime” may have causedmembers of the Lepcha commu-nity [NOW! 04 March, 2005]. Asfor NOW!, the reader is re-quested to go through the edito-rial headlined “No More DenyingThe Lepchas,” featured in our 03March, 2005, issue to gather theintended meaning of the said“Ragtime.” -ed

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 March: Twomonths after the Tsunami tidalwaves hit the coastal areas ofSouth East Asia, efforts are stillon to raise funds for the reha-bilitation of those from the af-fected areas.

A charity show of MajhiDai, a Nepali movie, wasscreened yesterday evening at

same venue. The works of thelocal artists of Sikkim will beon display in the exhibitioncum sale. The best five paint-ings, selected by a jury consti-tuted by the Akademi, will geta cash prize of Rs. 10,000.

There would be books onvarious subjects ranging fromastrology, astronomy, meta-physics, and philosophy to cur-rent world affairs, politics, fic-tion and non-fiction in Nepali,Hindi and English and in locallanguages of Sikkim on display.

WELCOME PRIMITIVE TRIBESTATUS, CONDEMNING CRITICS

Contd from pg 2

Contd from pg 3

Spring Book Fair

Vajra Cinema, the proceeds ofwhich will be sent to the Tsu-nami Relief Fund.

The famous actor from Ne-pal who also plays the lead rolein the movie, Rajesh Hamal, wasalso present during the show thatattracted a large gathering. Ear-lier, he was greeted in a tradi-tional Sikkimese manner withthe offering of a khada by MBDahal of Tourism Department.

Rajesh Hamal in Sikkim to help Tsunami rehabilitation efforts

Also available are executiveand portfolio bags and Chineseleather trolleys in different va-rieties, he informed.

An explosion of leather goods

More items will be arrivinghere within the next few days, themanager added. The exhibitioncum sale, which started here onfirst, will continue till 18 March.

Centre recommends

President’s rule in GoaPANAJI, 04 March: Reelingunder the Jharkhand crisis, theCentre today recommendedPresident’s rule in Goa.

This was stated by HomeMinister Shivraj Patil.

He said that the Centre wasnot happy with what has hap-pened in the Goa Assembly to-day and has taken suo-motuaction without waiting for theGovernor’s report.

“What has happened in theAssembly today is not accept-able to us. It is not proper tohave one member not to vote.This is exactly what has beendone by the previous govern-ment,” he said.

The decision was taken ata hurriedly-called meeting ofthe Union Cabinet.

05 March, 2005; NOW! 7� SPECIALS

NOW! 05 March, 2005

on language by WILLIAM SAFIRE

Mushrooms come under a separate group of organismscalled fungi [called Dhuri in

Nepali] and can grow on dead and de-caying organic materials; hence, it isSaprophytic in nature.

There are various varie-ties of edible mushroom cul-tivated in the world today,out of which Agaricusbisporus [button mush-room], Lentis edodes,Volvoriella volvacea ,Pleurotus spp. and Auricu-laria spp. are the most com-mon and most productivevarieties. Out of these,Agaricus bisporus contrib-utes about one-third of theworld’s total mushroom pro-duction.

As we can see, the cli-matic condition of Sikkim’ssouthern and low hills is suit-able for the cultivation ofOyster mushroom [Pleurotussp like sajor-caju, florida,fabellatus, etc.].

Materials required for thecultivation of OysterMushroom: Mushroomseed [spawn], polybag[30x30 cm], paddy straw[paral] not more than oneyear old, dekchi/ drum/bucket to boil water, rubberband, thread, sprayer, andbamboo rack, and incuba-tion and cropping room.

In Sikkim, mushroomcan be cultivated throughoutthe year by manipulating thetemperature and humidity ofthe cropping room, but with-out manipulation it can becultivated from mid-Febru-ary to mid-June and mid-August to mid-November.During June and July, due tomonsoon and high humidity,it is difficult to get the desired results.

