Gangtok is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim. Gangtok is located in the Shivalik Hills of the eastern Himalayan range, at an altitude of 1,437 metres (4,715 ft). The town, with a population of thirty thousand belonging to different ethnicities such as Nepalis, Lepchas and Bhutia, is administered by various departments of the Government of Sikkim. Nestled within higher peaks of the Himalaya and enjoying a year-round mild temperate climate, Gangtok is at the centre of Sikkim’s tourism industry. Gangtok rose to prominence as a popular Buddhist pilgrimage site after the construction of the Enchey Monastery in 1840. In 1894, the ruling Sikkimese Chogyal, Thutob Namgyal, transferred the capital to Gangtok. In the early 20th century, Gangtok became a major stopover on the trade route between Lhasa in Tibet and cities such as Kolkata (then Calcutta) in British India. After the British granted India its independence in 1947, Sikkim chose to remain an independent monarchy, with Gangtok as its capital. In 1975, after the integration with the union of India, Gangtok was made India's twenty-second state capital. Today, Gangtok is a centre of Tibetan Buddhist culture and learning, with the presence of several monasteries, religious educational institutions, and centres for Tibetology.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangtok

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

917:

Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Anchialus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Acheloos

1794:

American troops defeated the Western Confederacy, a Native American alliance, at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the decisive battle of the Northwest Indian War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fallen_Timbers

1804:

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, exploring the Louisiana Purchase, suffered its only death when Sergeant Charles Floyd died, apparently from acute appendicitis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition

1991:

Singing Revolution: Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia

1998:

The Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan was destroyed by a bombing attack launched by the United States in retaliation for the August 7 U.S. embassy bombings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shifa_pharmaceutical_factory

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hassle (v): 1. To trouble, to bother, to annoy. 2. To pick a fight or start an argument http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hassle

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There probably is no more important quest in all science than the attempt to understand those very particular events in evolution by which brains worked out that special trick that has enabled them to add to the cosmic scheme of things: color, sound, pain, pleasure, and all the other facets of mental experience. --Roger Wolcott Sperry http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry