FALLEN CICADA 2 - DIGITAL EDITION VER 9.0 RELEASED!

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Darjeeling!

It is with great satisfaction and pleasure that I inform you that Fallen Cicada 2 - Unwritten History of Darjeeling Hills was released in Darjeeling by Dr. Lakhi Devi Sundas. Released during a ‘writers’ enclave’ organised for the first time in Darjeeling, Dr. Lakhi Devi Sundas remarked that when she released Fallen Cicada - First Edition, on the 23rd of December 2003, she had declared that the book would do extremely well. The book went on to become a bestseller and sold out 3,000 copies during the first year of its sell. She hoped that Fallen Cicada 2 - Unwritten History of Darjeeling Hills released for the first time in Digital Format did even better and spread the love of Darjeeling Hills across the world. She also remarked that digital conversion of books was the right move and more and more books both in Nepali and English should be converted digitally and marketed through out the world. She expressed her wish to release Digital Edition of her own books and sought the help of the author on the same.

Fallen Cicada 2 - The Unwritten History of Darjeeling Hills Digital Edition 2008 Ver. 9.0 is the first of its kind produced and manufactured in Darjeeling. Based on the author’s most celebrated book Fallen Cicada - the Unwritten History of Darjeeling Hills, Fallen Cicada 2 - Digital Edition 2008 Ver. 9.0 offers more insights, more historical photographs and greater historical depth then ever before.

I hope that you will accept this labour of love and encourage me to indulge in more of such endeavours.

with best wishes and highest regards,

yours faithfully,

Barun

FALLEN CICADA 2 - DIGITAL EDITION 2008 VER 9.0

UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF DARJEELING HILLS

BARUN ROY

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Product Details

• Author: Barun Roy
• Publisher: Mandalay Books India Pvt Ltd, N. Delhi
• ISBN: 81-223-0684-5
• International Sales Rank: #93751 in Books (First Week)
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Number of items: 3000
• Binding:INFO ROM (COMPACT DISC IN BOOK CASE)
• Price: Rs. 250 + Postage Extra

Bhanu Puraskar!

By Manila Tamang

THE LEFT FRONT GOVT. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA [MARXIST] POPULARLLY CALLED AS CPM WAS INSTALLED IN WEST BENGAL IN 1977. The left front government led by the Communist Party of India {Marxist} prior to coming to power had announced and declared in its manifesto that they would constitute Academy for different languages which was prevalent and use in the state, for their protection and promotion if their party is voted to power. And on being elected to power Urdu Academy was formed for the first time in West Bengal. And in Darjeeling the formation of the Urdu Academy was followed by the constitution of Nepali Academy due to persistent request and appeal made by some of the Nepali writers associated with CPM. But there was a wide difference in the Autonomous Character and fund allocation in between the two Academies. In spite of having scant power and fund the Nepali Academy has had initiated some progressive measures of causing publication of books written by a number Nepali writers and translation from other languages into Nepali. The Nepali academy while doing its works of promoting language, literature, art, culture with limited resources had short span of life. As because working for seven years, the Nepali Academy was forced to be a defunct body due to the Gorkhaland Movement under the leadership of Subash Ghisingh who tried every thing possible to brand and label an identity of real opposer of the demand of the Gorkhaland against the members of Nepali Academy. And the vitriolic campaign against the members of Nepali Academy, the members took the option of disassociating themselves from the academy resulting the automatic dissolution of academy. But during its existence the Nepali Academy had awarded BHANU AWARD to the following individuals for their outstanding contribution in the field associated by them. The first BHANU AWARD was given in the year 1980. And the recipient were Sri INDRA SUNDAS in literature for his novel JUNELI REKHA, in the field of DRAMA Sri Mohan Thapa, in ARTS Sri Birendra Subba and in CLASSICAL SONGS Manick Chandra Pradhan FOR THE YEAR 1980 BHANUBHAKTA AWARD

The second BHANUAWARD was distributed in the year 1981 on the occasion of BHANU JAYANTI in the following manner, in literature Sri M.M GURUNG for his work BIRSEEYEKO SANSKRITI, for arts Sri B.R. GURUNG, for music Sri INDRA THAPATHALIA and for drama Sri HARKAMAN LAMA

The third BHANU Award 1982 recipient in literature was KAMALA SANSKRITIYAN for her book VICHAR AND VIVECHANA, for music ARUNA LAMA, for drama and dance RANJIT GHISING. But this year in place of art Sri LALDAS RAI was awarded the Bhanu award for his exceptional talent in sculpture.

Safety concerns restraint tourists from visiting Darjeeling

Darjeeling, May 4: The ongoing agitation by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) demanding separate Gorkhaland state in West Bengal scares tourists from visiting famous tourist destination Darjeeling due to safety concerns.

