2015: A TOUGH & CHALLENGING
YEAR
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where
he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times
of challenge and controversy.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
After a
decade of living in quietness and solitude (well almost), 2015 was packed with
events – making it one of the most memorable and eventful years of my life. The
situation at the home front was most fluid throughout the year. I now realize that
my family members and I in particular have been living away from our home in
Gangtok most of the time ever since the partial demolition of our house in the
third week of March 2015 by the
powers-that-be.
2014 ended
on a sad note with the passing away of my mother-in-law Ama Yangchen, who was
living with us, in November 2014, followed by the death of our beloved former
Principal, Rev. DH Stewart (of Mt. Hermon School, Darjeeling), in New Zealand in
the month of December. In April 2015, another former Principal of our alma
mater, Mr. GA Murray, also passed away.
Their passing
away and the deaths of our family friend and former Gangtok MLA, Mr. Balchand
Sarda, and my brother-in-law, Sonam Gyatso Chingapa (Yap Saila of Ben, South
Sikkim), and Khenzong Anyola during the year, were very personal losses to me
and my family. We will continue to miss them but will cherish their loving memories.
However,
despite these sad and trying moments we were able to lift up our spirits mainly
due to our own inner strength, the blessing of the Almighty, and the tremendous
love, affection, support and sympathy shown to us by our family members, relatives,
friends and well-wishers.
As the year
passes by I want to particularly thank Sikkim’s Ponpola and his wife Kesangla,
Princess Hope Leezum and her husband and my cousin Wangyal Topden for
graciously allowing me and my family members to stay in their home when it
became virtually impossible for us to live at our place after the demolition.
Thank you for being there for us when we needed the most.
As summer
gave way to autumn our twin daughters, Sonam and Kunga, gradually moved away
from home after 21 years. They are now graduates and learning to live and work
on their own. This is another phase in our life which is hard to face but
accept we must. It is both a joyful and painful process.
Resuming old ties with people like Suresh Pramar, my mentor and journalist who introduced me to journalism in 1983, and Mani Kumar Subba, former Assam MP, is a good thing that I was able to do this year.
Now a word
about my extended family: the Hermonites. Surprisingly, even as we were in the
midst of ‘turmoil’ the Hermonites, once again, made concerted efforts to make
me Principal of Mt. Hermon in order to save the school. However, the
authorities kept mum and because of this I have decided to close the chapter
from January 1, 2016.
To all
Hermonites, thank you for your concern for MH and the support to my
candidature. We know that our dreams are buried in our wounded heart and we
must gradually learn to accept the reality of the situation. Now no one,
including God, can accuse us of complacency on MH affairs. We must move on.
Despite
these developments Hermonites continue to join hands to have a good time by
themselves. The small reunions at dinners, weddings etc. and the big splash at
the North East Hermonites Alumni (NEHA) meet in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur in
the first week of December this year all go to show the tenacity, camaraderie and
the spirit of MH and Hermonites. We are indeed unique and rare – the salt of
the earth! Hail Mt. Hermon!
Special
thanks to Hermonites Krishna Goenka and Mahesh Singh for being there and for their
help and cooperation while my family was in the process of finding a home away
from home towards the end of the year.
2016 is
bound to offer more surprises and I’m ready to face anything. But I hope it
will be a less eventful and quieter year. I want to spend more time with myself, my
family, and my close friends.
Cheers and
Happy New Year!
