Mallero: The Off-Limits Sour Fruit of Sugary Childhood Memories

Childhood can’t be weighed in years, but in memory. There are certain things only make sense during childhood—the ridiculous laughter, the skinned knees, and the bizarre pleasure of consuming something so sour it isn’t good for you. For most of us in hills especially Kalimpong, Maldero is the one fruit that embodies all that and more: Maldero a Sour Bite of Sweet Nostalgia. In reality named Mallero, but properly mispronounced by all the children in the community, Maldero was never simply a fruit. It was a feeling and a calling. A sip of liberty smothered in tartness, followed by friendship and a pinch of fear of being caught.

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Dazzling Darjeeling


Dazzling Darjeeling: Where Tea Grows in the Sky

When the opportunity to visit India presented itself to me, I knew right away that majestic Himalayan Darjeeling would be the top of my list, as the world-famous Darjeeling tea grows there. Darjeeling is all about tea estates covered in clouds; white mountain tops in the distance and tasty tea. If you enjoy at least an occasional cup of tea, it’s definitely worth visiting the Indian paradise of tea in West Bengal, Darjeeling! It’s the place to see how hundred-year-old tea bushes grow, how locals pluck the leaves and it gradually becomes the tea we all know.


Bhasa Sangrami Shri. Gopal Singh Bhandari

His association with literature brought him in close contact with the who’s who of the Nepali Bhasa Manyata Andolan, in which he was an active participant. His articles and write-ups in Hindi and Urdu languages made people outside Darjeeling region aware of the plight of Nepali speaking Gorkhas. A dedicated foot soldier of Gorkha cause, Gopal Singh Bhandari openly supported the demand for Gorkhaland even as a Government servant. The then Govt of West Bengal transferred him to Krishnanagar as a punishment, following which he had resigned, but later the government relented.