Darjeeling @ Me

In the fast changing landscape of India, one needs to be grateful and thankful for a few that remain constant.
(Though every thing around is changing due to the global warming).
Like the splendor and magnificence of the Kanchenjunga at sunshine, with the first rays of bathing its snow capped peaks in soft hues of pink turning into molten gold.

Believe me friend; it is a treat to the eye which every individual would love to experience, and this image everlasting and priceless.

Surrounded by Kanchenjunga’s glory lies Darjeeling---“The Queen of Hills”.

It is said that, “An Englishman visiting darjeeling wrote in the 1830s “it is a sleepy place up in the hills with cold wind , suitable for the Europeans to recover from the heat and disease of the plains.”

While some say, “Here the voice of god is not heard, but seen.”

Gracefully and exquisitely beautiful, this hill station once the summer resort of the British government during the British Rule, is the pride of West Bengal.

Darjeeling----- Dorjee meaning thunderbolt and ling meaning place in Tibetan language.

Hindus believe that it is the place where the Lord Indra’s thunderbolt struck. The town was named after the Dorjeling Monastery, built on the Observatory Hill in the 18^th century by the Buddhists monks from Sikkim. In 1780 the monastery was attacked by the Nepalese army and they built the Mahakal Mandir dedicating it to Lord Shiva.
Darjeeling was discovered by General Lloyd in 1928 and was laid out by Lord Napier of the Royal Engineers. At an altitude of 7,000ft, it is abundantly forested with vegetation and tea gardens.
It is a full fledged town catering to the requirements of sahibs, memsahibs and the elite of Bengali society escaping the hot and sultry summer of the plains.
Darjeeling’s tea is the finest in the world and the town well deserves the title of “The Champagne of Teas”, commanding some of the highest prices in the global tea market.
Dr. Campbell grew the first batch of tea bushes, (the bushes are said to have been smuggled from China.) Tea plantation were established and growing in demand.

The earliest tea estates were the Makaibari and Allobarie tea estates in1857 which were later followed by Takvar Tea Company , Mundakoti and Darjeeling Tea Company. The Dooteria, Nahore, and Margaret’s Hope Gardens were planted in 1862, while in Kurseong , The Springfield and Castleton Tea Estates were build in 1971.

Chowrasta is a socializing place in the town where people of all ages would walk up in the evening.
Above the chowrasta is the Mahakal temple of Lord Shiva, climbing the steep, winding path can blow away anyone’s sails, but it is worth every painful step.

The view from the temple is very beyond belief! The temple is an interesting mix of Buddhist and Hindu sentiments. Prayer flags flutter across the perimeter of the temple, wavering overhead like colorful birds against the sky and showering flowers and blessing upon the devotees.

A little below the temple is observatory hill from where one can have a beautiful view of ----the nature, boys playing cricket on the road, young couples stroll hand-in hand and rosy-cheeked youngsters in smart school uniforms hurtle homewards along the steep road.

Darjeeling is home to some of the best schools in the country namely, St. Joseph’s School, commonly known as North Point/ NP, St. Paul’s School, Loreto Convent, etc.

The toy train ride is one of the major attractions. The tourists take short and enjoyable ride from Ghoom Station to Darjeeling Station.

The train takes around 8 hrs from Siliguri to Darjeeling. If an individual wants to travel through the lap of the nature, one should take the toy train ride up to Darjeeling. The Darjeeling Himalayan railway has been recognized by the UNESCO as the world heritage site.

There are many other places worth a visit, just a short car ride away from main town. These include Himalayan Mountaineering Institute commonly referred to as H.M.I., Zoological Park, Ropeway, Natural History Museum, Peace Pagoda, Buddhist Monasteries, Batasia Loop and War Memorial, Senchal Lake, Tiger Hill, Rock Garden, Happy Valley Tea Gardens, The British Cemeteries.

Darjeeling is one of the places that an individual would love to come to beat the stress in life and to reunite with the Nature. It has been a home away from home for many outstation students like me.

Everything here seems to be make me go back to my old school days and sends a nostagic shiver down my spine, I just long to go back to the hills, i miss everything about it: the unpredictable weather, the narrow streets, momos, thukpa, drinking tea with frend at chowrasta, the walk on the Mall, watching Football Match in Fog, the festivals such as diwali, dashein, bhai tika, Keventer's, Glenerys', The Park, Mahakal Mandir, Mahakal Market, Rink Cinema, Benis Cafe, Movie Parlours, Penang, Das Studio...................well the list would just not end..........but I can assure you friends that, once you visit this place you are bound to love this heaven on earth.

One can be sure to return to this lovely place. Lingering memories of the sunshine over the Kanchenjunga, the quite beauty of the tea gardens and the unsurpassed warmth of the place will only serve to drive you back to the place. Every individual visiting the Queen of Hills is bound to be struck by the thunderbolt.