Homecoming 25 Years, St. Joseph's, North Point, Darjeeling 5

By Manuwant Choudhary

Standing just next to the speaker listening to Bob Marley's Get Up, Stand Up....Don't Give Up The Fight....with hundreds of young boys was literally a `Blast' !

But for us returning to school after 25 years the Bob Marley lyrics carried more meaning.

25 years of struggle on a daily basis is very, very different from the organised, protected life we all led at North Point.

I remember Mr. Maurice Banerjee, our very respectable physics teacher (who retired in 1986, we were the last batch he taught), warning us of how tough life is in the plains when you have to take a crowded bus or train in 45 degrees C.

Life is tougher than that...

Enjoy the song...and Never Give Up The Fight.....

Never Give Up The Fight....

Homecoming 25 Years, St. Joseph's, North Point, Darjeeling 4

By Manuwant Choudhary

Darjeeling: A walk to Monkey Rock is full of memories...25 years ago we would walk here for a wash in a spring when Darjeeling was faced with acute water scarcity.

It was also here that I was unjustly caned.

Ranvir was singing this song `Night Flight to venus'' when he dropped his mug on the khudside and seeing the commotion the school prefect appeared and when he asked who did it, Ranvir immediately pointed towards me..and I was caned...the last one hit my little finger and a mark remains till today.

But it was a lesson..never accept an unjust punishment.

Life comes a full circle as I took a photo with Ranvir here.

But Monkey Rock is now called Tenzing Rock and on the opposite side is Phantom Rock now renamed Gombu Rock.

And a Hanuman temple has occupied the place.





Monkey Rock now has a permanent rope and you can climb it for Rs.30/- and the other side there are a dozen tea stalls.

25 years ago it was natural.

And yes the Haunted House !

But Darjeeling is become too crowded now literally the hills are for sale or up for grabs.

Just write Gorkhaland and its yours.

And its better to walk than take a taxi....the roads see traffic snarls and surprisingly no one honks...they seem used to it all.

We could not spot a single ambassador.

And this was the only Land Rover we saw.




25 years ago Darjeeling was full of Amby's and Land Rovers as Land Rovers were the only vehicles you could take to Tiger Hill.

We would look forward to our monthly outings and in Rs.10 we would like buy the town.

Keventers, New Dish, Glenery's and a dozen others....

Penang is still there and refurbished in all blue...the waiters wear dresses to match the flower-pot !

In Rs.350 four of us had our momo lunch.

A Big Bazaar has replaced the Link Cinema...

And the Capitol Cinema (with the clock Tower) now houses the Darjeeling Municipality.

I wonder what the municipality does.

Even the Capital Cinema seemed occupied.

The lower bazaar is still a shanty.

Darjeeling doesn't need Gorkhaland..it needs a car park.

Maybe the lower bazaar should be completely demolished to house a multi storeyed car park and a large mall to house all the dislocated shops in one place with a square in the centre.




The Chowrasta is still beautiful....Oxford book store and the Tin Tin Comics are still around in perfect shape.

In fact the upper mall is still beautiful. The Brits definitely did something right.

Planters Club....the Shangrila Restaurant....its a walk down memory lane...



Glenyry's now has three levels...upper a restaurant, the second a pastry shop and a third now which is a pub.

The tastiest pastry's anywhere and now you can sit in there and enjoy the view as well.


And yes..the Churpee (made from Yak Milk).....

Homecoming 25 Years, St. Joseph's, North Point, Darjeeling 3

By Manuwant Choudhary

Sursum Corda !

Darjeeling: Sursum Corda - our school motto in latin - means `Lift Up Your Heart'. And this motto has stayed with us all through life.

And the first glimpse of North Point in 25 years is simply a joy that is hard to describe.

When in school we would often have `Old' North Pointers visiting and we would simply laugh when they spoke to us and said, "Aah every stone, every pillar is the same..."

Wish we could say the same.

But North Point has changed.



The Fraser Hall is still the same and its stone facade intact. But the schools main building has a coat of grey paint now and it doesn't look good. We `Oldies' just prefer the stone and the moss.



Hope the old stone facade can be restored somehow.

And we also hope the Fraser Hall isn't demolished.

It is a beautiful hall with a wooden room and best acoustics...and its benches are the same. In our time Father Lohar was incharge of films and we saw all the westerns here. If the primary boys were being punished by the Prefect for some reason he would simply cancel the show ! Father Lohar wore the black Jesuit gown and walked with a limp as one of his legs were short and he wore special shoes but we loved him.

A quote outside the Rector's office best explains why North Point has changed.

"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." - Henry Ellis.

The current Rector is Father Kinley Tsering.

But some changes were not just necessary but also desirable.

The quadrangle is a gentle blue now instead of grey and with lawns, It looks beautiful and colorful. We had red dust that blew all over the place.

The old indoor swimming pool has been removed to house the 11th section and the new swimming pool is in the open.



