Name: Prachi Chhetri
Ama: Rakhi Chhetri
Baba: Pawan Chhetri
School (s): Sacred Heart School Ranchi till 10th; Delhi Public School Ranchi for 12th
College (s): St. Xavier’s College Ranchi

TheDC: What inspired you to want to become a CA?
Prachi: When I was in 9th class, my class teacher was asking all the students what they wanted to become and almost all of my classmates were saying either doctor or engineer. One of my friends told Chartered Accountant and I had no idea about CA at that point in time. My class teacher was impressed by her and she told us about the profession. Then I researched about it and I thought of going for this course.

TheDC: Were your family supportive of your decision?
Prachi: Yes my family was supportive of my decision. They have always been by my side.

TheDC: How did you prepare? What were the hurdles, how did you overcome them?
Prachi: This course demands long hours and I had to study for about 10 to 12 hours during my exam leave of 4 months. There were many hurdles. As I was doing my articleship along with college, I had a very hectic schedule. I had to wake up at 5 am and leave for my college at 6. Then I had my college, office, and tuition back to back and I reached home at 10 pm every day. But I was dedicated and worked very hard and my self-motivation helped me to never give up on my dreams.

TheDC: Where do you see yourself, five years from today?
Prachi: Five years from today, I would like to see myself as someone who is recognized for a noble cause and is in a position to make an impact on people’s lives and give back to society.

TheDC: What suggestions would you give those who want to follow on your footsteps?
Prachi: I would like to say that I am not an extraordinary girl but an ordinary girl who wanted to do something in her life and worked very hard to achieve that. So my suggestion would be to find your dreams and passion and work hard and don’t stop until you achieve it because success is not a one-day journey. It takes years of hard work, perseverance, and sacrifice. And one more thing find your motivation and that motivation should come from within you because that will help you to keep going when it gets difficult or you begin to lose hope. And if you ask me, the best motivation would be your parents, just think about the sacrifices they make for you and that will inspire you to give back to them all the happiness in the world that they deserve.

We CONGRATULATE Prachi and hope that her success will inspire other youths, especially girls to work towards their goal with determination and hard work.

Take a bow Prachi! You have earned it!!

The post Prachi Chhetri – Chartered Accountant appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

The pre-COVID times meant that Tina Gurung, who divides her time shuttling between Mumbai and Kalimpong, spent her waking hours looking after the operations of family-run homestay in the quaint hill town, promoting food and biodiversity of the Eastern Himalayan region, and making dreamcatchers in her leisure hours. The nationwide lockdown brought everything to a grinding halt, and it was no different for Gurung. The miseries of the underprivileged, who were left with no means to earn their livelihood, started bothering her, and in no time, she began volunteering in the relief work. Apart from providing ration and other items of daily use to them, as an active member of a people’s collective called PadSquad, she has been collecting and distributing sanitary pads to the underserved and unserved women in the hill region.

She says, “The poor menstrual hygiene is a cause of worry, and the issue had been nagging me for the longest time. During such difficult times, buying ration is the priority of low-income families, and that eventually means that menstrual hygiene takes a backseat. The PadSquad movement started by Mumbai-based poet and actor Taranjit Kaur and film producer Chhitra Subramaniam fills this gap to make menstrual hygiene a priority for women and girls hailing from low-income families across the communities in the country.”

The model of PadSquad movement is simple and easy to replicate as she explains. A volunteer or a Pad Squadder puts up a post on social media asking people to donate packs of sanitary napkins, preferably biodegradable. These are collected and distributed among the economically disadvantaged women within the Pad Squadder’s locality, town or city. “My friends who are scattered all over the world, came forward to pitch in after seeing my Facebook post asking for donations of sanitary napkins. We have also received pads from our anonymous donors around the country through PadSquad. So far, I have completed two drives, distributed more than 3000 pads, and it has been an amazingly humbling experience,” she recounts on her experience as a Pad Squadder. Currently, PadSquad is active in 23 cities, with 51 PadSquadders, who have till date provided more than three lakh sanitary pads to approximately 50 communities, and the tribe is growing every day.

