Me, Myself and Mrityu – the first thrash album from Darjeeling Hills Exclusively at Beacon Online Exclusive World Audio Premier of 13, Me, Myself & Mrityu

Prelude by Barun Roy

At 13 past unknown the Angels rose, the devils rode. At thirteen past heaven the darkness occupied the piercing light …the hell began…life after death, the good mixed with evil, eternal pain….Angels of fallen grace thrust into the dungeons of unsheathing pain, with knowledge of all, singing the song of Me, myself and Mrityu.

Me, Myself & Mrityu

Guitars: Pragya (Mantra) and Ajay

Bass: Prabesh and Pramod

Drums: Punu

Keys: Manish, Suren, Ezajj

LISTEN TO THE THREE EXCLUSIVE THRASH NUMBERS EXCLUSIVELY AT BEACON ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME!

Kargil – Title Song

Dark Pains of Mama

Fear of the Dark – A Tribute to Iron Maiden

San Serif – A short story by Barun Roy (Portraits of Life)

One of the stories incorporated in ‘Portraits of Life’ by Barun Roy, San Serif’ was much appreciated in the 90s – Chowk.com (Copyright: Mandalay Books India Pvt. Ltd.)

1st April 1977 N. Delhi, India

I cursed myself as I drove slowly across the busy lanes of New Delhi towards the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs. It was just six o’clock

in the morning and if you are thinking that the life of a Naval Attach� to the Ministry of External Affairs is a bed of roses, I will tell you one thing, it’s a pain in the neck. We are sailors, not bloody pawns of bureaucracy.

“Captain D’Costa, you are late,” the Assistant Secretary of State (External Affairs) said and without allowing me to reply threw a newspaper across the table, “read it!”

“Sir, the weather seems to be good in New York. Pakistan has lost a match against India………..”

“Read the front page only. I did not ask you to read the news for me,” he retorted.

“There is a report on an Island, Sir.”

“Yes, San Serif. We have an island just below our feet and we don’t know about it,” he lashed out, lighting his cigarette. Don’t believe even if the board reads ‘No Smoking’, in the Ministry of External Affairs, big guys smoke everywhere, it proves that they are thinking.

The paper, I had on my hands was the 1st April issue of ‘The Guardian’. It had a long report on a twin island which resembled a semicolon. The island which lay to the north called Caissa Superior, took the shape of one top mark of a semicolon; the island to the south with a broad top and a tapering tail looked like the lower mark of a semicolon. Most of the developments had taken place in Caissa Superior. The capital of San Serif, Bodoni was located on this island. A long oil pipeline linked the port of Claren, in the east, with Commom, which lay in the west. The other major port of San Serif lay to the north of Caissa Superior. Railways and roads connected the capital, Bodoni to Adze Don, a coastal town, as also to Nomp, yet another town on the west coast. A major road ran from Erbar to Port Claren in the east. The other island had its own charm. Separated from the island to the north by the shoals of Adze, Caissa lower sported the highest peaks of San Serif. There was Monte Tempo, (height 6453 meters) and Montallergo (height 8972 meters) which provided enough challenge to mountaineers. To those, who loved to romp around on thickly vegetated mountain slopes, there were pleasures to be had in abundance. Mountain streams cascaded down the hills. There were cataracts which hummed eternal music as they raced down to the plains. There were shaded forest paths, cozy nests to stay, far from the madding crowds.

Vila Pica was a port town in the west coast. This was connected by a road to Gillicameo, a small town in the west. Tipe was another seaport town in the south connected to Woj of Tipe, a major tourist spot. The credit for the progress of the nation was given to General M.J. Pica. He was known to be a competent administrator and a level headed patriot.

But the report added one last thing. San Serif faced a grave danger. The danger was caused by erosion of the nation’s western coasts which lead to accumulation on the eastern seaboard, so much so that the entire landmass was slowly moving eastwards, holding out possibility of a collision with Sri Lanka. This would bring in catastrophic spin-offs, whose magnitude none could foresee. Thus, it was essential, felt the reporter, to take a closer look at the twin islands and the problems which the tiny nation faced and to explore ways and means of arresting the damage caused by lopsided erosion. Certainly, this was a problem that deserved immediate attention.

“God damn it, the entire world knows about this island, how come we never knew about it?” The assistant secretary said extinguishing the butt of the cigarette, with such force that it seemed as if he was killing it.
“Captain D’Costa, the Prime Minister is extremely concerned regarding this matter, we must know more about this San Serif.”