The old dining hall was hardly an attraction and now the new one overlooking the pool looks 5 star.



But there are far too many pavilions.



The main pavilion on the lower ground still exists but not maintained while a new one has been built.

The tennis courts are gone and instead there are dozens of basketball courts.

North Point also doesn't play hockey anymore. Wonder why? Anjay Shah was our great goal keeper and aprt from basketball this was one game we would play with Loreto Convent girls.

We watched the Gold Cup Football. Tata Football Academy versus Baichung Bhutia's Sikkim United. The Tata's won..but the game was nowhere close to the Mohan Bagan versus East Bengal matches we saw in school. Aaah Shyam Thapa's scissor kicks how much we did that on the field ourselves.

The toilets look much swankier...we had those rows of locked toilets and we hated the guy who had the keys and sometimes finding him would be impossible and we would be in `deep shit'.



But we did see the washroom and it felt wonderful turning on the same taps.....except there was no Sister Suma now with a cane shouting `You Piggy, rub harder..."

No Brother James either !

And the commune steam filled bath does exist !

But one good news is that North Point has solved its water problems. Water Harvesting enables it to collect a years water supply.

In school we had 600 students, now there are 1200 !

Mr. Andre Lefevre is our Geography teacher's son and he explained how classrooms have become smarter. "33 classrooms don't have blackboards anymore....anything we write on the smart screens is saved and can be recalled the next day or even in another classroom...teaching biology is easier as we don't have to draw the heart...just call the image and explain !"

And yes, the women teacher's are still beautiful !

Homecoming 25 Years, St. Joseph's, North Point, Darjeeling 2

By Manuwant Choudhary

The monsoons are just over but the river Teesta has very little water and on way we saw a huge dam being built across it.

Governments call this `development' but since India's independence the electricity and irrigation needs of the people have not been fulfilled.

And wonder how Dr. Manmohan Singh promises to give Bangladesh water from the Teesta.

But Mamata didi opposed him.

The climb to Ghoom is steep. On way we saw the bungalow owned by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore (he probably spent his summers here).

Milestones saying Jorebungalow 18 kms seemed really far away.

This stretch ensures drivers remain slim and trim.

Our driver Sonu from Siliguri finally made it to Ghoom and before we realised we were near the Ghoom monastery and the Batasia loop (where the toy train takes a funny shape, moves in circles before heading towards Darjeeling).

But in 1976 when I first made this trip with my father driving an ambassador late evening we were dazzled by the lights of Darjeeling - a sight hard to forget - a wow!

Now you can't see Darjeeling from Ghoom. Houses have been built on both sides of the road.

We checked into Hotel Seven Seventeen - an unusual name - but we later found out that the hotel is owned by our lower division school prefect Mr. Tashi Penjore. (717 is the hotel owners lucky number, all his cars, bikes, shops have this number).

Price: Rs.2000 per room per night.

The hotel I always stayed in as a student was Hotel New Elgin.

In those days the room rent would be Rs.400 per night or even less and there were just 5 rooms.

Now the Hotel is called The Elgin Hotel and room rents are Rs.8000/- per night !

Seven Seventeen is reasonable with a Tibetan touch and freindly staff. A large dining hall serves breakfast and food as well.

But as soon as we arrived and rested two of our class mates arrived and we were soon on our way to Chowrasta.

Keventers, Glenary's, Das Studio almost all prominent shops had posters welcoming the North Pointers Class of 86.



And we were not Gorkhaland leaders.

The welcome dinner was at a garden resort on the opposite side of Chowrasta.



This photo was taken by Sanjay Sharma..after two pegs this is the best he could do.

Like the Bonfire - meeting old friends rekindled the warmth even in the November chill.

Homecoming 25 Years, St. Joseph's, North Point, Darjeeling

By Manuwant Choudhary

Darjeeling: I really never expected to meet up with so many old school friends and I did feel like meeting my old teachers and Rectors of the school and even just a glimpse of our school St. Joseph's, North Point, Darjeeling, in the backdrop of a majestic Kunchenjunga would give me happiness thats hard to describe.

I spent more time here than anywhere else in the world, not even home.

So when I got an invite to attend `Homecoming 25 years' I thought I must take the time anyhow.

So Ranvir Choudhary (now a doctor) and myself found ourselves on a train Capital Express to New Jalpaiguri - a journey we did many times before but it felt so different now.



We were men now, busy with work & responsibilities, having our own agendas, our own minds and doing so much we could never ever think of doing.

Yet, as a country I am still not sure whether we are going forward or backward?

In the eighties when there was just a single Indian Airlines we flew from Patna to Bagdogra and then took the taxi to Darjeeling, now with so many private airlines there is not a single flight from Patna to Bagdogra.

But the train ride this time was light, no trunks and no beddings and no books.

And as children going to school always gave you that `Homesick' feeling.

As adults we were `Schoolsick'!