Buoyed by her distribution drives in Kalimpong over the last few months, Gurung has embarked on an ambitious goal to source 50000 sanitary napkins, this time around for the women working in tea plantations across Darjeeling, and distribute it during the upcoming Daan Utsav. As we know, India is one of the second-largest producers of tea after China, and despite the competition, the Darjeeling and Assam Teas are renowned all over the world. The tea plantation is the largest sector in the formal private sector industry, yet the wages of these workers, mostly women, are the lowest in this sector.

“These women are the ones who require the sanitary napkins the most. They are poorly-paid, lack proper housing, have no medical facility or paid maternity leaves. The burden of being a menstruating woman in an unprivileged position only adds to the miseries. Buying a sanitary pad is not a necessity but a luxury for them,” she says on choosing the women of tea plantations for next drive. “They live under despicable conditions with meagre perks. The tea industry is one of the most exploited industry, and labour is mostly women. As Dasai (Dussehra) is around the corner, it would be great to support these women, and take care of their menstrual hygiene for the next three months,” adds Gurung. She’s already in talks with people who work with the tea garden in Darjeeling for coordinating the distribution drive.

In the parting, she adds, “PadSquad is a thoughtful initiative that is helping a lot of unprivileged women bleed in hygiene and break the stigma and taboo of period shame, so come join the movement. All that you have to do is put up an old carton in your building/apartment/locality, and collect sanitary napkins. We will have them collected from you and distribute in the communities.”

To learn more about Padsquad, please follow their website here.

The post Kalimpong girl aims to collect 50K sanitary pads for Tea Garden workers appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Ama: Purna Dukpa

Baba: Late Sangay Dukpa

School: Kalimpong Girl’s High Higher Secondary School

TheDC: So tell us something about your journey, what got you interested in cooking?

Tsheten: Actually, I was interested in cooking from the very young age. I used to help my mother to cook. At that time I used to dream about cooking foods like hers, and my dad was in WB Police, he used to come home like once a month, but when he came he had so many jholas (bags) full of groceries. That day used to be our feast day. He cooked food for us. He used to prepare everything by himself, from cutting veggies to grinding masalas in stone pestle.

So, I can say proudly that my mom and dad inspired me.

TheDC: Is your family supportive of your cooking adventures?

Tsheten: Yes, they are. Especially I would like to thank my husband and son because I was not able to spend time with them in some of my day off due to video shooting, editing and doing voice overs. I have 2 days off per week and work like 11-hrs per day and in those days I spend my time in my kitchen to shoot videos and prepare my recipes.

TheDC: What was the point in life, where you felt confident enough of making food Videoblogs?

Tsheten: For this, I am very grateful to one of my friends. Whenever I invited her in my house, she always encouraged me to create YouTube channel. Sometimes when I used to watch YouTube and search for the local food recipes from Darjeeling, there was no one.

So, I thought, why not give it a try because nowadays our new generation is always attracted towards fast foods, which is totally not good for our health.

TheDC: How has the responses been so far?

Tseten: The responses are very very good so far. I never thought that my channel would grow so fast like this. Now I have started to make requested recipes and I am glad they always request me about our local food recipes.

TheDC: What were the difficulties you faced and how did you overcome them?

The first difficult thing for me was to edit my videos because when I started my channel, I used to upload randomly shot videos. I didn’t have any ideas about recipe video shooting techniques. Once my sister told me, why don’t you focus on the recipes rather than showing your face? So, I started learning to do videos editing focusing on recipes.

Language problem because the accents Indian Nepalese have has vast difference from Nepalese from Nepal. So, I have received many comments (some of them are very bad) about the language. Sometime they made me frustrated, especially because of those rude comments. But at the end I took theses positively, hence I have been improving myself a lot then before.

TheDC: What advice would you give others who may want to follow up in your shoes?

