Gorkha Personalities

Karna Thami

Know Our Icons, Obituary September 16, 2020

Karna Thami Sir – In Memorium: वरिष्ठ साहित्यकार कर्ण थामी प्रति नेसासको श्रद्धाञ्जली

TheDC team joins Nepali Sahitya Sammelan Darjeeling in mourning the death of our Sahitya Akademi Awardee Karna Thami sir. He was one of the pivotal figures in the Nepali Bhasa Manyata Abhiyan – which was instrumental in getting Nepali language recognized under the VIIIth Schedule of our Constitution.

Qasim Khallow

Gorkha Pride September 8, 2020

Qasim Khallow – From Kalimpong to Bollywood and Kathmandu

I have used Cinema to escape my reality. I was born and brought up in the narrow quarrelsome neighbourhood of Relli Road, Kalimpong. My childhood was mostly centred around the 100 metre radius of the vicinity and inside a small single room where a family of 5 people lived. Street fights, drunken men, abuses and pigs happily strolling in the streets were part of my reality as a kid. Cinema helped me escape this reality.

Sonam Tshering Lepcha

Know Our Icons July 31, 2020

Padmashri Ren. Sonam Tshering Lepcha – In Memorium

On the 14th of October 1960, Ren. Sonam became the first among Lepcha people to air his voice on All India Radio. In 1963, he staged his first Musical, “Teesta Rangeet” in Lepcha language. He has composed and compiled numerous Lepcha songs, researched on Lepcha musical instruments, and presented dance-dramas based on Lepcha folklore. He has also published “Vom Jat Ling Chhyo”, a book of Lepcha folk songs in 2011.

Deepankar Waiba

The Faces In Our Midst July 21, 2020

Deepankar Waiba – A Musical Bureaucrat

Deepankar Waiba is a WBCS officer and a very talented artist too. A trained economist, he is a painter, musician, singer and a composer he comes from Munsong, a gorgeous but very remote place in rural Kalimpong. He has struggled hard to make a mark for himself, this is his story.