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Editorial, Upendra November 15, 2025

“FOREIGNER” – The tag that hounds Gorkhas (and Sikkimese Nepalis)

Those who have followed my writings over the years, will know, I will be the last person to defend Anit Thapa. However, have seen politics much closer than most people do, I have come to realize that, alleging a Gorkha politician of being a “foreigner – citizen of Nepal” is the easiest way to dent their reputation.

Not that Anit Thapa has a stellar reputation, however, I personally feel that, those making such allegations, should have a more solid ground to stand on.

They should reflect on the fact that every such allegations against Gorkha politicians harms the “Gorkha identity” further, and by extension, all Gorkhas (including the Sikkimese Nepalis) are viewed with suspicion.

Obituary August 4, 2020

Bhikkhu Bodhipala – December 20, 1968 to July 27, 2020

Bhikkhu Bodhipala having grown up in Shillong, he well understood the importance of mainstreamitizing the North-East as well as forging a pan-Buddhist network between the various communities of practicing Buddhists scattered throughout different parts of North East India. From Arunachal Pradesh to Sikkim and Darjeeling to Assam to Kolkata and Chittagong, he worked tirelessly towards this end.

Swachh Bharat August 29, 2019

What Lies Beneath! The Truth about Darjeeling’s Waste

Just as we reached, a truckload came in, and after a minute another. The rains had subsided to a light drizzle but the fog remained. We stepped to the side and watched the drivers expertly manoeuvre their vehicles in a practised manner, edging the back tyres just above the precipice. The backs of the trucks were opened up and the workers rapidly pitchforked the contents down the edge. At such a place, there was no dilly-dallying, for the stench was overpowering and flies swarmed, a thick black on the bonnet of the trucks.

Obituary January 21, 2022

In Memorium: Kumar Subba

There was something about the voice that felt so heavenly the first time I heard it in the National Panasonic tape recorder that my family had recently bought back in the mid 1980s. I was barely 12 then, and I had just started listening to greats like Mohd Rafi and Kishore Kumar, along with new singers like Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan Jha. However, the Nepali songs like the ones sung by the legendary Kumar Subba were something else, and they swam through my cerebral cortex like a wakeful dream, the lyrics, the voice quality, the music notes, all easy on the ears and relaxing me to the hilt.