The British called our place THE QUEEN OF THE HILLS- if our place was really the queen then her palace was definitely the most beautiful of all. The lush green Hills, the crystal clear air, the view of the majestic Kanchenjunga and her sister mountains, the very amicable climate and the pure mountain springs rushing down the hills to rendezvous with the mighty Himalayan rivers- all made these Hills a palace worthy of the mighty Queen.
As we travelled in the airport taxi, he didn’t ask about home, our neighbours, or old friends. Nothing.
After his house was burned down during the 1986 political movement for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling, his parents had passed away the following year. Perhaps it was the overwhelming grief and exhaustion from losing their home. That was what the locals believed, too.
The British discovered Darjeeling by coincidence. It was a stroke of sheer luck that the British chanced upon Darjeeling in the year 1829 and its discovery ended years of search for a Hill station in the Bengal province
If there is communal strife in our region, it will, in all likelihood, give the Central Government an excuse to deny all the sub-tribes ST status, as center will show law and order problem.
I am therefore requesting all sub-tribes please don’t get involved in this manufactured tensions. The chances that those instigating you are working for the powers that be, or for money to foster communal strife and tension is very high.
That’s what we did, we hung around in Chorwasta all day long, doing nothing, watch life happen. I recently realized, the Italians have philosophy and phrase for this – “Il dolce far niente – the sweetness of doing nothing.”
It could mean anything, from looking at time fly by, drinking a cup of tea, “season herdai – looking at people of opposite sex” or simply guffing. When you are devoting your time on do-nothing leisure activities, one is supposed to be experiencing “il dolce far niente.”
As an international river, there have been serious issues on table with regard to the management and sharing of its water between India and Bangladesh. Besides several existing and proposed mega hydro-dams in the Sikkim-Darjeeling catchment, the Government of West Bengal has diverted almost entire Teesta Water via artificial canals at Teesta (Gajoldoba) Barrage in Jalpaiguri to irrigate its thirsty North Bengal leaving little or no water for Bangladesh.
Despite the warnings we received from the 2023 experience, now in January 2025, the Union Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River Valley Projects has given its approval to resume construction of the 1200 MW Teesta III hydroelectric project.
The Hills of Darjeeling have traditionally always has had its 4Ts – tea, tourism, timber & teaching to sustain itself economically. The lay of the land and the lack of natural minerals never allowed us to be a manufacturing or trading hub and through the ages the 4Ts have been the main stay of our economy. The last of the 4Ts, though definitely not the least T, has been the Teaching industry.
Born on July 25, 1945, in Phoobsering Tea Estate, Darjeeling, Kajee Singh’s lifelong dedication to the preservation and formalization of Nepali folk music began in his early years. The son of Maadalaacharya Indrajeet Singh Sardaar, he inherited a deep-rooted passion for music from his family, which had been cultivating the classical folk music tradition of the Gorkha community for generations. His father’s influence, along with his own keen interest in traditional culture, would shape his path and inspire him to bring the Maadal — a revered Nepali musical instrument — to the forefront of Indian music.
Darjeeling’s Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) recently celebrated the graduation of participants from the Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (BIPARD) adventure and survival skills course. The event showcased the Institute’s dedication to fostering inclusivity, perseverance, and excellence in mountaineering.