CHUNG TONG,

CHUNG TONG, a small village on the bank of the River Teesta in Sikkim, 168 km north of the nearest railhead, Siliguri, has recently been discovered to have a connection with early Sikh history. Local tradition there refers to the visit of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) to the place during his third udasior preaching tour. Although the Janam Sakhis do not mention Tibet specifically, the mention of Guru Nanak Rimpoche (lit. the great one) in Tibetan literature points to the Guru`s travel through Tibet, and it is likely that he passed through Chung Tong on his way back to India.

According to tradition, there was a severe famine in the area when the Great One arrived there. He sat on a stone mount near the Teesta whereupon the imprints of his feet are still shown. The grateful villagers raised a LhaKhang (shrine) in memory of Guru Nanak, who it is said had prayed for them and presented them with a ripe crop of grain ready to be harvested. Along with other icons, a picture of the Guru is placed in the shrine. People light butter lamps in front of it. They celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak along with that of Guru Padma Sambhava, the eighth century teacher, who preached Buddhism in Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim.