Geography

Demography

• East Sikkim
• North Sikkim
• South Sikkim
• West Sikkim

Demography

Cold Winters in the month of November to February with minimum temperatures dipping to 4 centigrade during January - February. It is between the month of March and early May when sunshine is quite abundant. Though summer is officially from May to October, Sikkim is almost always wet due to the heavy monsoons, with rains at times continuing for days on ends. Longest recorded nonstop rain is 11 days. September to October is Autumn. A peculiar feature of Sikkim weather is that though there is a classification of sorts of the various seasons, actually experiences a cold winter from end of November to February and monsoons throughout the year with a little respite during May - June and October - November. Even the winter months can be irritatingly wet and damp with the unpredictable showers.

Among all other North-Eastern states of India, Sikkim has the best educational infrastructure. In last few years, there has been a phenomenal growth of education in Sikkim. The state has quite a few pre-primary schools and CBSC affiliated Senior Secondary Schools. Unsurprisingly, Sikkim has won the title of 'Best performing small state in Education' in 2004 and 2005 and also the 'Skoch challenger award for best use of Information Technology'. Higher education in Sikkim has been smoothened by the rapid growth of various colleges and institutions in Sikkim.

The Sikkim people are largely rice eaters though maize too happens to be the staple food. Inhabitants of the state also consume dals (lentils), fresh vegetables, bamboo shoots, wild flowers, mushrooms and nettle leaves in their regular meals. On the non-vegetarian side, beef, pork and fish are popular items. Meat and dairy products are consumed depending on their availability in different regions of the state.

Practice of eating fermented vegetables and beverages is a norm in the Sikkimese tradition. This helps to preserve vegetables when they become out of season. Soups, an assortment of pickles (a unique one with a each dish) and a variety of beverages make the food more delightful and help the people to face the chilly weather of the state.

The Sikkimese culture finds expression in it's beautiful art and craft. Knotted woollen carpets with the dominating dragon emblem, and eight auspicious signs; wood carvings, Lepcha handlooms in traditional designs and rich colours for clothes, bags, linen and accessories; leather jackets and handbags, articles of homemade paper, Thanka (religious scroll paintings) and Sikkimese Dragon Jewellery make a fascinating collection of handicrafts, inspired by an age old culture.

History of ancient Sikkim begins with mythical and legendary stories of gods and monks and ends with the last chogyal of Sikkim. Then the Kingdom extended far to Dibdala in the North, Shingsa Dag-pay, Walung, Yangmag Khangchen, Yarlung and Timar Chorten in the West, down along the Arun and Dudh Kosi river to Maha Nodi, Nuxulbari and Titaliya in the South, on the east Tagong La, and Tang La on the North.

Sikkim Government has accorded Lepcha Language as official language of Sikkim. Lepcha is a language spoken by the Lepcha people in Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and parts of Nepal and Bhutan.

Sikkimese Nepali writing has in the last century, taking for the start Manbir Singh Rasaily�s �Vishwa Brahman Varnan� of 1925, an unobstructed yet snail paced progress till 1940s. Uday Lahari (1877) of Swami Inandil Das and the other many a Lahari and Sawai by composers of the then �British Sikkim�, that was Darjeeling, of course, do not fill the bill as Sikkimese works nor do they fit the snail-ine description.

The Sikkimese are highly devout people and religions play a major role in Sikkim. Buddhism and Hinduism are the two major religions of Sikkim. Perhaps, Buddhism comes into view as the predominant religious practice in Sikkim. Though, Hinduism is the actual religion that is followed by the majority of people.