Cradled in the hills of West Bengal, Darjeeling has always been a favourite destination for tourists because of its snowcapped mountains and picturesque scenery including a breathtaking view of Kanchenjanga peak.

Situated at a height of 2134 meters, Darjeeling is also famous for its 125-year-old toy train, a UNESCO world heritage site that attracts thousands of tourists to the picturesque hill station.

The on-going agitation by GJM in the Darjeeling hills is causing safety scares among tourists besides causing hardships in their movement.

“There was a political meeting in the main tourist place where lots of people gathered and I could not understand but it was on the formation of Gorkhaland and then on my way back to Siliguri there were strikes,” said Kiran, a French tourist.

Tour operators fear an adverse impact on tourist inflows to the hills if the agitation continues.

“If there is a strike and if there is sudden road blockade obviously there will be problem for the tourist’s movement in the town,” said Samrat Sanyal, a tour operator.

The Gorkha people in the region led by the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) started agitation in early 1980s demanding a separate Gorkhaland state.

Buddhadeb offers talks on Darjeeling issue

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that he was open to hold talks with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) activists who had gone on indefinite fast to protest denial of permission to hold public meetings in Siliguri town in Darjeeling district.

GJM supporters ended their fast Saturday evening in Darjeeling.

‘I still don’t know what the GJM actually wants from the state and the central governments. They went on a fast-unto-death programme, demanding permission to hold public meetings at Siliguri town in Darjeeling. But why they want to hold these public meetings is still not clear to me,’ Bhattacharjee told reporters Sunday here.

‘The relationship and communication between the hills and plains have always been peaceful and constructive. I firmly believe that overall development of West Bengal is not possible without peace and harmony among the residents.’ the chief minister said.

‘The GJM supporters have never approached us with their problems or submitted any written complaint,’ he sdded.

Ready for talks with GJM, says Buddhadeb

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has said that his government is ready for talks with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which has launched a movement for a separate State to be carved out of the Darjeeling hills and certain areas contiguous to it.

“What do you want from the State government and from Delhi?” Mr. Bhattacharjee asked GJM in an interview to a Bengali news television channel. “They have not given any memorandum of their demands to the State government so far and we are unaware of what they want.”

Political differences notwithstanding, the Congress is one with the West Bengal government on the issue of preserving the unity of the State, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, said here on Sunday while referring to the developments in the Darjeeling hills.

“We shall not fight on petty political grounds with the Chief Minister on the matter of unity of West Bengal,” he added.

Mr. Dasmunsi, however, felt that the handling of the “very sensitive” situation in the region by the State government so far had been “improper and immature.”

Trekkers explore re-opened Singalila route

SORENG (West Sikkim), May 4: Just after eight months of the reopening of world famous Singalila trekking route last year, the state tourism department had initiated to explore this route in international level again.  For the first time state government has organised a month long trekking called ‘Khang-Chend-Zonga International Trekking Programme’ to foster adventure tourism in Sikkim which started yesterday.  In this first trip of trekking 12 countries including Austria, Canada, Germany, France, Hungary, Finland, Israel, England, Australia, Netherlands, India, Poland with 33 in total participants took part in this trek. “The main reason behind organising such trek is to promote adventure tourism in the state and also to explore this new trekking route in international level,” said Mr BR Subba additional secretary of state tourism department .

“We have only charged $ 6 per day-thus the total comes Rs 2000 per person, which is ninety per cent discount from the actual cost of Rs 15,000,” he added. The first team will cover over 100 km, which will touch Barsey, Jorebutey, Kalijhar, Chewabhanjyang, Uttarey, Hee-Bermiok and Soreng within 10 days that really excited trekkers coming from outside.  “I am nature freak guy so I love trekking and like flowers, birds and many others related with nature so I am in a year leave to enjoy Himalayan nature” said Mr Jorg Schmitt a trekker cum computer engineer from Germany.

“Sikkim is the best place to get all these with the calm nature and I am really excited to see Mt Everest and Mt Kanchenjunga during this trekking” he added.  Mr Soma with his father Gsott Veszelovszki are from Hungary . “I have done a of lot of trekking in my country but this is my first trip to Sikkim ” the young boy said.  Not only exploring trekking route but these initiatives also had employed some unemployed youths.
Thanks to the state government for organising such trek, which had used seven potters, and two guides from local areas. “A year ago one of my friend told me to visit Sikkim once and I find good opportunity and this is really good initiative that states government has taken steps to explore Sikkim into international level” said Mr Jacob Aizner from Israel. “This will also bind a relation of friendship with many countries as I had trekked Nepal, China, India, Myanmar and made many friends,” he added.

