Internationally acclaimed Gangtok band 'Stillwaters' performs in 'Blue Heart Rock Show' in Gangtok. Dirty Angels Motorcycle Club had organized this awareness campaign against Human Trafficking, rape and child abuse.

                                       new video 'dream high' from URBAN INC.

After their recent shows in Kala Academy, Goa, this March the National School of Drama (NSD), Sikkim Theatre Training Centre will be on another tour where they will perform their two popular plays. Their first show will be performed in Goa on March 6 and their second show will be in Tripura. 

Director NSD, Dr. Anuradha Kapur and Professor Kirti Jain are currently in the state to see the operation of the center. They expressed their happiness on the working of the center and the response it received from the state. The artists of Sikkim are very promising and talented, felt the two guests.

The STTC is the first functioning state centre of NSD in the country that teaches as well as organizes performances. Currently under the Center Director Bipin Kumar, there are 13 repertory artists and 17 students in the Sikkim Theater Training Center. The artists are from Sikkim itself and they are being paid by the NSD on contract basis. The students taking classes also get scholarships. And all these artists are engaged in other duties as well. Activities like set designing, props designing, costume designing are done by different groups of 2-3 members each. The faculty members are from NSD Delhi. The local artists at the centre have been doing a tremendous job and have immense potential to excel. The centre has been getting positive and encouraging response from the locals.

Dr. Anuradha Kapur said, “The centre has been working in collaboration with the state government which has been extending full support to the centre in all its endeavors.” Though all the artists in STTC are locals from Sikkim, the scripts for the play are made by the NSD from Delhi. “We always look for all kinds of literature from various regions and if a writer from Sikkim comes up with a good story, we will surely make it a play”, she added. “These artists from Sikkim are very talented and hardworking. They have a promising future in theater,” said Prof. Kirti Jain.

The National School of Drama has been working with different state governments of the Northeast region to promote theatre among the youth. The theatre group, trained by the National School of Drama, New Delhi, is working hard to promote art and culture among the youth in Sikkim.   

USFC's effort not paying off

With six games remaining and just 12 points so far, United Sikkim is clearly on the verge of losing its hard earned place in the I-league. In a match completely dominated by the home team, ONGC’s Eric Brown scored a goal in the additional time to upset the anxious USFC and its supporters. And this is not the first time. Just like in today’s match, the Snow Lions have let away probable victories in the final minutes after playing their hearts out for 89 minutes. 

The match started with plenty of attacks from both sides, most from the home team. United Sikkim had most of the shots on target but missed precise and showed lack of experience. Australian Steve Hayes was good in his debut game for USFC with plenty of assists and counter attacks. The Australian blonde’s good performance earned him the Player of the Match award but that was just a consolation USFC could get out of this match. Another debutant midfielder from Spain, Pablo Rodriguez did not looked very convincing in first game with his number of falls higher than number of shots he made.

Ashish Chettri shot a deflected ball from Pablo’s foot into the net in the 31^st minute only to be called offside by a referee. In the stoppage time another goal from Pablo was also declared as offside. With that forbidden goal the home side went to interval with no goals when the figure could have been different favouring them. Coming into the second half USFC had a chance to break a deadlock. Left forward Linekar Machado couldn’t convert that good chance with just goalkeeper standing on his way. Two minutes later Nuruddeen Salau’s header went just over the top bar.

ONGC’s Robin Gurung booked himself for the first yellow card of the game in 55^th minute and offered another chance for the home team. Ashish’s header from the corner kick went away from second bar when the keeper was unmoved at first bar. Soon, Nima made a brilliant pass for Pablo but before the Spanish could make the shot, three ONGC defenders got control of the ball. In the closing minutes of the official time, Ashish could have won a match for United Sikkim when he had one-on-one chance, which he made mess of it.

After achieving a great victory, ONGC Coach Santosh Kashyap was happy and all praise for his defenders. According to him, Sikkim and Lajong are the toughest opponent for any away teams. The unhappy USFC coach Nathan Hall said, “The players completely dominated the whole game just to concede a goal in the additional time. They need little bit quality and composure towards the end of the match.”

Suffering another defeat and going into the next game, the USFC players will take a break for about two weeks before they play against Prayag United whom they conceded 10 goals in the previous encounter.  “It will be very difficult in our remaining matches and I will try to remain optimistic. And about the survival, realistically and logically we have a chance”, added Hall.

With three new foreign signings in about a week, USFC hoped to pull the rabbit out of hat but just like any other matches, they got beaten again.  How long will it take for Snow Lions to win a match and when they do, won’t it be too late?

PETA calls on Sikkim to allow only animal and Eco friendly footwear for school uniforms

Following Himachal Pradesh’s and Punjab’s landmark proposals to require schools to use only animal- and eco-friendly canvas or other non-leather footwear for uniforms, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has urged all other Indian states  to follow suit.

