A tribute to two friends became a journey
through the historical and cultural timeline of Sikkim
Shahnaz Rustomji Slater
As we drove up to Gangtok, we caught our first glimpse of the Teesta River, a familiar sight from our early childhood trips to Sikkim. My sister, Rashne, and I found ourselves imagining a similar journey made over eight decades ago by our father, Nari Rustomji, under very different circumstances. It was his first visit to Sikkim, in May 1942. At the time, Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal was a young maharajkumar (prince) and our father a young Indian Civil Service (ICS) probationer who had just returned from England. They had formed an instant connection at the ICS training camp in......