Secretary from the tourist department Mr SBS Bsadauria had flagged off the international trekkers as other official distributed green full-sleeves and cap to all the participants as part of the promotion campaign at the venue. [The Statesman]

Rally against rioters in Siliguri

SILIGURI, May 4: Several cultural organisations organised a rally in Siliguri today condemning the assault on a particular ethnic community by some political activists on 2 May. The rally also slammed the district administration for being dictated by the ruling party. A number of academicians hailing from the north Bengal participated in the rally that terminated at the Siliguri court premises after marching through various lanes in the town.

Mr Bani Prasanna Mishra, a retired director, Centre for Himalayan Studies, North Bengal University, said that a solution to the vexed Darjeeling Hill crisis would continue to elude so long as the administration remained partisan in dealing with a democratic movement. “A political problem must be solved by political means principally through dialogue based on restraint and understanding. Hooliganism has no role in a democratic system of polity,” Mr Misra said. Prof Ajit Roy of North Bengal University also castigated the administration for having remained mute spectators while some political activists had gone berserk in tyrannising over innocent people belonging to a particular ethnic community on 2 May.

NCP support to GRC for Darjeeling-Sikkim merger

DARJEELING, May 4: The Gorkha Rashtriya Congress (GRC) has declared that the only viable solution to the present turmoil in the Hills is to merge with Sikkim. “The territory of Darjeeling along with Dooars has historically belonged to Sikkim. In order to get freedom from Bengal we have to work towards the formation of Greater Sikkim”, said Mr DK Bomzon, the president of the party.

The GRC that took up the issue of Darjeeling-Sikkim merger to form Greater Sikkim has stood by the issue since 2004. In a recent development, the party has also been able to garner support from the Nationalist Congress Party- Sikkim unit. “This unity is significant as the NCP is the first party from Sikkim to support the issue. Together we will achieve our goal”, said Mr. Bomzon.

GCDP-GJMM joint rally in Dinhata

DINHATA, May 4: Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party (GCDP), Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) and Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP) jointly organised a huge public meeting at Samhati Maidan in Dinhata on Sunday afternoon. Among the speakers there were GCDP president Mr Ashutosh Barma, GJMM president Mr Bimal Gurung and Mr Atul Roy (KPP). In his address Mr Bimal Gurung suggested the GCDP leadership to ask people to cast their votes against the CPI-M candidates. He also advised them to come out from petty politics and fight to achieve their main goal that is a separate state. He assured that the GJMM would fight jointly with the GCDP for statehood of the proposed Greater Cooch Behar or Kamtapur as they are doing for a separate Gorkhaland.

Criticising the role of state urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya Mr Gurung said that the minister could now go to Darjeeling without any hesitation. “He is talking in delirium and he needs curative medicine to be healed” Mr Gurung commented. GCDP president Mr Ashutosh Barma too came down heavily on the CPI-M and asked people to get united for a massive movement to get a separate state and recognition of their mother tongue. Mr Barma had said that they want people to cast votes against the CPI-M candidates. GCDP is in favour of people’s conscience-vote at the places they were not able to field candidates.

25 years of study mission

Army School Sukna celebrated the silver jubilee of Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) on April 29. There were numerous competitions like rangoli, poster designing, flower arrangement, food festival, songs, dance, skits, and thumb and vegetable printing to celebrate the day. [Inset: Anuradha Raj (second from left) at Army School Sukna]

The society, which was formed on this date 25 years ago, had at the time 20,000 students and 28 schools across India. Now, it has 120 schools and 13 colleges with a population of 1.5 lakh students.

Each year, the society opens five schools, increasing the number of students by nearly 7,000. All Army Schools or Army Public Schools, run by the AWES, are affiliated to CBSE and the medium of instruction is English.

Anuradha Raj, the president of the Army Welfare Education Organisation, Trishakti Corps, was the chief guest at the Sukna school. In her speech, she appreciated the exceptional effort put up by the school to win the trust of parents and students.

Appeal for hills-plains unity

Siliguri, May 4: The district unit of the Congress today demanded an all-party meeting on the situation in Darjeeling following the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s demand for a separate state, while the CPM has called a rally in town tomorrow to press for unity between the hills and plains.

“The chief minister should immediately hold an all-party meeting in Calcutta to bring back normality in the hills and plains,” said Shankar Malakar, the president of the Darjeeling district Congress.

Jyoti Basu, the then chief minister of Bengal, had involved Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to solve the problem of Gorkhaland in the 80s, said Malakar. “Considering the current situation, we demand that the incumbent chief minister take a similar step now. The district CPM leaders alone cannot solve the problem,” he added.

District CPM leaders claimed that its supporters always tried to maintain peace and unity between different communities. “One must understand that opposing Gorkhaland is not opposing the Gorkhalis,” said Asok Bhattacharya, a CPM leader and the hill affairs minister.

“We will hold a rally at Baghajatin Park tomorrow evening for unity and peace in the region,” Bhattacharya said.