Our school chorus went something like this `Hurrah for our Home In the Mountains...Hurrah for the monarch's of snow..."

At New Jalpaiguri we took a taxi - a Maruti Wagon R - for Rs.1600. (In school we paid only Rs.300 for the full taxi)

And the taxi driver informed us that the Siliguri-Kurseong Highway is still blocked due to the landslide...so we would be taking the longer Mungphu road.

After driving on the Gangtok highway begins the climb to Ghoom.

And as `We Toil Up from the Valley Below...." we could see the beautiful flower-lined cottages and orange orchards.

Smiling children.

The air felt lighter and everything so clear - like truth.

(to be continued)....

Man Of Peace !

By Manuwant Choudhary

Maldives: Exclusive interview with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh

Me: Sir, my first question to you is that for the first time India and Pakistan seem so peaceful....

PM: Aaah, you see the sunset on the Indian ocean its like magic....

Me: You mean the beach...

PM: No, I mean the sunset....

Me: You mean the sand....

PM: No, no I mean how it all looks in the sunset...

ME. You mean the coconut trees....

PM: You fool why do people go to Goa?

ME: Ok, ok ..i think I know what you mean.....but lets get on with our interview...you said that the Pakistani Prime Minister is a Man of Peace.

PM: Yes, I did say that and I always stand by what I say.

Me: But the whole world says Pakistan is a `terror state'.

PM: I never said anything about Pakistan. I only said the PM is a Man of Peace.

Me: Okay, okay, but their foreign minister says Jamat-ud-Dawa is also a peaceful charitable organisation.

PM: Thats what they say.

Me: But they also say Hafiz Saeed is a Man of Peace.

PM: Right thats what they say.

Me: And that Kasab is he a Manof Peace 2?

PM: Pakistanis believe he is so..they told me he butchers peacefully.

Me: Butchers means kills.

PM: I didn't say that..he is peaceful with the AK 56..the way he shoots.

Me: But the Pakistanis say Hang Kasab, so why don't we hang him?

PM: We can't do what the Pakistanis say...you see we are a peace-loving country.

Me: And what about Dawood?

PM: Many in India worship him so he must be a Man of Peace.

Me: And that Tiger Memon who bombed Bombay two decades ago..

PM: He is a peaceful Tiger.

Me: And Osama bin Laden?

PM: Man of Peace....

Me: George Bush?

PM: Man of Peace....

Me: So who is a Man of War.

PM: Sri, Sri, Sri, Sri, Sri Ravishankar is a Man of War. How dare he go to Amethi !

India Censors Tibetan Flag In Film `Rockstar'

By Manuwant Choudhary

India has censored the waving of a Tibetan flag in the film `Rockstar' to release this week.

Now the flag will be blurred.

You will not even get a glimpse of it.

But a flag is a flag not nudity.

But India's censors think otherwise...and they say they would have allowed nudity but Tibetan flag - definitely No.

Hott kissing scenes are Ok.

Good luck Ranbir Kapoor & Nargis.

I wonder if the censor board would block my blog as well.

Just watched Radhika Bordia's special tribute on socialist singer Bhupen Hazarika on NDTV and the singer talks about his love for Mao's communism and how he even sang songs in praise of their friend from across the Himalayas.

Until one day bombs fell on his home state Assam and the Chinese occupied it.

He talks with so much pain since he had just returned to India trained as a journalist at the Columbia school and he went to cover the fall of Bomdilla....and on seeing the 55 dead jawans he composed a song...on how they were invincible in death..and he wished he was one of them.

Hazarika talks about how let-down the people of Assam were because when Jawaharlal Nehru said Bye-bye, he was actually leaving portions of India to the Chinese.

Hazarika says, "My songs were in praise of two `Shaktis' - India & China - but what do you do when one `Shakti' attacks the other.

Bhupen Hazarika died a member of the BJP.

Yet, neither the Congress Party (which rules Assam mostly) nor the BJP gave him his due - the Bharat Ratna.

I would say S.D. Burman is the other person who deserves India's highest civilian award.

Bhupen Hazarika never made it to the Rajya Sabha also.

When Dr. Manmohan Singh our Prime Minister gets himself nominated to Rajya Sabha from Assam (although he is not from Assam).

And now they've even changed the rules to allow anybody getting elected from any state.

This is why India's federal structure is under threat.

Will this come under Jan Lokpal?

Dr. Singh is dishonest, just as IK Gujral would get nominated from Bihar.

So it hurts to see a Tibetan flag being cencored in free India when China captures our territory and on maps even show Arunachal Pradesh as being a part of China.

Recently, when a journalist asked a visiting Chinese Governor about this, the Chinese replied, "Shut up."

The Indian reporter reminded him, "Sir, this is India, not China."

Yet the Congress Party crawl before the Chinese.

Even when Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai became Hindi-Chini hai-hai....

Its a shame..

Dil Hoom Hoom Kare...ghabraye......

Free India, Free Tibet !