A morning tea conversation with my boss...

Writes Rohan Chettri

Boss: So, Chettri you are frm Darjeeling ha? and you speak nepali..?

Me: Yes Sir..

Boss: So You came from Nepal long long time back ?

Me(first thought.. "if u were not my boss.. u were dead already" then second thought.. "this guy actually knws sumthing".. then after a long pause i replied...): there is a lot of history involved sir and we didnt crossed border.. border crossed us..

Boss: Ok one question then Chettri.. what is Gorkha then?

Me: Sir, Gorkhas are a group of people to which I belong.. Its our race. I'm a Gorkha.

Boss: They are the warriors ha? Even today England is having them and we in India also have Gorkha Regiment.

Me(now with some pride): Yes Sir.."but deep inside i was saying..we are not the bravest but the most dummiest of all who are ready to get killed to save sumones ass..and the proof is we cant even fight for our own right"

Boss: So Chettri, I know about Ghising and GNLF! He died recently.

Me thinking how on earth a south indian who cant speak fluent hindi knows about Appa... I was now having a big smile.

Boss: Chettri there was something called Gorkhaland going on.. what happened?

Me (The smile I had minutes before faded like a fart in the wind): Sir it was our peoples dream, aspiration and the ultimate prize for our identity.. but they sold their souls, dignity and everything.. and Sir you knw wat happens when ppl get corrupted..

Boss: So now what is happening?



Me: In 2007 another party was formed (GJMM) and promised to fight for Gorkhaland and they replaced GNLF and Ghising.. but again the same story.. they also just care about money and power and are corrupted .. Moreover the impact is more amplified this time..

Boss: Is Darjeeling as beautiful as it was in the Movie "Aradhana"????

Me(dnt have any idea about that movie but guess the movie projects darjeeling as heavens): No Sir, it isnt.. Now its like hell. People dnt care about anything except money(Easy Money), youths dnt want to work hard. Most of the land is covered with tea plantaiton which is owned by outsiders and workers only get may be Rs 100 per day. We dont have enough water, pupolation has exploded, pollution is alarmingly high, educations is way below par, transport is horrible, sanitation is suffering, employment is almost paralled to X-axis. We dont even have good hospitals.. people die without seeing hospital. There is no systematic procedures in any of the offices, no transperancy in financial matters. The main aspect, our economy is controlled by outsiders. Goods comes from across border and people end up using duplicate Chinese products. Sir, there is no VAT, Excise, CSTor any form of govt. taxes involved. The price tag is fixed by guessing and we buy it happily without realising, we are not only ruining local economy but also damaging the economy of the country. People are cunning, always trying to fetch money from one other and dont talk about jealousy. But Sir we were once a united group of innocent people, even in small things we use to find happiness, but now Bengal govt has applied the policy of "Divide and Rule" and its selling like hot cup cakes.

Sir the Darjeeling of "Aradhana" has become this.

Boss: Then why dont you people protest?

Me: Sir, if we protest our houses are burnt and if it is not enough then you get killed. Moreover even if u protest it falls into deaf ears, the opposition parties are too weak and scared.

Boss: So Chettri you are saying, You live under Dictatorship in the worlds largest democracy, India?

Me(with heads down and faintly): Kinda.

Well I think I'v finished my tea.

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