Editorial:
Sikkim will celebrate Tendong Lho Rum Faat on Monday. The festival was almost lost and had become a shrivelled form of itself until it re-appropriated its position of significance with the declaration of a State Holiday. A State-level celebration followed, as did the revival of and patronage for the traditional worship at Mount Tendong itself. This process of recovery has noticeably subdued of late and should be revitalised. It is important for the community to realise that State patronage should ideally be expected only for the initial renaissance, after which people’s participation and involvement of its representative organisations should sustain and nurture the observation. This requires collaborative planning which rises above divisions of political ideology or even faith, because at their core, these rituals and celebrations are more cultural than religious.
Sikkim will celebrate Tendong Lho Rum Faat on Monday. The festival was almost lost and had become a shrivelled form of itself until it re-appropriated its position of significance with the declaration of a State Holiday. A State-level celebration followed, as did the revival of and patronage for the traditional worship at Mount Tendong itself. This process of recovery has noticeably subdued of late and should be revitalised. It is important for the community to realise that State patronage should ideally be expected only for the initial renaissance, after which people’s participation and involvement of its representative organisations should sustain and nurture the observation. This requires collaborative planning which rises above divisions of political ideology or even faith, because at their core, these rituals and celebrations are more cultural than religious.
