You were my very first friend in the hostel, when I was all new and had no one by my side. It was you who’d always given me company. After the tea break, when my frock’s pocket would be full of sweets but my eyes fixed to the gate, with the hope that someone would come and take me back home.You’ve seen me crying, laughing and running like a lunatic in the lawn.
Casteism is a weird thing and I still can’t wrap my head around it. I have been way more privileged than my ancestors who struggled to be a part of the society so driven with hatred against the ‘lower castes’. I went to a convent school where I wasn’t made aware of my caste for a really long time because we didn’t talk stipend or reservation. My family was quite well to do, too and I grew about without realising the complexities of this oppressive system.
At a time when the people of Northeast India are facing the brunt of anti-Chinese sentiments in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, the movie Axone comes as a breath of fresh air. This satire on racism and stereotypes by Northeastern director, Nicholas Kharkongor premiered on Netflix on the 12th of June 2020 and it generated quite a buzz! On the morning of the 12th June, my Instagram story feed flooded with posters of the movie, comments on the aptness of the movie at this point of time and snapshots of the racist comments from the movie – unfortunately ones, we as an ethnic minority, are well acquainted with. I will admit, I was equally excited for this premiere. My friends and I had been awaiting it since the beginning of the year. We even went as far as to coax our Naga friends to bring Axone for us.
One of the main focuses of TheDC team has been to highlight Gorkha achievers who despite all odds have excelled in their field. While the whole nation is celebrating the success of Jitu Rai, there are those whose names are yet to catch the popular fancy. Mr Sisir Rai is one such sportsperson who has stood against all odds and kept his passion for shooting as well as the Gorkha name flying high.
Having spent half of his life as a drug addict, Bashu Isaiah Rai Lorung from Darjeeling decided after 15-16 years of drug abuse that being clean and sober had become a matter of life and death. So, Rai who was working for H.P Invent, one of the best corporate sector company in the business decided to dedicate his entire life helping those who have gone through the same phase as him.
Pushkar Chhetri, joins Adwiti Subba Haffner in a captivating interview as he talks about his life after the ill-fated accident 20 years ago that left him with a horrific spinal cord injury, rendering him paraplegic for life (paralyzed from the waist down)! Read the full interview of this incredible man who even under dire circumstances has lived like a pukka unbeatable “Gorkha” with courage, grit and “Khaile haar nakhaney” (indomitable will) admirable attitude.
It is a well-known fact that corona virus is now affecting homes across the country. Thousands and millions of young people of our hills and lowlands are being held captive in various states of the country for employment. At this time, they are living in a lack of money to pay rent and raise food. Factories, hotels and restaurants are closed due to the lockdown. Their current condition is very pathetic.
In December 2019 a cluster of pneumonia-like cases was reported in the Wuhan district of China for the first time. Five months later, this previously unknown contagious disease has wreaked havoc across the globe. The COVID-19 aka SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) pandemic has affected – directly and indirectly – almost every individual in the world. It has crashed entire economies, tested healthcare infrastructures, and caused havoc and general panic among the global public. The modern world has come to an uneasy and uncertain standstill.
Kanchan and Novelty had a fond place in the hearts of the people of Kalimpong. Dreams, songs, love, modernity – all these, were found here. For this secluded town, they served as a magical door which opened the wide world beyond the Teesta bridge.
The first group of Loreto nuns came to India in 1841 and opened a school in Calcutta the same year. Five years later, Loreto came to Darjeeling during the British Raj and started a school at a temporary site in 1846. The school was relocated to the current site in 1847, exactly 100 years before India was to gain independence. At the time of its foundation, the school was the only educational institute at Darjeeling. It is nothing short of a miracle that given the time and place, the Loreto Sisters within a few weeks of their arrival had opened a school with provisions for residential and day scholars. I have often wondered how did they ever manage the logistics?