Asok ‘free’ to visit Darjeeling

Dinhata/Calcutta, May 4: Bimal Gurung today lifted the “ban” that his party, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, had imposed on the Bengal urban development minister’s visit to the Darjeeling hills.

“Now that we have been allowed to hold a rally in Siliguri on May 7, Asok Bhattacharya is free to visit the hills, to hold meetings, dance, sing and do whatever he wants to,” said Gurung before joining leaders of the Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP) and the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Party at a public meeting in Dinhata this afternoon.

Gurung, who was accompanied by Morcha general secretary, Roshan Giri, said he had not come to canvass for panchayat polls. “But if you do vote, do so for anyone other than CPM candidates.” At the same time, the Morcha leader urged the KPP and Greater Cooch Behar candidates to resign from their posts, if they win.

“I am not hungry for power. I am here to restore respect for our homeland. The movement for a separate state of Cooch Behar is a similar movement as ours and we are with you,” Gurung told a gathering of nearly 10,000 people.

He exhorted the people to stand by the movement for Gorkhaland. “We have both been hard done by the CPM. We in the hills and you in the plains have been suffering from neglect. It is no longer possible for us to remain with Bengal,” the Morcha president said.

KPP president Atul Roy said the movement for the two states would be intensified. “One is Gorkhaland and the other Greater Cooch Behar or Kamtapur, I am not bothered about the name,” Roy said.

In Calcutta, Union minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi alleged that the Bengal government has failed to take a “right decision at the right time” with regard to the situation in the hills. The Congress leader, however, made it clear that his party would back chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in whatever he did to tackle the situation in the hills.

River cruise and trek to woo tourists- Top picks for visitors

Siliguri, May 4: A cruise on the Ganga and a trip to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise were among the attractions lined up by West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) in its recent efforts to hard sell the tourism potential of the state. [Inset: The toy train that chugs up to Darjeeling and Coronation Bridge in Sevoke with its majestic arch are some of the attractions that north Bengal has on offer for tourists. File pictures]

The corporation joined hands with private partners to organise a familiarising trip for six international tour operators — two each from Korea and India and one each from Canada and Egypt — as an extension of the recently-concluded Great Indian Bazaar at Jaipur.

“More than 150 foreign tour operators from about 50

countries took part in the meet, in which Bengal was one of the theme states,” said T.V.N Rao, the managing director (MD) of WBTDC. “Eleven private tour operators from all over the state, including north Bengal, went with us and they interacted extensively with their foreign counterparts. The discussions led to the plan for a familiarisation trip.”

The six-day “fam-trip”, which began from Calcutta on April 23, gave the visiting team a first-hand experience of some of Bengal’s main attractions: the Darjeeling hills, the Sunderban delta and Calcutta. The tour operators enjoyed a cruise on the Ganga in south Bengal and visited Tiger Hill for the sunrise.

“We also took them to a tea-tourism project to give them a glimpse of the emerging trend,” Rao said.

“It is very important to provide first-hand experience to tourism service providers and travel writers from other countries to promote our tours. We have lined up more such familiarising trips for the state with the emphasis on the hills and the Dooars of north Bengal,” said the MD.

Morcha books all vehicles for May 7 - Plan B advice to tourists

Darjeeling, May 4: The All Transport Joint Action Committee has “advised” tourists to adjust their tour plans for May 7 when most hired vehicles in the hills will be busy ferrying Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters to Siliguri for a public meeting at Indira Maidan. [Inset: Bimal Gurung (right) in Cooch Behar on Sunday. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti]

The transport committee, which has 48 taxi syndicates in its fold, is an affiliate of the Morcha.

“The advisory is being issued so that tourists do not feel harassed. All our vehicles will be going down to Siliguri for the rally (to be held on Wednesday). There will be no general strike. Taxis bringing in tourists from the plains or anywhere else will be allowed a free passage,” said Sabu Rai, the vice-president of the transport committee.

This means that tourists might not find taxis to tour spots in and around the hill town on that day because it is the local taxis that take visitors on sight seeing trips.

Countdown to Morcha meet

Siliguri, May 4: Police officers from Siliguri and Jalpaiguri and some leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today visited Indira Gandhi Maidan, the venue for the party’s public meeting on Wednesday, and discussed factors like the positioning of the dais, routes to the ground and security arrangements.

Vishal Chetri, the convener of the Terai branch committee of the Morcha, said: “We are expecting more than 1 lakh supporters to turn up at the meeting.”

Jalpaiguri additional superintendent of police Tapas Das said adequate security measures were being taken. Although the ground is on the outskirts of Siliguri, it is located in Jalpaiguri district.

“Four companies of forces will be deployed at the venue to maintain law and order and avoid any untoward incident during the meeting,” Das said. “One additional superintendent of police will be in-charge of the entire security arrangement. He would be assisted by four deputy superintendents of police and inspectors from both the districts.”