Just then, the door opened and the Minister of External Affairs walked in. “Mr. Varma, the Cabinet is baffled at this report on San Serif. How come all the world has contacts with it and we don’t even know where it is? And what about this problem of erosion? The island could crash with Sri Lanka and who knows, maybe even with India……..”

“Mr. Minister, we are trying to learn more about it,” Mr. Satish Varma, assistant secretary tried to defend himself. Just then an officer walked in, handed a paper to Mr. Varma and left.

“Sir, it seems that the Soviet Union, China and even America have no contacts with it. The Brits themselves have just found out about the island.”

Chettri could be India’s next Bhutia, says Houghton

FROM INDIAN EXPRESS

India’s coach Bob Houghton feels it’s high time Indian soccer finds a replacement for Baichung Bhutia. And he knows there is just one player who has the same aura to replace Bhutia once he retires. “In a couple of years you would lose Baichung as he is already 32. The biggest question is finding a replacement for Bhutia. Fortunately, there is one player in Sunil Chettri. I don’t see anybody else other than him.” [Inset: Sunil Chettri. Source: Rediff.com]

According to Houghton, “India have only 70 players playing professional football and it is a depressing scene that we have just one player who can be the rightful owner to take Bhutia’s place,” Houghton told The Indian Express.

The coach further added that if India are looking to compete at that level they need to have strong bench strength. “You don’t produce big players out of fresh air. If you take the 30 players that attended the camp in Goa and divide them into two sets, half of them are short in stature, around 170-172 cm and the younger half is 177-178cms. We have to induct taller players into the ranks and that’s going to take some time,” he said.

The national coach was of the view that it was high time Indian soccer improved itself. “What gives us the divine right to be better than Malaysia or Pakistan? Do we have better coaches, better clubs, better doctors, better physio’s, better nutrition, what do we have that gives us the divine right to be better than Malaysia or any other SAFF nation?” he said.

“We need to improve ourselves to move on and if we don’t we are going to be left behind as there are so many countries that are going in the right direction. If you look at the facilities that Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar have got now then you will realise what a challenge we have to keep up with them,” he said, adding that Indian football had changed in just one sphere and that is the way the game is played. “We now play more of an attacking game,” he said.

Panorama Central Asia and the Himalayas

Today’s aerial panorama takes a break from the mountains of Central
Asia and the Himalayas. I have recently created models for
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and portions of
Uzbekistan. So, if any of these areas contain “targets of interest”
for you, let me know. The attached sample looks northeast over the
Zezeh Depression of southwest Afghanistan up the bed of the Helmand
River towards Lashkar Gar and Kandahar. The area is known as the Margo
Desert.
–
Dr. William A. Bowen
California Geographical Survey
10907 Rathburn Avenue
Northridge, CA 91326

An old man at the road!

This fantastic picture of an old man at the road standing by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway track is a never before seen fantastic historic specimen. The old man is seemingly carrying a box laden with tea. Photograph Unknown Date Unknown

Kolkata has least employment potential among Tier I cities

ASSOCHAM (BUSINESS,COMMERCIAL)
Created on : 06/25/2008 16:36 (Press Trust of India)


Kolkata, June 25 (PTI) The West Bengal capital, a Tier I city, has been placed at the bottom of 10 cities having maximum employment potential, according to a study conducted by Assocham.

The report on `Job trendz : across cities and sectors’, prepared by the Assocham Research Bureau, said that out of the top 10 cities that provided maximum employment opportunities, the first four positions were occupied by Mumbai (18.52 per cent), NCR (15.41 per cent), Delhi (11.55 per cent) and Bangalore (10 per cent).

In the league of Tier I cities, Kolkata with 6.49 per cent was placed below Chennai (8.8 per cent), Hyderabad (8.1 per cent) and Pune (8.9 per cent).

Tier II city Lucknow was higher than Kolkata at 6.61 per cent.

The report, prepared for the period January to March 2008, revealed that the IT sector provided the maximum number of jobs, followed by financial services, education, management, research, automobile, FMCG, construction, telecom and manufacturing. PTI dc MD MR 06251642 DEL

There should not be any bandh in Darjeeling: Asok

FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kolkata, Jun 24 (PTI) With the Gorkha Janamukti Morch relaxing its indefinite bandh in Darjeeling till July five, a West Bengal minister today said that there should be no shutdown in the hills.

