Darjeeling Landslide!

Darjeeling Landslide

Once again the hills of Darjeeling Reels under the fury of Mother Nature. As of this morning the death toll is at 38 but that should be going up as reports coming from Tingling (sub-division of Singbulli Tea Garden) that 2 more dead bodies were recovered from the Nepal side of river Mechi. Like 2003 landslide this time also it is the Mirik Block that has been hit disastrously.

While Darjeeling copes up with this disaster the national media as usual silent. To giants of national media #NDTV, #CNNIBN, #TIMESNOW to name a few who has ignored as usual the hills of Darjeeling. For these giants just a refresher on your nation, Darjeeling tea, tourism and timber annually fetches more revenue than what Lalit Modi has camped off with. Sushma Swaraj and her clans have not produced that many bahadurs to lay down their lives for the nation as has Darjeeling done. It’s not that Darjeeling or the people of Darjeeling want you to shout out loud on your channels but a hush hush would have been a respect paid to humble queen of the hills and guess the buck just does not stop here.

I have seen the effect of 2003 landslide how it destroyed property, took away lives and for some left a deep scar that can never be healed. Today I wonder could we have done anything to avoid this calamity or lessen its magnitude. Wonder if we had ensured that all houses were still built in the old architecture of only ground plus one, with the upper being wooden structure, unlike what we see in the hills these days huge concrete structures. Another aspect that has always bothered me most is the boulders which get carried away from the riverbed, doesn't it disturb the ecological balance or the huge dams that we are creating upstream for hydro-power purposes or the huge high tension electrical towers that carry them.  

If we could have or not abate the fury of nature but like 2003 the people of Darjeeling has once again shown their true nature not only to endure but to be their for one another when the chips are down.

Rescue Work in progress by the locals

Photo Courtesy Roshan Thapa

Darjeeling Tea: Prices Soar, Life Doesn't

Darjeeling Tea Labors

Once again Darjeeling is in the news for producing the highest priced tea ever sold. This time around, it has put Johnny Walker Blue Label to shame for all the 65 years put into blending it by just a simple handmade tea going for the same price. Yes, Makaibari Tea Garden this time sold for a whooping $1850 (`1.11 lakh) per kg. Yes! Indeed the story of the Prestigious Darjeeling Tea goes way back to the days of the British Raj. Most of the Tea Gardens do have their folk lore of British Raj and more importantly the system is has remained the same over the ages.

However, Darjeeling Tea has its actual history dating way back to the mid-nineteenth century, and not only since the days of the Raj. So many years of Indian independence has somehow just passed them by and they still remain in the dark days that overpowered the whole country before 1947.

Darjeeling Tea Garden: People Who Make It

Times have changed, tea prices have soared, but the people producing this magic with their hands

Life at Darjeeling: Tough but Ever-Smiling

still remain empty handed. However, life has always carried on for The Great Indian Mango People of the tea gardens labors and staff. Some of them would tell you about the drought days and how they survived on corn and homemade liquor, some would tell you about the agitation days, some would tell you about the days of lockout, and the remaining would tell you about the devastating landslide and other natural calamities that pluck out fresh lives off the people of the hills just as they pick the best tea leaves for us to savour the “Darjeeling”.

Waiting for the Winds of Change

 According to the Times of India, "Fair-trade plantation may seem like an oxymoron," Besky said. "Plantation workers are not small farmers. They are laborers who, like peasants, live and work on land they do not own." Besky discusses the impact of fair trade and other movements that brought Darjeeling tea plantations into the 21st-century market for geographically distinguished and ethically sourced food, and into India's multiethnic democracy. These movements have World Trade Organization Geographical Indication status, a distinction Darjeeling shares with famous place and food names like Scotch, Champagne, and Roquefort, and the Gorkhaland agitation, a longstanding movement to form an Indian state separate from West Bengal, to include Darjeeling, its tea plantations and its majority of Indian Nepalis, or Gorkhas. "There is a deep disconnect between national, global and regional calls for justice, and the lives and work of the very people in whose names those calls have gone forth. The workers are keenly aware that in the market for justice, the tea plantation is not going anywhere." (read report).

So the people wait…wait for the winds of change to come and strike a balance between their lives and the reputation and price of the tea they produce.

Veteran danseuse and teacher lives on charity

Tara Balgopal

We Indians are a happy lot, proud of our cultural heritage and forgetful of all that is painful and anything that calls for taking responsibilities. What happens when these two emotions are blended together? What happens when the rich, cultural heritage and the people who represent that are forgotten by the system, by us, by India as a whole?

This article tells one such story. Take a moment to read this.

Veteran danseuse and teacher lives on charity - The Hindu

Bioscope

A visit to Dilli Haat took us back down memory lane, where as kids back in 1980s & early 1990s this was a scene from any lane or by-lanes of any Indian town or city. Wonder how many were inspired by this in the past, today just a showcase at the prestigious Dilli Haat.

Never mind we do have the idiot box to snub our kids creativity.

Just another Indian woman

She is around 40, hails from a village in West Bengal where electricity is yet to make its appearance. School was a few days dream for her.  When she was merely out of her teens, she was married off to a stranger from Uttar Pradesh.  She has two kids, a 20- year old daughter and a 10-year old son.  Her husband is an alcoholic and a gambler.  He does not earn a penny, beats her, and throws her out of the house.  She now works as a domestic help, her daughter is suffering from high fever and is lying unattended in UP. Her son is being raised by a kind doctor in the south.

A common Indian story, right?

Not quite.

What makes her special is her indomitable spirit...her thirst for knowledge.  At this age, she uses the little free time she has to learn how to read, write, and do simple calculations.

