Columns

The Lost Charm of Darjeeling: Of Bhangera and Aiselo

It was just another March morning. My eyes were half awake and my fingers were already scrolling the phone screen shuffling between the headlines and news articles corresponding to my conventional practice of starting a day. Just then, I happened to come across a picture of a bhangera – sparrow. The moment hit me hard somewhere and took me for a long travel down my memory lane.


Valentine’s Day – In a season of Love and in a season of Heartbreaks

We are all made of stories – small and big ones. Few of such highlighted stories in our lives, we celebrate, cherish or manifest on Valentine’s Day as love, wishes or as memories. As imported and manufactured the idea of Valentine’s Day may sound, it has had an important significance in the hills. It has run through considerable years of evolution among us.


TheDC 9th Anniversary – A reflection

For many TheDC might just be a page and a website posting news. But if you look deeper enough, it is a voice – yours, mine and everyone else’s. It represents independence, freedom and truth even when there have been uncountable attempts to shut it down and destroy it. It represents hope to endure, with nothing in hand but a pen, passion, an idea and the truth.


“PERMANENT POLITICAL SOLUTION” – A Guide for Dummies

Much has been said and written about the so-called ‘Permanent Political Solution’ from many quarters. There are online discussions, zoom meetings, and political rallies galore, on ‘Permanent Political Solution’ (PPS). Some seem to believe it will be the panacea to all the issues confronting our region and people, while others believe it will be just another ‘Hawa-Mithai’.


Fake CA Dupes Many in Darjeeling

What does it take to take up a fake persona? A little charm, lots of chutzpa, a calling card and fancy looking office and most important of all – gullible people, boat loads of them.

A Fake CA has duped many in Darjeeling – we are exposing him



No Country for the Unconnected – Students Suffer (Online Classes) Due to Lack of Access to Networks in North Bengal

“Online Classes” was a term added to the popular lexicon after the COVID pandemic forced schools and colleges across the country to shut down. Today almost everything is being done online – schooling, office work, meetings, and sometimes even wedding ceremonies. The digital world is a great equalizer, it provides equal opportunities for all, as long as they are connected to the network. Tragically for the majority of students from Darjeeling hills, Terai, and Dooars accessing the network itself is a battle, they keep on losing. Other than those lucky few who live in towns, or on the right side of the mountain where network signals are strong, the majority of the people from rural regions here do not have access to cellular networks.



Kalimpong MLA’s Developmental Priorities and Parameters Are Disturbing

However, what comes as a very sad surprise just after 2 days of results being declred is Kalimpong MLA elect Mr. Ruden Lepcha’s statement explaining his ‘developmental priorities and parameters’. He explicitly made it clear that he met all the necessary people inside his party and the GTA to express his decision that he would work exclusively for the booths and samastys where he had won majority of the votes, while for those where he had lost heavily, he would keep their development work on hold. He called it as “justice of work” in terms of his service.


Oncology Department at Darjeeling District Hospital – Needs to be saved

The Oncology Department, which started few years ago at the Darjeeling District Hospital, with a team of enthusiastic medical and support staff, are trying to transform the sorry state of Cancer Management in our region. But then again, the Department’s journey hasn’t been a smooth either. The situation is dire to say the least, and if issues concerning the department are not addressed in the near future, we could see the department shutting down few years down the line.