During the time of mushroom cul-tivation, it is important to select goodquality of mushroom spawn [seed].It should be milky white in colourwithout any contamination and notmore than 45 days old. It is also nec-essary to maintain suitable climaticcondition for the cropping as well asincubation room temperature 25 + -

+ - 2 [23-27o C] and room should bewell ventilated and temperature inbetween 20-30o C depending upon thespecies, and the relative humidityshould be 75-85 per cent.

Methodology for the cultivation of

Oyster Mushroom: Select dry andfresh golden colour paddy straw notmore than one year old and chop it to 3-5 cm long stalks; soak the chopped strawin the boiled water for 30-35 minutesand allow the draining of excess waterand leave them for cooling. Take a30x30 cm polybag and make 15 to 20holes in it; then take the selected spawnand fill two inches of the bag with the

moist straw and spread a layer of spawnover it. Again fill two to three inches ofthe bag with straw and spread a layer ofseed over it. This way, make four layersof straw and spread seeds in betweenper bag.

Now keep the spawned bag in theincubation room [tempera-ture 25 + -+ - 2o C] for myc-elia run. After 18 to 22 days,bags appear white with myc-elia growth. This is the timeto remove the polythene verygently from the block with-out damaging it. Watershould be sprinkled regu-larly. After five to six days,pinheads appear on theblock; harvesting can bedone after the maturation ofthe pinhead structure, i.e.four to five days after thepinheads appear. Continuousspraying of water should bedone for the next flush ofmushroom and it will appearwithin a week.

Mushroom has very richnutritional value and is agood source of iron, potas-sium, vitamin, phosphorusand protein. Mushroom pro-tein is not only cheaper butis almost as nutritious asmuscle protein and also con-tains essential amino acids.

Intake of mushroom isalso good for those sufferingfrom cancer, diabetes andHIV/ AIDS, heart and kidneyproblems.

Precautions to be takenduring mushroom cultiva-tion: There are several pre-cautions that need to betaken during mushroom cul-tivation. Spawn should befresh; the ‘mushroom house’should be visited regularlyby the cultivator to watch outfor diseases or pest problem.Avoid over watering and

maintain humidity of 75 to 85 per centand temperature of 25 + -+ - 2o C in thecropping room. Hygiene should bemaintained in the mushroom house andcontaminated block should be discardedimmediately. Do not allow perfumed orscented items inside the mushroomhouse.

[The writer is a resident of Bermiok,West Sikkim]

by NARPATI SHARMA

A Step by Step Guide to

Mushroom Cultivation

‘It’s A Wrap’

At this year’s Academy Awards extravaganza, a nominee in 11 catego-

ries is Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator,”about the eccentric aviation innovatorand pioneering movie producerHoward Hughes.

One scene in that film is fixed in mymemory because it may feature ananachronism. The classic example ofsuch a time warp of phraseology is inShakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” set in an-cient times, in which Cassius says, “Theclock hath stricken three.” The Bard for-got that clocks that strike the hour hadnot been invented at the time. In “TheAviator,” a glittering party is held to cel-ebrate the conclusion of the filming ofHughes’s 1930 epic, “Hell’s Angels.”What struck me was a large sign withred lettering: “Hell’s Angels ‘It’s a Wrap’.”The placement of the phrase within quo-tation marks suggests it was fresh at thetime. But was it? Or did the director orscreenwriter project a current phraseback in time?

Five years ago, Hendrick Hertzberg,the New Yorker writer, spotted an anach-ronism in a Woody Allen movie set inthe 1930’s: a musician says, “You knowwhat I’m sayin’?” a locution that did notbecome popular until the 80’s. [As Mr.Allen famously said, “80 percent of suc-cess is showing up” - at the right time.]

During the 40’s and 50’s, the orderto conclude a day’s shooting of a moviescene was expressed as wrap it up,sometimes followed by “Print it.” Thiswas recorded in movies about movies:In Vincente Minnelli’s 1952 film, ‘The Badand the Beautiful,’ a cost-conscious stu-dio executive played by Walter Pidgeoncomplains to a producer, Kirk Douglas,about “700 extras in 19 buses, and acrew of 85... they’ve been up in themountains for two days already - eatingtheir heads off!” When Douglas looks athis watch and says, “We’ll try it again inthe morning,” Pidgeon says hopelesslyto the director, “Wrap it up for tonight.”

