LACHEN OF MY CHILDHOOD DAYS

Somewhere I have mentioned three men who greatly influenced my life. Here is one of them; my grandfather, Cho Ledon (Nima Gyatso), the Lachen Pipon (headman of the village of Lachen, north Sikkim). He stands on the right side of Dewan (Prime Minister) of Sikkim, Nari Rustomji. On the left is my maternal uncle Azyang Kunga Rinchen, also the Lachen Pipon. On the extreme right is my first teacher Lopon Dochung, husband of one of my grandmothers. I know all the three lamas and the middle one is Azyo Umzed, our neighbour.

This photo was taken in Lachen during Rustomji's visit to Lachen in 1956-57. Rustomji gave me this photo while I was doing my law in Bombay in early 1980s.

These gentlemen are no more but they live in our hearts and I feel their presence every now and then.