Didi to Modi, Raju to Ahuja
Cross-fire of rhetoric Mai re! The rhetoric exchanged between Modi and Didi B last Wednesday! Modi on Didi B: “ She is a speed breaker”. He must have suffered…
Columns
Darjeeling Parliamentary Constituency Election 2019 and the Gorkhas: Some Observations
For me ‘Entry of TMC into Darjeeling Politics is beginning of the end of Gorkha Political Aspirations’
The New Torchbearer and Other Stories
Raju Bista, the new torchbearer In a path-breaking and surprising decision, a corporate ex-RSS young man by the name of Raju Kumar Bista has been…
The Infinite Pleasures of Daily Darjeeling Routine
It’s around 7 in the morning when your home is filled with the sweet aroma of tea, amidst which you enjoy small sips of it,…
Season of Mahagathbandan
Some tea–gardens are planning not to vote at all. Every hill vote is important. Do not waste it. Names of favourites unlikely-to-be-voted are also being suggested as candidate. There can be only two parties fighting it out this election–TMC and the GNLF-GJMM original. It is clear what each means for the future. There are no more choices. So use your precious votes judiciously.
The Childhood Days and Ways
FLASHBACK ONE “Khuchhing taala maitala Dus paisa ko suntala” This was a fun oriented chant which we choired jerking our shoulders upwards and downwards in…
Decoding The GJMM-GNLF Alliance
When we vote, we will be voting to win back our agency, our rights as citizens of India, our right to political dissent, our right to make constitutional demands, our right to fair trail, our right to the internet, our right over our natural resources, our right to hold protest marches, right to assemble, and our right to determine our own fate under the Indian Constitution.
Ever Enduring Nostalgia of Road Cricket in Darjeeling
Life was not as easy as these days. Cricket bat used to be a rare kit and usually only one guy in a group would have a bat, luxury items of our time. And about ball, playing with a tennis ball would be a once in a blue moon affair, that too if we were to visit somewhere else for a cricket match (bet). Else, handmade balls (kaagaz/plastic ko) would compensate to the lack of funds and ensure that we never went out of play.
Feminist Icon to Mamata’s New Found ‘Political Love’
The six leaves and the Lotus are out to chomp either out in the forthcoming general elections. Chief gardener Didi B is busy with her potting, weeding and planting. MPs being dropped, novices and women brought in. Didi B has selected a special GJMM-TMC backed hybrid she calls ‘Bhoomiputra’–Shri Amar Singh Rai to stand as TMC candidate from Darjeeling.
The Politics of Nationality and the Gorkha Statehood Movement
“Aren’t you a Nepali? Go back to Nepal” has often been used to question the credibility of the Nepali-speaking Gorkha community living in India. The…