“There should not be any bandh in the hills or plains, particularly when Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has taken the initiative for talks for restoration of peace there,” Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Asok Bhattacharya said.

Neither the people in the hills nor in the plains wanted bandhs, he said. “I am optimistic that there will be no more bandhs. The people don’t want bandhs.” Bandhs halt the development process in the hills, besides affecting the tourism there on which many livelihoods depend, which should be realised by the agitators, he said.

The state government and the Centre were also helping in the restoration of peace, he added. PTI AKB PC BKM 06250006 DEL

What happened to the World Bank Development Fund – Be prepared for a Beacon Online Expose Today!

A BEACON ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

A Doctor’s car parked beside a rusted ambulance – who is responsible for this?

FULL REPORT TODAY EVENING!

Darjeeling District Administration reports to Bengal Secretary of State

Darjeeling District Magistrate and his administrative team meet Bengal Secretary of State. Photo by Himalaya Darpan

Advani sympathetic to cause of Gorkhas

FROM THE SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NET

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intends using the demand for a separate Gorkhaland to break into the CPI(M) fortress – West Bengal. The party is “sympathetic” towards the demand for a separate State, which would be carved out of West Bengal, as it hopes that supporting the move may return political benefits in the hills.

Led by general secretary Roshan Giri, leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) – the outfit spearheading the campaign for the creation of a separate State – met senior BJP leader and NDA’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani and sought his help for the creation of Gorkhaland.

The CPI(M) Government in West Bengal and the GJM leaders are at loggerheads over the issue of separate Statehood, comprising Darjeeling and Dooars regions of West Bengal, which has resulted in violent agitations and curfew-like situation in the hills. The Government at the Centre, headed by the Congress, has remained a mute spectator.

“The GJM leaders have sought the BJP’s help in creating a separate State. Advani told them that the BJP has always been sympathetic towards the issue of creating smaller States. It was during the NDA’s tenure that Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were carved out of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh respectively,” BJP member in the Rajya Sabha, SS Ahluwalia, who accompanied the GJM leaders, told The Pioneer.

Kranti Diwas celebrated in the State as Vijay Diwas

GANGTOK, June 23: The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party observed its 16th Kranti Diwas across the State as Vijay Diwas on June 22. Candles were lit in all the places including Gangtok while candlelight rallies were carried out in the respective Panchayat wards yesterday evening. This was organised as a gesture to thank the Chief Minister for the exemption of Central Income Tax for the locals. [Inset: People celebrating Kranti Diwas]

20 Pathing observed the day by hoisting 108 holy flags and lighting the butter lamps. The women party workers also thanked the Chief Minister for providing 40% seat reservation for women in the Panchayat and Municipal elections.

Similarly, Rhenock constituency observed Kranti Diwas by organizing rallies, which was participated by the people of the respective Panchayat wards. The rally was led by the Area MLA, Bhim Dhungel. In all the meetings, the party workers vowed to work according to the principle and the ethics of the party, informs the press release issued from the party head office. The day was also observed at Bering under the Linkey Tareythang Gram Panchayat Unit, Rhenock constituency in a grand manner where more than 500 people were present.

Hills to be inspected

FROM THE STATESMAN

SILIGURI, June 24: Worried with the continuing Darjeeling stalemate, the state government today formed a five-member core committee comprising representatives from the Army, the CRPF and the state police and the civil administration to monitor the overall situation in the Darjeeling Hills. Announcing this at a Press conference in Siliguri today, the state chief secretary Mr Amit Kiran Deb said the core committee has been asked to regularly apprise both the Union and the state government about the situation in the Darjeeling Hills. Based on the inputs, the state government would initiate measures to curb the agitation in the Hills after due consultation with the Centre.

The core committee came into being following a meeting at the Sukna Army base near Siliguri today. The meeting was attended by a Central delegation led by the Union home secretary Mr Madhukar Gupta, the state delegation headed by the chief secretary Mr Amit Kiran Deb and the Army represented by the GOC 33 Corps Lt. Col. Deepak Raj.  The Union defence secretary Mr Vijay Singh, defence joint secretary Mr Bimal Julka, the Food Corporation of India CMD Mr Alok Sinha, Union petroleum ministry additional secretary Mr S Sundereshan and the director general of the state police Mr Anup Bhushan Bhora were also present in the meeting. Senior officials of the district administration and the police attended the meeting that commenced at 2 p.m. and continued till 3.15 p.m.

