Deusi is a quintessential Gorkha tradition. It is not just a part of our culture, but it is also one of the threads that binds our community together. It is truly disheartening to hear from my mother that this time around, no one came to our home for Deusi – not even in our entire village. What’s even more troubling is how the vibrant tradition of Deusi, once played with so much vigour and enthusiasm in the hills of Darjeeling, is gradually fading away. Today, the youths who continue to carry forward our tradition can perhaps be counted in the tip of our fingers. It’s a painful reminder of how quickly we are losing touch with our cultural roots.
On the other hand, we are seeing a rise in the influence of external cultures, especially the trend of Korean pop culture, as more and more young people aspire to emulate “trends” rather than embrace their own heritage. I can’t help but feel disturbed by this shift. As my daughter rightly remarked, “Darjeeling no longer has boys who look manly and robust; all they are now are copycats and overly feminine.” And I thought to myself, “Wow, you read my mind, darling.”
This erosion of our community, culture, and identity – our very essence as “Darjeeling” – is incredibly painful. It feels as if we’re facing an invisible threat, one that we’re not even aware of but is quietly dismantling our society. Globalization is undoubtedly having an impact on every society, but our community seems to be hit the hardest, and the reasons are many: illiteracy, unemployment, greed, lack of awareness, and a growing disconnect between our youth and their cultural roots.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that we, as a society, have failed to teach, pass on, and preserve our culture for the next generation. Meanwhile, other communities – despite facing their own set of challenges – continue to uphold and pass down their rich heritage. We, on the other hand, have become ashamed of our own.
We’ve already lost our land. Now, we’re losing our youth – the very generation that could have been the beacon of hope to revive and rebuild our culture and identity. This is happening at an alarming rate, and it’s devastating.
So where does that leave us as a Gorkha society today? We need to pause, reflect, and truly analyze where we stand. It’s time to confront the things we’ve chosen to ignore in our pursuit of external validation. But what we’ve forgotten is this: it’s not the world that needs to accept us, it’s our own society that must nurture, value, and love us. That acceptance, that bond, is far more precious than any external approval.
Let’s now make a collective effort to rebuild what we’ve allowed to fade, to pass on our culture, and work towards bringing the joy and pride back to being Gorkhas. We owe it to ourselves and to the future generations of Darjeeling.
Writes: S Chettri
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