A Tribute - on the Passing Away of Mrs. Reechung

Mrs. Rinchen Doma Reechung at the reception she organized for the visiting President of India, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy [seated], at Pemayangtse Tourist Lodge, in October 1979.

KC PRADHAN
Rinchen Doma Reechung did her Preliminary Law from Mumbai and joined the Sikkim Durbar Service in 1969 as Assistant Superintendent, GICI (Govt. Institute of Cottage Industries). She was one the ablest administrators and a no-nonsense officer blessed with drive and artistic talents.
During my long tenure in Sikkim Tourism, I got to see her administrative capabilities from very close quarters and feel no hesitation in endorsing that every assignment entrusted to her was carried out with perfection and finesse unknown at that time. She was at the Department when tourism was in a nascent stage in Sikkim and we tried to use her prodigious skills to the best extent possible. For example, when Sikkim was allotted a corner for a Sikkim Tourism Counter at the Bagdogra airport, she was assigned the task to design and execute it. She did it so well that it remained a real showcase to project Sikkim. She was meticulous - a perfectionist par excellence I should say – which is a rarity in the administration. She was undoubtedly a one person army and once a job was assigned she did not tolerate any interference. She was a workaholic to the extent that she ruined her health many times by stressing herself too much. I remember the way she organized several functions, including the visit of the then President of India, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, to organizing Sikkim Evenings at Sikkim House in New Delhi with poise and finesse that flowed in her so effortlessly. Her contributions to the realm of Sikkim Tourism are immense.
As Secretary Culture, she brought in many innovative ideas and the various programmes performed in various parts of the country were highly appreciated. Her contributions at GICI, where she brought in a breath of fresh air, are equally praiseworthy. It needs to be accepted that she laid the foundations of many of the departments that she was associated with. She was a hard task-master and considerate at the same time and her subordinates loved her. As for her bosses, they needed special skills to handle her.
It is hard to get an Officer so dedicated to her job, such a perfectionist and honest to the core. Like her late father, Tse Ten Tashi (TTT), an eminent personality in his own versatile manner, she was a person in a hurry. Idleness was not in her nature and she did not tolerate it in others either. In many ways, like her father, she was ahead of her times.
She accompanied her late husband Reechung Rinpoche, hailing from the illustrious Pheunkhang nobility of Lhasa in Tibet, and also once Director of the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, to many foreign sojourns. He, a very humble personality, was an authority on the Tibetan system of medicines and his book published in France was very well received and he was highly respected. Temperamentally they were poles apart, but yet they had high regard for each other. If Rinpoche was the fountainhead of knowledge on very many intricate Tibetan rituals, Rinchen Doma was the driving force who brought grace wherever they travelled abroad. She was a rare personality infused with Sikkimese ethos. Aggressive and yet humble and knew perfectly well how to glide in high circles with grace and humility.
Sadly, her health deteriorated over the years and she remained mostly confined to her apartment in Development Area. Her large family was however always by her side to boost her morale.
We miss her immensely. We pray to the Almighty that her soul rest in peace.
[The writer is a former Chief Secretary, Sikkim. He has also authored the book, “Life and Times of a Plantsman in the Sikkim Himalayas”]