Back in 2017, when the agitation of Gorkhaland was going strong. People were killed, jailed, the internet was banned but the hope then was strong. At least for me- I had an entrance exam at Shillong. A good escape from the reality of being inept to the land, which I loved the most.
Damber Singh Gurung was the only Gorkha in the nation’s Constituent Assembly, which was setup to draft the Constitution of Independent India. It is in his name that Kalimpong’s famous Damber Chowk has been named… Yet there was no commemoration of his birth anniversary
Home is where, your heart is and the heart of Kalimpong is in Damber Chowk. If you live in K-Town and have not spend two minutes at the Damber Chowk, believe me, you are missing the zest of the town.
People around the world create fences, walls, and boundaries, not so long ago in our villages of Darjeeling and Kalimpong we did it too, although naturally!
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’.
I came to Darjeeling for my college 10 years back and one of my dear friends who was staying in Darjeeling for many years gives me a tip on the first day that was “you cannot predict and trust the weather in Darjeeling it is unpredictable ” anytime it can be rainy, sunny, cold, windy and so on”. It was very hard for me to understand until I went to Lebong to watch the Gold cup match on a very sunny day and ended up seeing fog most of the time, and the players and football only occasionally.
Not sure how many have heard the term “Asar ko Pandhra bhai rako bela ma… wakkai na laga ta”. Our grandmother used to use that phrase often whenever she was inundated with work, and we ended up giving her more trouble.
Recently, the West Bengal Central School Service Commission released the interview and the final vacancy list related to the 1st SLST [AT] 2016 for the requirement to the post of Assistant Teachers Appointment at Upper Primary Level of schools [Expect work and Physical Education].
“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.
We are sad to report the death of a dynamic young entrepreneur Deoraj Gurung owner of Kalimpong Express Restaurant, Safdarjung, Delhi.