Tsheten: Becoming a content creator is not easy, but is not impossible also. No one is born perfect, practice and hard workers the key to reach your destiny.

Have a clear vision of what you want to do. In my opinion if you have video editing knowledge then it will be easier in your vlogging journey

Our Darjeeling foods content various nutrients, we use various herbs while cooking which can be of medical purposes, and most importantly we have unique dishes according to different cultures. So we need to preserve theses and let the world know about our cuisine.

Lastly coming from a small town to a luxurious city like Hong Kong even in my busy life, I have tried my best to represent our local Darjeeling food.

So please support my small effort and feel free to contact me if you want to know more.

We wish Tsheten GOOD LUCK in her endeavours, and hope that someday we will get to taste her food in her own restaurant.

You can watch more from her, here: https://www.youtube.com/c/TshetenDukpa/videos

The post Tsheten Dukpa Limbu – Taking Typical Darjeeling Cuisine to the World appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Even though we celebrate women in our life everyday, today is special, today on International Women’s Day we celebrate HER for being WHO SHE IS – A Woman!!

Respects and Dhog to all the ladies out there, who inspire us everyday.

Darjeeling is blessed with women of extraordinary strength, resourcefulness, vision and perseverance, and today we celebrate our women, all of whom have stood tall against all odds and triumphed.

All of the Women are super achievers in their own respective ways and we celebrate you all.

Sadly we cannot profile everyone, so here are five lesser-known women from Darjeeling whose achievements continue to inspire us.

The post INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: Celebrating Darjeeling’s Own appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

With the win, Mary Kom improved her own record as the most successful boxer in the history of the tournament. Before the start of the tournament, she had six gold and a silver in her kitty in 48kg category. This is the first time the Manipuri boxer has secured a world medal in the 51kg category. She had finished a quarterfinalist in this division in the past.

Speaking after the bout, the 36-year-old said: “I am very happy to have secured a medal but I would be looking to make it better by reaching the finals. It was a good bout for me and I will now try to improve on this performance in the semifinals.”

Securing her 8th medal, Mary Kom also surpassed Cuban’s Felix Savon, who had seven medals in the tournament and Ireland’s Katie Taylor, who had 6 World medals in her career.

Mary Kom will face second-seeded Turk Busenaz Cakiroglu in the semifinals on Saturday. Cakiroglu, who is currently the reigning European Championships and European Games gold-medallist, went past China’s Cai Zongju in her quarterfinal bout to set herself a clash against the Indian boxer.

In a tactful performance, Mary Kom waited for her chances and defended sharply to ensure that Victoria’s plan to impress the judges by throwing in more punches didn’t yield results. The Indian’s huge reservoir of experience came in handy as she swung her right arm masterfully to connect well-placed hooks. Her straight punches were as effective and regularly pierced through Victoria’s reasonably strong defence.

Mary Kom’s incredible career is also studded with an Olympic bronze medal (2012), five Asian titles, gold medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, besides numerous other international top finishes. This year alone, she won gold medals at the India Open in Guwahati and President’s Cup in Indonesia. She is also a sitting member of the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, Kavita Chahal Devi lost to Belarus’ Katsiaryna Kavaleva in +81kg heavyweight category via a split 4:1 verdict.

(With inputs from PTI)

The post Mary Kom Secures Historic 8th World Medal After Reaching Semifinal appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

We sat down for a short interview with her.

Name: Kamala Chettri 
 Ama: Late Lila Chettri 
 Baba: Mr Tilak Das Chettri 
 School (s): Nepali Girls Higher Secondary School (Boarding School) Darjeeling 
College (s): Assembly of God, School of Nursing, Kolkata (General Nursing and Midwifery), Infections Disease Beleghata (IDBG) Post Basic BSc nursing 

TheDC: Since when have you been interested in modelling?
Kamala: From the time I started my dance training, I was a kid back then. Further, I got motivated after winning Miss Flash Back, Darjeeling years ago.

TheDC: How did you get into modelling?