New Municipal Commissioners

FROM THE STATESMAN

DARJEELING, June 24: Two uncontested candidates from Ward numbers 16 and 31 of the Darjeeling Municipality assumed the post of commissioners in their respective wards today. Mr Kesar Rai of ward 31 and Mr Pramod Chettri of ward 16 took oath in the presence of chairman Mr Pemba Tshering and vice-chairman Mr Dinesh Gurung today. By-elections were announced in three wards after resignations of former commissioners Mr Passang Bhutia of ward 31 and Mr Pranay Rai of ward 18 respectively. Mr BB Dewan of ward 16 expired on 1 January this year leaving the post vacant. Both Independent candidates joined the GJMM camp after swearing in. “We extend full support to the GJMM and will work under the party’s instructions,” they pledged. The post of commissioner of Ward 18 still lies vacant.

Hospital in blood crisis

FROM THE STATESMAN

SILIGURI, June 24: The Kamtapur Progressive Party has decided to step up its movement in north Bengal for a separate Kamtapur state and Constitutional recognition of the Kamtapuri language.

Progressive president Mr Atul Roy said today that KPP activists would sit for a fast-unto-death programme in front of the Siliguri sub-division office at the Siliguri Court premises on 7 July. “The objective of the fast is to mobilise public opinion in favour of the two principal demands and also to deal with the CPI-M’s motivated propaganda against us,” Mr Roy said.

He further said the Progressive activists would observe a “Bengali Language Boycott Day” on 6 July. “ We would take out a procession in Siliguri on that day asking the Kamtapuri students to boycott the schools and the colleges until Kamtapuri language is recognised as a medium of instruction,” he said.

Hills strife halts post-culling surveillance

By Pranesh Sarkar [The Statesman]

KOLKATA, June 24: Surveillance on poultry birds in Darjeeling, the latest Bird Flu affected district, came to a halt owing to the ongoing impasse in the area, causing concern for the state animal resources department.
A senior animal resources department (ARD) official told The Statesman: “Surveillance on poultry birds is essential in Darjeeling because the presence of H5N1 virus was confirmed here only about a month ago. Though we had completed the disinfection process following culling operation in the hills, the surveillance was required to avoid further outbreak in the area. But the work has been badly affected due to the ongoing trouble in Darjeeling.”

Officials also said they have asked the local livestock development assistants to conduct door-to-door survey on the days when the bandh is relaxed. But the most important part of the surveillance programme, collection of serum from poultry birds and examine it at the animal disease laboratory, located at Belgachia, has been stopped completely.

This is termed as a cause of concern because the United Nations has recently put India in the same bracket with four other countries where Bird Flu virus is still entrenched. The latest outbreak in the country was reported in Bijanbari block of Darjeeling district on 16 May. Prior to this, the presence of H5N1 virus was confirmed in Kurseong block of the district on 9 May. Earlier, 15 districts in the state were hit by the Bird Flu virus.

Barb at Chamling, Narbula

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Members of Roop-Katha, a theatre group from Cooch Behar, in Darjeeling with a message of unity between the people of the hills and the plains. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, June 24: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung today lashed out at Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling and Congress MP from Darjeeling Dawa Narbula for not raising their voices in support of Gorkhaland.

“We do not want to force Pawan Chamling to do something, but when students from his state were beaten up he could have at least spoken up on humanitarian grounds. The people of Sikkim and Darjeeling are separated only by the Rangeet and the Teesta, but the rivers also meet at a particular point. No one would have cut out his tongue had he said a word or two in favour of Gorkhaland,” Gurung said in Darjeeling today.

The Morcha chief was referring to the incidents in Siliguri in which hill students were harassed and allegedly beaten up by those opposed to the Gorkhaland demand.

While the Morcha’s indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling hills has hit Sikkim hard, Gurung said his party had not blocked NH31A, the lifeline of the Himalayan state, out of enmity. “The highway was blocked because it falls within our area. We had hoped that Chamling would at least speak to the Centre about the difficulties being faced by the people of his state,” he said.

Truck tumble blocks traffic

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The oil tanker that overturned on NH31A, 4km from Teesta bridge, on Monday night. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Kalimpong, June 24: Traffic block on the NH31A was aggravated after an oil tanker overturned last night. The accident took place 200 metres from the site of the latest landslide and 4km from the Teesta bridge.

By 11am, vehicles piled up on the two-and-a-half kilometre stretch of the road which has double lanes. Officials of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which maintains the highway connecting Sikkim with Siliguri, said they could restore one-way traffic by 1pm.