When did wrap up [or wrapping up,first cited in the sense of ‘’finishing,’’ in a1926 book by T.E. Lawrence, best knownas Lawrence of Arabia] turn the verb intoa noun, as in That’s a wrap? TheO.E.D.’s first citation is from a 1974 cin-ematographic novel by Michael Ayrton:‘’Other cars are heard starting up out ofshot and the lights on the pergola go offso I assume it’s a wrap and the crew islistening to the director saying somethingconsequential and busy about tomor-row’s call.’’

However, assiduous research turns upthis 1957 entry in Charlton Heston’s jour-nal, quoted in the 1998 edition of “This IsOrson Welles,” by Welles and PeterBogdanovich: “We rehearsed all day ... thestudio brass gathering in the shadows inanxious little knots. By the time we beganfilming at 5:45, I knew they’d written offthe whole day. At 7:40, Orson said: ‘O.K.,print. That’s a wrap on this set.’”

Thus, it appears that the switch fromwrap it up to that’s a wrap took place inthe 50’s. That seems to make its use in‘’The Aviator’’ about a party in 1930 ananachronism (from the Greek ana,‘’back,’’ and chronos, ‘’time’’).

How does one get this evidence?Went to Amazon.com; searched for auto-biographies of film directors like John Ford,Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles; hit the‘’search inside the book’’ feature for wrapand up came the Heston usage in Welles’sbook. The wordhounds and phrasedicksof the American Dialect Society’s listservmay now find an earlier citation to castdoubt on my conclusion; that’s the fun inthis etymological dodge.

8; NOW!; 05 March, 2005

by ROSHAN PRADHAN

today in

History5th March

Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Baba Offset Press Works Pvt. Ltd., Gangtok. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Now! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong.East Sikkim. ph: 03592 271167 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com; sikkimnow@sify.com

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1291: Sa’ad al’Da’ulah Jewishgrand vizier of Persia,assassinated1616: Copernicus ’ “deRevolutionibus” placed onCatholic Forbidden index1743: 1st US religious journal,The Christian History,published, Boston1770: Boston Massacre,British troops kill 5 in crowd.Crispus Attackus becomes 1stblack to die for Americanfreedom1821: Monroe becomes 1st USpresident inaugurated on March5th, because 4th was Sun1908: 1st ascent of Mt Erebus,Antarctica1924: Computing-Tabulating-Recording Corp becomes IBM1927: 1,000 US marines landin China to protect Americanproperty1953: Josef Stalin, sovietleader responsible for 11million murders, dies1970: Nuclear non-proliferation treaty goes intoeffect

ARIES: You will put your best footforward, but will have difficultykeeping a perspective. Adjustyour plans. You might think thata conflict can’t get resolved.TAURUS: Stay grounded. A spe-cial loved one could prove trou-blesome. You might feel put offas a fun plan goes down the drain.GEMINI: Move forward and youwill discover that others couldgive you flak. Perhaps a familymember wants to be closer.CANCER: Balance yourcheckbook. At first you see asituation one way, but with someperspective, you see other pos-sibilities too.LEO: The problem is that a childor loved one only wants to win, notto play. Pull back and take a deci-sion, then regroup. Your new sug-gestions make everyone happy.VIRGO: Step back and listenharder. What you hear could

make you uncomfortable. Fam-ily could be difficult, as they wantwhat they want. Your best bet isto please them for now.LIBRA: Don’t hang out aloneand you’ll be much happier. Lis-ten to other’s judgments. If youpresent a situation one way, you’llget an unequivocal “no”. Tryagain and everyone will agree.SCORPIO: Take charge andorganize a visit with an olderrelative or a friend. Be carefulnot to stretch yourself too far. Bereasonable with your money. Trya movie. Opt for a concert.SAGITTARIUS: First youchange your plans irritatingsomeone you really care about.Then you decide to do some-

thing very unusual and offbeat.Everyone has a good time.CAPRICORN: You might makemore out of a problem than re-ally exists. Go within for an-swers. You could feel limited byfinances. Change your plansaccordingly if you need to.AQUARIUS: You could feel likesomeone has let you down,causing tension between youand a loved one or friend. Letgo and follow through, and makehim or her happy.PISCES: A partner makes achoice that could make you veryuncomfortable. You might wantto distance yourself. Someoneyou care about comes up with awinning solution. Swap ideas.

