Shanti Stupas

Oikyataan Re

Live @ Fireflies, Bangalore

WE WANT GORKHALAND!!!

"It was a terrible time," says my dear Darjeeling buddy, Ujwal, the memory of the Gorkhaland riots of the late 1980s etched in his mind as clearly as the air in the hills. And it was. The official death toll was put at 1200 and many times that number was injured. It's hard to imagine such a time, as I gaze out at a zen-like tea garden, in a Darjeeling, I've swiftly and surely begun to love.



With the brilliant coverage that our nation's fine press gives the North-East, I'm sure everyone knows everything that goes on there. Oh, wait. That's in some parallel universe. Here, no one gives a shit. Until the protests reached this fevered pitch resounding down to the valley.


Twenty years ago, under the leadership of Subash Ghishing, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) terrorised the hills in a demand for a separate state for the Gorkhas, until the wonderful art of negotiation the GNLF, innocuously renamed the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council to have a free run, in exchange for dropping the Gorkhaland ideal.


But corruption and atrocities will only be ignored for so long. In 2007, Ghishing was run out of the hills and a new party, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) was formed under the leadership of the Bimal Gurung. They resurrected the ghost of Gorkhaland and are now demanding a state comprising Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong, a few other regions in the hills and Siliguri. Of these the last has proved to be a thorn in the side for the West Bengal government. As a gateway (albeit a city of squalor) to the whole of the North East of India, Siliguri has the enviable job of collecting a tax and toll from every truck, train or aircraft bearing cargo to and from the region. There's the catch. Even if the West Bengal government was prepared to relinquish control of the hills, mainly prided for tea and tourism, giving up Siliguri would be too big a bitter pill to swallow.


That hasn't stopped the GJM and as I lay languishing in the sweet pre-monsoon of Darjeeling, the chants rent the air, already thick with fog. The looping almost musical Nepali and English cries of thousands of Gorkhas demanding their identity. I'm looked on with curiosity as every other tourist has flown from the intermittent strikes and constant peaceful protests. Whether they are adequately equipped to handle their own affairs is left to a time when they will be given the key. Until then, like my many friends in Darjeeling keep saying, we can only wait and watch.

Obama for Prez

"Someday, I'll be President"

Whether its the unabashedly hilarious satire of Jon Stewart and mate Steven Colbert on their shows or a host of ineptitude on FOX and other 'news' networks, the pages of every major magazine from Good Housekeeping to Rolling Stone, the buzzword is Barack. Obama is on the tips of everyone's tongue, here in the US and its easy to see why. He's run his campaign with alacrity and candour. He refuses to be browbeaten and his policies and ideas are sound and well researched. He has a team, that works tirelessly without any brouhaha, in the lowest possible profile and he has always come across as grounded and simple, all in complete opposition to the current occupant of the seat he's steadily working toward. And he's nursing something that comes at such a huge premium in our current existence. Hope.

I just bought the new Rolling Stone and was delighted at the incisive and sensitive interview that Ed-in-Chief, Jann Wenner conducted with the democratic presidential candidate, who might be the man to change many policies affecting the world in the years to come.

As a happily eternal optimist, I'm hoping too.

Here's a sample QnA
Is there a marker you would lay down at the end of your first term where you say, "If this has happened or not happened, I would consider it a negative mark on my governance"?
If I haven't gotten combat troops out of Iraq, passed universal health care and created a new energy policy that speaks to our dependence on foreign oil and deals seriously with global warming, then we've missed the boat. Those are three big jobs, so it's going to require a lot of attention and imagination, and it's going to require the American people feeling inspired enough that they're prepared to take on these big challenges.

READ THE FULL ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW WITH BARACK OBAMA HERE

Down The Rabbit Hole

"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well."

The Nagaur Fort, the sprawling setting for the Sufi Durbar later that December day, begged exploration, not unlike the rabbit hole. And although I wasn't adorned in a blue bowed skirt (Thank God), I took a plunge myself and dived in, through door ways and arches, narrow staircases and panoramic terraces. You never knew where your next step was going to lead you in this many-storeyed labyrinth. That was the best part. :)

Spirit On The Water

Begnas Lake 23Kms from Pokhra, Nepal

Street Walking - Nagaur, Rajasthan

Moving Mountains

Mount Everest (bang center)

Machupuchchare (Annapurna Himalayas, Nepal)

Annapurna 2 and Annapurna 4 (Annapurna Himalayas, Nepal)

Mt. Kanchenjunga

Off The Wall

Taken at the Lachung Monastery and Rumtek Monestery (Sikkim)

How Desolate Is My Valley?

The phrase Valley Of Flowers conjures up some endless grassy knoll, with a million rainbow blooms swaying in a gentle breeze, bringing with it their heady perfume. Unfortunately, we were a month too late. Other than a few mocking traces, the flora was all gone and all that was left was a bitterly cold desolation with spitting rain and an icy Teesta River.

Yumthang Valley - North Sikkim (Go in March or April)

Truth Prevails Again

Remember the Hunger Strike I was telling you all about. They've reached a breakthrough. I received this mail from Dawa Lepcha, who spearheaded the initiative.

Dear all,

with your kind, generous and great hearted support we have been able to achieve certain amount of victory. We have been able to save the fragile ecology in the Kanchenjunga National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Dzongu. In other words we have been able to stop the implementation of four mega hydel projects which would have been terribly disastrous for the environment in the area. Thanks to you all, a small piece of the Earth has been preserved for posterity.

Now we have to go on with the other mega projects which are going to destroy the Lepcha tribes, their culture, customs, religion, language etc and of course which will also be affecting the national park as they are within kilometer of the park.Two more to go.

Kindly follow our blog www.weepingsikkim.blogspot.com for updates of our activities.

with sincere thoughts and warm regards,

Dawa Lepcha,

General Secretary,

Affected Citizens of Teesta.

It just goes to show that if you truly believe in what's right and have the courage to stand up for it, the truth shall prevail.

I'm really really happy for them. :)