“This measure would protect animals and the environment and also empower children with the opportunity to be animal- and eco-friendly consumers”, says PETA India Corporate and Government Affairs Liaison, Sarfaraz Syed. Most children naturally care for animals and the environment and prefer wearing more comfortable canvas shoes over leather or other materials, so transitioning to canvas-only shoes for all school uniforms would be a win-win-win situation for all children, animals and the environment. Leather shoes have a highly disastrous environmental and animal welfare cost.

PETA’s undercover investigations have revealed that cows and other animals are often so severely crowded in trucks on their way to slaughter that many animals are seriously injured or die when they are crushed or gored by the horns of others. At slaughterhouses, many animals are skinned and dismembered while they are still conscious.

What’s more, turning the skins of cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats into leather requires massive amounts of toxic chemicals, and runoff from leather tanneries poisons local rivers and streams. The toxic chemicals, those tannery workers are exposed to on a daily basis have been linked to nervous disorders, skin and respiratory infections, and even cancer.

Canvas, on the other hand, requires relatively little maintenance compared to other popular shoe materials, including leather. As a result, it has become extremely popular among environmentalists, who have pushed for the use of canvas tote bags and other applications of the material. With the growing interest in physical fitness, canvas shoes will be the preferred footwear for children in years to come for the comfort that they provide. Canvas is recyclable and a renewable resource, and shoes made from it are biodegradable, can be washed easily and are sturdy enough to stand heavy wear and tear. In addition, the environmental impact of canvas shoe production is negligible in comparison to that of shoes made of other materials. Eco-friendly materials such as canvas are also resistant to bacteria and mould. The non-animal materials used to create eco-friendly shoes make them irritant-free. They do not cause the allergies or skin rashes that shoes made from animals can. When eco-friendly footwear is made with plant-based fibres, skin is able to breathe easily.

This Thursday, the February 7^th movie goers attending the screening of Prashant Rasaily’s ‘Kathaa’ at Vajra will witness the first full length movie produced by Sikkim. After a long wait finally it has come to the state after being halted due to the high entertainment tax. An epic tale of love and friendship, Kathaa is a first Sikkimese feature film produced under the Dream Stream Entertainment production with casts and crews all from Sikkim except two lead characters from Nepal. The 110 minutes long movie is shot entirely in Gnathang, a remote hamlet about 150 Kms form the capital. The film is written and directed by renowned Prashant Rasaily and Shailendra Karki has given a beautiful cinematography to the film.

This special show is being done at Vajra Cinema to raise funds for the film which was made entirely on personal budget, with no involvement of corporate houses. Chief Assistant Director and Promotion manager Aditya Cintury said, “Nobody financed us, the film was made entirely by our own money.

The film was shot during June last year in a record 14 days. Followed by 5 months of post production, Kathaa was first screened in Mumbai where it got huge response despite the language barrier and got selected for the Goteborg Film Fest in Sweden.

director: Prashant Rasaily

The release of the film is fixed for 14^th of February in Gangtok, Darjeeling, kalimpong, Kurseong and Siliguri simultaneously provided the UD & HD Department grants tax exemption by the release date. “We have requested the UD & HD to shrink the entertainment tax and if by 14^th they come up with tax exemption we will release the film or else we will have to shift further but in other places than Sikkim the film will be released on the said date” said the film producer Raj Gadaily.

The film was made at a total expense of 40 lacs. Getting funds was the major problem, which most independent filmmakers face. They had to work with limited budgets. However, things somehow fell into place and Kathaa is now the first full-length Sikkimese feature film. “We are still learning, this is our first production and we want to take good things from here and come up with better in our next production” said Aditya.

There is no any song in the movie with the exception of a theme song, the music of which is provided by Prashant Rasaily and background score by Anti Past Andrew.

Most movie scenes are shot at Gnathang, one of the remote villages of Sikkim. The film is about the loss of love and how the protagonist Kaanchha (Saugat Malla) gets back together with his beloved Kumari (Usha Rajak). It explores the universal themes of dreaming of a life with the lover and coming to terms with the nightmare of losing them. Saugat Malla and Usha Rajak, both from Nepal plays the lead roles and Sikkim’s Timothy Rai is also one of the prominent characters in the film.  

Even before its release the movie got huge admiration and created desire on Sikkimese. Kathaa was selected in the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival 2012 and got picked for screening at the Goteborg International Film Festival in Sweden. This movie has also been sent to Berlinale Film Festival to be held in February 2013. 

The film makers are emerging rapidly from Sikkim and making it big but the state’s high entertainment tax of 75% is distressing the film makers. The government should bring the tax down to boost the film industry here in Sikkim feels the determined film makers.