However, it will take a while before two-way traffic is restored given the difficult terrain there. The officials said cutting the hillside was fraught with danger and time consuming.

The place where the last landslide took place is not very far from 27 Mile, above the NHPC’s Teesta Low Dam Project Stage III site, where another one had occurred. As in yesterday’s jam at Hatisuray near the Coronation Bridge, the pile-up today was mainly because of errant drivers who tried to jump the queue to reach the destination fast.

A BRO officer said drivers did not seem to realise that taking the vehicles through gaps would only lead to more chaos. “At times like this, it is important to show patience and maintain discipline.”

‘Morcha’ teachers form body

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Kurseong, June 24: A section of private school teachers owing allegiance to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha formed an association today in a bid to support the demand for a separate state.

Madan Gurung, secretary of the new body, said the Janmukti Private School Teachers’ Association was formed after the vice-president of the Morcha, Pradeep Pradhan, had given his nod.

Forty-seven teachers from 12 ICSE schools in the hills and the non-teaching staff in those institutions are members of the body. A nine-member committee was also formed today. Apart from Gurung, the panel has Deven Gurung as its president, and Suman Rumba and Beena Pradhan as the vice-presidents.

The secretary said the teachers deemed it necessary to form the association after they found that everyone in the hills was contributing their bits to the cause of Gorkhaland.

“The teachers go to school in the morning and return home in the evening. For want of time, unlike others, we cannot take part in the agitation for Gorkhaland. We feared that we may be isolated in our villages if we kept away from the activities for a separate state,” said Gurung.

With the formation of an association, the secretary said, the teachers could send their representatives to rallies, public meetings and other programmes organised as part of the movement.

Experts to steer jumbo herd

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Foresters keep watch on the herd in Kalabari. File picture

Siliguri, June 24: Foresters here have sought the help of “hula parties” — expert animal chasers from Bankura in south Bengal — to steer away a herd of wild elephants that has been roaming the Kalabari forest area near the Indo-Nepal border for the past one week.

Two elephants of the herd had died — one by electrocution and the other from bullet wounds — trying to enter villages in eastern Nepal. Since then, the foresters have been trying to drive the animals away from Nepal and towards Lohagarh-Bamanpokhri leading to the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

“We used trained elephants from Gorumara National Park and managed to steer the herd to Lohagarh, but soon they returned to Kalabari,” said Sumita Ghatak, the divisional forest officer (wildlife-1). The herd currently has 80-odd elephants.

“After several failed attempts, we decided to take the help of a ‘hula party’, expert chasers who use torches and sounds to ward off elephants,” Ghatak said. “A 15-member team from Bishnupur in Bankura arrived here today and is expected to join our men at night.”

A senior forester said all the members of a “hula party” carry long iron rods. “Before starting the chase, they soak pieces of jute or gunny bags in a solution of burnt mobile and diesel. The bags are then tied to the tip of the rod.”

Depending on the location of the pachyderms and the direction in which they are to be driven, the chasers stand in different formations — oval, half-circle or triangle — around the herd.

“They ignite the torches all at once and start approaching the elephants. Maintaining a safe distance, all of them start a chant. The animals, frightened by the fire and the sound, flee in the only direction that is kept open and the ‘hula party’ starts chasing them,” said the official.

The risk of retaliation is always there, said the official. “However, these people never stop in the middle of a chase and carry fuel with them to feed the torches. They are paid according to the assignment. About two years ago, they used to get Rs 75 per head, plus contingency for food and fuel.”

This is the first time a “hula party” is being used in north Bengal and the chasers have a tough task ahead. “The terrain and forests here are different from south Bengal where they work. Also they don’t know how the elephants here will react,” the forester said.

Foresters seize timber

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, June 24: Teams from the Baikunthapur forest division have seized illegal consignments of wood worth lakhs of rupees from Siliguri and its surrounding areas in the past one month.

Today, a unit of the forest division’s mobile patrol seized sal timber worth Rs 50,000 at Hill Cart Road here.

“This was the fifth seizure we have made in less than a month,” said Sailesh Anand, the divisional forest officer of Baikunthapur. The total haul is worth around Rs 6 lakh.

In most of the cases, Anand said, lack of awareness of residents about wildlife protection had made the smugglers’ task easier.

“People often bought locally available timber (mostly brought from the Dooars) without papers, instead of getting it from any government saw mill. And very few of them know that there are at least 150 species of birds covered under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act,” the divisional forest officer added.