At one hand she wants to know if airplanes fly by lord shiva in heaven.  On the other, she wants to know how to read the meters in auto rickshaws. she tells her children not to waste time in chatting with friends but to read the news papers instead.  She longs for some love and security but has none. She dreads that she wouldn't even have a place to stay when she grows old. She gets no legal help in that village in UP to get her due as a helpless woman whose husband treats her cruelly. Her family, poor as they are, is in no condition to travel to UP and stand by her while she fights for her rights.

And the last but the most difficult part is that she is physically challenged.  Her auditory capability is next to nil. Without the highest power hearing aid, she will not get to hear the loudest car horns on the busiest Indian roads and might be mowed down by a speeding truck. Her eye sight is also failing.

She wants to get her daughter married but has no dowry to offer.

Her dream is to fly. If only we can help her break the millions-of-years-old shackles of poverty, suppression of women in a male society, and tricks played by nature on her physical capacities.

How can we help?

By getting her some legal aid in fighting for her rights, by trying to get her daughter married without dowry, and by pulling in an organisation or a fund that will help her purchase her hearing aids when needed (priced at 6000 INR at least) and get her a pair of contact lenses.

Spread the word and respond if you or any organisation is ready to support the cause. 

International Woman's Day: A Tribute to an Angel

Miss Helen Daniel

March 8: International Woman’s Day…a day when womanhood is being celebrated in several ways all over the world. On this special day, I could only think of one woman…Miss Helen Daniel. A woman who made so much of differences in so many lives, she is known as Bari (maternal aunt), Boju (grandmother), Chhema (maternal aunt), Phupu (paternal aunt), Didi (elder sister), and Bahini (younger sister) to so many people in so many fond and great ways.

Among her siblings, she was known as Kalo Pothy (the black hen) because she would protect all her siblings with all her might. At the age of 15, she claimed to be of 18 and started her career as part of the British army in colonial India. At the age of 85, she still receives a stipend from the East India Company!

Eventually, she landed up working with the West Bengal Government Health Services as a TB health visitor. At that time, with the stigma associated with a disease such as TB and the risks of working as a health service professional, people wouldn’t easily take up such a job. But Bari did.

She worked and earned and supported families…not only her own, but of people known and unknown. It’s no great wonder that even today, she is remembered, adored, loved and respected by multitude of people all across the globe. In her own words, “I never married…but see…I still have so many children!”

Miss Helen Daniel

Being a single woman, she brought up more children than two mothers of that era could put together. She shaped more lives than she can ever remember; she stood by the known and the unknown in their times of need, sickness and desolation; she showed her inner strength and courage at times when the strongest of the strong would have crumbled. Her love and affection is still found in her radiant smile and gestures. You’d still find her busy all the time on her mobile phone…talking to someone or the other. If you ask, she’d say, “There are so many lonely and old people…if I call, they feel happy. Is there something wrong with that?” Miss Helen Daniel…the savior still of lonely hearts, if not in person but then with the help of technology.

It is true that with age, she has lost some of her physical might. But she still is the same angelic person to the core. She is still trying to live a life for people… if in no other possible ways, then in her prayers.

A woman of substance, she is probably one of those rare women who is called as “ama” (mother) without ever giving birth.

On Woman’s Day, I salute Miss Helen Daniel…my dear Bari…one of those great Indian mango people…who make this world a better place!

New Delhi World Book Fair 2013

In a city where weekend means household work, parties, shopping, or mall hopping…the New Delhi World Book Fair was a welcome break. For bookworms like me, it was almost an enchanted escape to the land of tales!

The Fair was organized by National Book Trust, India, an apex body of the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development. It was held from February 4 to 10, 2013 at the centrally located Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds, New Delhi.

This year, apart from Indian and international publishers, the New Delhi World Book Fair had France as the Guest of Honor Country. France presented glimpses of the industry and its writings through a large contingent of French publishers. Besides, many authors and scholars from France engaged in discussions and conversations with the Indian counterparts at the many literary programs and professional round tables organized during the New Delhi World Book Fair. The vibrant cultural heritage of France with its music, food, as well as cinema and other cultural performances formed a major component of French presentation.

 New Delhi World Book Fair

The theme of the New Delhi World Book Fair this year was "Indigenous Voices: Mapping India's Folk and Tribal Literature." The diverse expressions of Indian's traditional native cultures, including exhibit of books, traditional art forms, crafts, panel discussions, and performances were showcased.

People from all walks of life and age groups flocked the New Delhi World Book Fair. Some were engrossed in reading up as much as they could; some were spending a nice time with family and friends; some were there to explore what others were exploring; and some others were there to buy books at the best bargains. Honestly, not often would you get a flat discount of 33% on Tintin comics, would you?

It was interesting to see how parents were eager to introduce their children to the pleasure of reading books. Contrary to popular beliefs, we could catch glimpses of loads of kids completely immersed in their books. While some little ones were literally dragging their parents to buy their favorite books, others were proudly showing off their newly acquired 3D books!

 New Delhi World Book Fair: Children Performance

Young couples discussed which books to buy for their future homes…and there were those who were trying to impress their partners by displaying their love for books. Another interesting fact was that on the last day of the fair…food stalls were completely emptied by the throng of hungry crowd! The only options left were tea and ice creams.

Added to the magic of books and food was the cultural arena that acted as an awesome break from the monotonous city life. Enjoying tribal music and dance at the heart of Delhi was more than what we could have asked for at the New Delhi World Book Fair. Just in case, you missed this year’s fair, do visit it next year. For the great Indian Mango People, the New Delhi World Book Fair is kingdom of dreams @Rs.20/- per head.