Told in the hills
A 1730 monastery and the poisoned pond
Rinchenpong Monastery stands on the slope above the village bazaar, reached by a path with stone steps. It was founded in 1730, and Wikipedia credits its founding to Ngadakpa Lama. Its best-known treasure is a rare image of the Ati Buddha, also called Adi Buddha, the primordial Buddha. He is shown in blue, in yab-yum, embracing a female figure, a symbol of the union of wisdom and compassion. Photography is not allowed inside the sanctum, so take the image home in your head.
Lower down is a small pond that people here call Bikh Pokhari, the poisoned pond. Local tradition holds that when a British force came this way, Lepcha and Gorkha fighters poisoned the only water source with herbs, and many soldiers fell ill or died. This is an oral tradition, told in the village and repeated on Wikipedia's Rinchenpong page, and we have found no written record that names a date, a commander or a number of casualties.
What is documented is the wider conflict. British India and Sikkim fought in 1860–61, and in March 1861 Sidkeong Namgyal signed the Treaty of Tumlong with Ashley Eden. Sikkim paid an indemnity of ₹7,000, opened its roads to British trade and became, in effect, a British protectorate. Whether the pond belongs to that campaign we cannot prove. Sit by it, hear the story from your host, and keep the label: tradition.
Pinned to the board
Did you know
Rinchenpong Monastery was established in 1730 and houses an image of the Ati Buddha (Adi Buddha) in yab-yum.
Kaluk, next to Rinchenpong, is described as one of the windiest places in Sikkim.
The Treaty of Tumlong of 1861, signed by Sidkeong Namgyal and Ashley Eden, made Sikkim a de facto British protectorate.