On May 25, the foresters had seized 14 hill mynahs and 20 parakeets from Siliguri.

To counter this, the forest department will launch an awareness drive among residents of the area during Forest Week to be observed from July 14 to 20.

Bengal rules out use of force

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Morcha president Bimal Gurung announces the relaxation at Chowrastha in Darjeeling on Tuesday. Picture by Suman Tamang

Siliguri, June 24: The Bengal government today ruled out the use of force for free movement of vehicles on NH31A, the lifeline to Sikkim, if it is closed again following the re-imposition of the bandh by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

“Army help will be taken as a last resort. Right now, we are banking on a solution to the problem through negotiations,” Bengal chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said after a meeting with a high-level central team at the Sukna army cantonment near Siliguri.

About 60km of the highway from Sevoke to Rangpo had been brought under the bandh called by the Morcha.

The meeting was attended by Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta, defence secretary Vijay Singh, joint secretary (defence) S.K. Julka, additional secretary, ministry of petroleum, Sundaresan, Food Corporation of India’s chairman and managing director Aloke Singh, and the general officer commanding, 33 Corps, Lt Gen. Deepak Raj.

The director-general of Bengal police A.B. Vohra, Darjeeling district magistrate Rajesh Pandey, inspector-generals of police Gaurav Dutt (intelligence bureau) and K.L. Tamta (north Bengal), district police chief Rahul Srivastava and other senior officials represented the state.

Bullet Bonds recall tough trip – The dark days

BY AVIJIT SINHA [THE TELEGRAPH]

Heather (left) and Monica after their arrest. File picture

Siliguri, June 24: Heather Bond came to India to gather information for a travel agency she plans to open back home in Santa Barbara, California. She will return to the US tomorrow with snapshots not found in the scrapbook of a tourist — including close-ups of the turmoil in the Darjeeling hills and of prison cells in Siliguri.

Heather and her mother Monica said last night about their eventful trip that had its highs as well as lows.

The two had arrived in Delhi on March 24. “We visited Ranthambore, Jaipur and Jaisalmer, enjoying a camel safari in the desert. Then we came back to Delhi and boarded a flight to Bagdogra to visit Darjeeling,” Heather said. “Our plan was to go to some popular destinations in India before I start my travel agency.”

However, the plan went awry when they were arrested on April 14 at Bagdogra Airport on their way back to Delhi after security officials of a private airline found 11 bullets and the magazine of a 9mm pistol inside Heather’s backpack that had been checked in.

The two said they had brought the bullets from the US by mistake. They were produced in court on April 15, and sent to jail custody. “It was a tough experience,” said Heather about their stay at Siliguri Special Jail. “Although our lawyers tried their best to comfort us, the very thought of staying behind bars left us depressed,” added Monica.

Finally, on April 30, they were granted bail, but denied access to their passports and visas. “So we stayed in Siliguri. I have never watched as much television as I did here,” Monica said.

“We used to roam around, take photographs, go to Hongkong Market and enjoy various cuisines. We also spent time calling up my father, boyfriend and relatives, sending them e-mails and doing exercise,” said Heather.

The two went to Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary and spent a week in Calcutta. “We enjoyed the elephant safari in Jaldapara,” said Heather.

Hills caught in children’s rally plight – Fast & protest time for school kids

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Union defence secretary Vijay Singh (left) and home secretary Madhukar Gupta in Gangtok on Tuesday. (Sekhar Khawas)

Darjeeling, June 24: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s decision to include schoolchildren in relay hunger strikes and agitation programmes starting Thursday has produced a mixed reaction with a section of academicians fearing that it might set a precedent for other political parties.

“We will request the schools to take turns to send seven children each for a relay hunger strike starting from day after tomorrow. Massive student rallies will also be held simultaneously with the fast. We are involving the students as Gorkhaland is also for them,” said Morcha president Bimal Gurung while announcing the next phase of the party’s agitation at Chowrastha here today.

The relay hunger strikes and rallies are to be organised till the relaxation for the indefinite bandh ends on July 5.

Schools, which are conducting their internal examinations, however, have been spared.

Despite Gurung’s waiver for these schools, some academicians are of the opinion that it is wrong to involve students in politics no matter how big the issue is.

“They should be left out of such activities. I only fear that this may set a precedent for other parties in the hills. It is true that the issue has become very sentimental, but we could have done without the school children being asked to take part in relay hunger strikes and continuous rallies,” said an academician on condition of anonymity.