Old age is a scary place. Man has long dreamed of eternalyouth and the magic elixir. The elixir being nowhere insight, it seems chemicals will have to do - hair dye and

botox to name a few. Hair colour has become so common that itis now considered unnatural to sport a grey head. In fact, it hasalmost become an unwritten law - when thehair turns grey, as it will, thou shalt dye it!

An elderly relative whips out her bottleof hair dye at the faintest mention of a socialgathering and proceeds to colour her thinning strandsdespite her creaky arthritic joints. She admits thather hair started thinning after she started colouringit. Why? I ask her. At your age, you are expected tohave some silver strands, I reason. No, she says - Iwill look too old. Besides, everyone colours his orher hair - I will look strange.

And as I look around - at family gatherings, onthe streets, in taxis, at work, on TV, I see her point.It’s difficult to spot a head of grey hair. It’s easier tofind blondes and redheads! I saw one at the AmdoGolai turning this morning - a flaming redhead. It’sweird. Heads and faces no longer match. Blondeand red locks frame chinky brown eyes and dark eyebrows.Creepier still - an unnaturally jet black crown above a wrinkled,tired face. As I watched the assembly session on TV last week, Iwas struck with how black everyone’s hair was! Looking youngerthan ones age is now something to unabashedly pursue. I don’t

think it is easy for those who decide to keep their grey hair as itis. I admire their courage and attitude.

Looking good and hiding one’s age was once a solely fe-male preoccupation. Well, vanity now has men in its claws too.A friend has this delightful story - on a visit to Raj’s Hair Sa-

loon at Deorali for a routine haircut, he sawa man getting a facial. The gentleman wasswathed in an apron and his face was cov-ered with a mask. When the mask and apronwere removed my friend was shocked to see

a lama! The lama is obviously an example of thenew metrosexual man. He is one who takes groom-ing - read facial, manicures, pedicures, wax jobs -seriously and is in touch with his feminine side.Shah Rukh Khan is supposed to be one. The lamais in good company.

And now botox has come to town. There was anadvertisement in this very paper a few days agopromising a wrinkle free face. Botox is the brandname of a Botulinum Toxin Type A, a poison whichblocks nerve impulses and temporarily paralyses themuscles that cause wrinkles while giving the skin asmoother and refreshed appearance. Its original Food

and Drug Administration [USA] approval in 1989 was to treatblepharospasm [eye-muscle twitching] and cross-eyes. It has nowbeen adapted to rid the face of wrinkles. The toxin is injectedinto the face and the particular part numbed. Botox means frozenforeheads and benumbed eye corners. It sounds complicated. Itis obviously expensive. It is also temporary.

I wonder if there will come a time when botox will be ascommon as hair dye - when we can just walk into any beautyparlour and have our faces frozen. If such a time comes, thenheads and faces will finally match!

This whole exercise of looking good is replete with irony. Itis common logic that wrinkles and grey hair are not only the re-sult of aging but also tension. The pressure to look good andchoose the right beauty products from the mind-boggling varietyavailable, their serious side effects, their cost is stressful. It cre-ates more wrinkles and grey hair. And then we inject a poisoninto our faces to deaden it to look more alive! How simple isthat? How crazy are we?

The modern world’s fixation with good looks and good bod-ies [I haven’t even gone there! - another column, may be] and themillions of products on the market point to an increasingly shal-low society. How else does one explain arthritic grandmothersbeing forced to dye their thinning strands? It is disturbing thatwe no longer have the luxury or the option of growing old grace-fully, the freedom to let it all hang out - our vanity and scienceforces us to do so chemically.

�

chemically yours