Kamala: After winning Miss Flash Back, Darjeeling I continued to grow as a model. I used to practice in my free time while I was under my nursing training.

TheDC: What was the reaction from your family? Do they support your modelling endeavours?

Kamala: Yes, my family has always supported me. In fact, my family accompanies me wherever I go for my modelling assignments.

TheDC: You are a nurse by profession, so how do you balance these two very different aspects of your life?

Kamala: I feel both of these professions complete me and help me to express myself, by giving to society a blend of both my brain and beauty, whatever little I have in me (laughs).

TheDC: What is tougher, being a model or being a nurse?

Kamala: Both are tough and easy. It varies from time to time and the differences in situation that I face.

TheDC: What do you think of the overall modelling scene in Darjeeling?

Kamala: No place I have been so far been as fashionable as Darjeeling. We only need the right direction and track.

TheDC: What are/were the challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

Kamala: Challenges are there everyday, the only question is if I want to take it or not. Its like part of daily routine. I tried to keep things simple as much as I could, and go ahead with calm n firm balance.

TheDC: Among models – Who do you like the most and why?

Kamala: Nowadays it’s difficult to choose one as everyone gives their best. I would say Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as she is unique in her own ways.

TheDC: Any modelling assignments you are excited about

Kamala: Photoshoot with DE MODE International magazine was amazing. I am also currently working with Tripathi Creation in Kolkata for different modelling assignments and many other photo-shoots, few music videos in Darjeeling.

You know, despite it all, my favourite will always remain the part of Sunkesri Rani, I had performed in school, I was awarded as Sarwasrestha Nayika in Darjeeling, and as a kid it meant so much to me. It still does.

TheDC: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Kamala: In nursing, I have a promotion in 2020 and in Modeling I have plans to start my own work from Darjeeling to the national level. If I am lucky enough, I want to take it further internationally, keeping my foundation deeply rooted in Darjeeling.

TheDC: Any suggestions for youngsters who may want to follow on your footsteps?

Kamala: Do not stop yourself, no matter what. Keep growing beautifully and learn to pause and postpone if something confuses you until it makes sense clearly.

Kamala can be reached at

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kamala-Chettri-208453253399772
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chettriheema

We wish Kamala Chettri good luck, and hope that her story will inspire our youngsters to pursue their dreams with sincerity and dedication – be it as a Model or a Nurse

The post Kamala Chettri – A Model Nurse appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

The story soon became viral on Twitter users and was widely circulated across Social Media. As people asked for more information, some offering to help, Mohen followed up the story of Diana with a video post of the athlete.

As the story picked up momentum and perhaps even reached the authorities, Naorem update the conversation with an update that the PRO from the Governor’s office came out to meet Diana at the stall. We hope and pray that the government steps in and provide the necessary support to the athlete. Readers who want to offer help can join the conversation on Twitter to know the updates.

Here is the full story thread from Naorem’s Twitter post.

(1/n) Full story of Diana Ningombam, Please read it. She has been selling fruit salads on the roads near Kangla for the past one week in the struggle to continue her career in sports.Hailing from Sagolband Loukrakpam leikai in Imphal.

(2/n) She is third daughter of Ibungo yaima and Ningombam Nalini. Diana started learning taekwondo from the year 2006 and had taken part in international events. Now she sells fruit salads daily from 4 am 8 am in the morning near the footpath beside the main entrance of Kangla.

(3/n) She wakes up around 3 am in the morning for making preparations for her small business of selling the items.  She continues her practice session from 4 pm to 7 pm in the evening at Langjing Achouba Makha leikai in Imphal.

(4/n) She is preparing for an upcoming tournament which will be held in Hongkong. She informed that she does not want to give extra burden to her father who works as a printing machine mechanic and not very healthy and her mother who works at bazaar in trying make ends meet.

(5/n) She said that there are times when her parents could not meet expenditure for her diet and other essentials. By selling fruit salads on the roadside, she also wants to spread message of self-employment to youths of the state instead of solely depending on their families.

