Paradise regained: Memories of another Darjeeling that belonged to a bygone era
The recent spate of protests that have now come to define the Gorkhaland agitation are contrary to my memories of Darjeeling and its ever-warm residents. When I first arrived here as a student, the place was an undisturbed paradise, writes Saket Suman.
towards tourists.
Darjeeling taught me to respect the ‘other’, and to respect things that I may not associate myself with. As issues such as beef bans and religious tensions gain prominence today, I am reminded of the many meals that students shared happily at the same table. My friends from Nepal loved pork, while those from Bangladesh preferred beef. I was happy with my chicken drumsticks and just around the corner would be vegetarians who were content with paneer.
Seven days a week — all through the course of our schooling in— we shared meals together, without one offending the other, or the other being offended by another.
One may argue that we were too young at that time to understand or voice opinions on these complex issues, but such habits of mutual respect are inculcated in the lives of almost everybody who grows up in Darjeeling. Imposing Bengali and making it compulsory was thus bound to displease the Nepali-speaking hill communities.
People in Darjeeling are, as they should be, proud of their heritage and culture. They are only as protective about it as their counterparts in the rest of Bengal but the violence that has come to surface does more harm to the ethereal image of Darjeeling than good. Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in