(6/n)Diana said, “When I first stepped into sports, we required money to buy only sports tracksuits but players now have to manage their own transportation fees which is really hard for players belonging from poor family backgrounds.”

The post International Taekwondo Player Sells Fruit Salad to Raise Funds appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

A total of 60 filmmakers from Iran and 20 other countries had attended the seven-day FIFF which featured workshops and stimulating conversations on world cinema by internationally acclaimed film directors.

Tribeny along with Ruman Hamdani from Kashmir were the only two participants from India selected for the FIFF 2019. She hails from Nandok near Ranipool and is a product of the famed Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata. She has several award winning short films to her credit.

““Iranian cinema has always been closer to my heart. My first-hand experience of their heart-warming culture has helped me understand their films even better,” said Tribeny regarding her FIFF experience.
The FIFF, among many sessions, also had a Talent Campus Series for the participants. The head of Talent Campus, Maziar Miri awarded the top five students of the festival’s workshops with certificates and diplomas.

Tribeny bagged the second prize for the ‘best short film idea’ category of the FIFF. She had been selected by prominent Iranian scriptwriters Naghmeh Samini and Meharan Kashani amongst the top ten students to pitch their short film ideas.

As shared by the Sikkimese filmmaker, she chose to work on the concept of ‘family’. She pitched the idea of her short film to a German producer and FIFF representative.
Tribeny will now receive a FIFF grant to make her short film titled ‘A house full of women’.

FIFF is the largest film festival of Iran and is an event that celebrates cultural exchange, displays creative achievements of highly acclaimed cineastes and pays tribute to quality local and international films.

“I met 59 fellow filmmakers and friends from all around the world and bonded with them. This was one of the best things that have happened for me at the festival. I also met Paul Schrader, Luca Bigazzi and meeting Romanian filmmaker Adina Pintilie is my most memorable moment,” shared Tribeny.

The post Tribeny Rai bags a FIFF grant for her short film appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Sangeeta worked as a teacher before marrying Shishir Malla in 2013.

Shishir, who was a rifleman with 3/9 Gorkha Rifles and was serving in 32 Rashtriya Rifles when he made supreme the sacrifice while serving in the Baramulla sector of J&K, battling terrorists in September 2015.

After his death, Sangeeta quit her teaching job to be by her mother-in-law’s side.

Not only did Sangeeta have to deal with the tragedy of her husband’s death but she also suffered a miscarriage. “My mother supported her and encouraged her to study further and do a banking job,” said Sushant Malla, Sangeeta’s brother-in-law. He added that Sangeeta became motivated to join the army after she attended an investiture ceremony in Ranikhet in 2016 where Shishir was awarded Sena Medal posthumously.

She worked hard and cleared the OTA examination,” he said. After a rigorous training at the academy, she was commissioned in army as a Lieutenant in the short service commission.

We SALUTE Sangeeta and hope that her story will inspire thousands of our youngsters. Truly – Inspiration thy name be our Gorkha daughters.

Jai Hind Jai Gorkha

The post Martyr Gorkha Jawan’s Wife Quits Teaching – Joins Army As An Officer appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Even though we celebrate women in our life everyday, today is special, today on International Women’s Day we celebrate HER for being WHO SHE IS – A Woman!!

Respects and Dhog to all the ladies out there, who inspire us everyday…

Darjeeling is blessed with women of extraordinary strength, resourcefulness, vision and perseverance, and today we celebrate our women, all of whom have stood tall against all odds and triumphed.

All of the Women are super achievers in their own respective ways and we celebrate you all.

Sadly we cannot profile everyone, so here are five lesser known women from Darjeeling whose achievements continue to inspire us.

We encourage our youngsters to follow on their footsteps, and know that even YOU can be whom ever YOU want to be…

Please SHARE… our youngsters need to see these inspirational ladies from our community.

For more, please visit

The post Celebrating Darjeeling’s Own appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.