Writes: Upendra Darjeeling 12th July 2016 Tomorrow we celebrate Bhanu Jayanti, in honour of the 1st poet to write and publish in what is today known and regarded as Nepali language. This will be the first time that Bengal government is officially celebrating Bhanu Jayanti since India became Independent.
There is a reason behind it.
Municipal elections are set to be held in December and GTA elections next year and TMC fancies it is in with a chance to win political mandate in the hills, hence Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee accompanied by the President Pranab Mukherjee, who also happens to be Bengali, are going to celebrate Bhanu Jayanti as a Bengal government sponsored jamboree this year at Chowrasta.
There are multiple layers of hypocrisy in Bengal government holding this event, and had ours been a more self-respecting community, we would boycott this indirect slap on our faces. But given that some of our people have sold their self-respect for a few crore rupees, I am certain that there will be a massive crowd present tomorrow to cheer and hoot to everything that Mamata says.
Despite repeated requests for including Nepali as an Optional paper in WBCS, the Bengal government has turned a complete blind eye and deaf ears to our request, yet tomorrow when Mamata announces how the Bengal government is a champion of Nepali language, the sellouts from our hills in attendance will welcome her every word with a rapturous clap of hands.
Ever since Mamata came to power, there has been a deliberate attempt at undermining Nepali language at each and every turn. The government forms are printed in Bengali, scholarship sites have only featured Bengali language, all the government signs and majority of the posters are written in Bengali, and now even the ration cards are being printed in Bengali. Yet tomorrow, when Mamata announces how she has promoted the use of Nepali and Nepali language, the sellouts from our hills will dance and celebrate.
In Pic: Same content... same class... same book... one is in Nepali... another is in Bengali... both the languages are recognized as NATIONAL languages of India under the 8th Scheduled of the Constitution... both the languages are recognized as OFFICIAL languages of West Bengal... yet Book in Nepali is printed in black and white... Book in Bengali is printed in colour... IF THIS IS NOT DISCRIMINATION, WHAT IS? This is the very reason why we need Gorkhaland... as for Bengal, we will always remain 2nd class citizens.
After taking over the reign of Bengal, Mamata has systematically discriminated against the hill students. Books written for Nepali medium schools, including that of Nepali language are full of factual errors and mistakes, and as if that was not enough, the books printed in Nepali are in black and white, where as the same books printed in Bengali are in colour. To add to our woes numerous schools across Darjeeling and Dooars where Nepali students are in majority, are yet to get any of their government issued textbooks, despite the fact that more than half of their school year is over. Yet tomorrow, when Mamata talks of her love for the Nepali speaking people, the sellouts from our community will call her God and perhaps even pray to her.
Tomorrow, Mamata will again claim "Pahar Hasche" and indeed the news channels will show the laughing, smiling face of sellouts - but what she won't tell you is that, Bengal government has not conducted Panchayat elections since 2000 in the hills, that over 500 Panchayat posts are remaining vacant in the hills, that for the past 15 years there have been no promotion granted to any hill panchayat employee, while Panchayat employees from the plains are being gradually transferred to the hills. Same is the case with schools where over 2500 vacancies have not been filled since 2001. Schools are running without headmasters and colleges are running without any principals. Same is also true for almost every other government department, where permanent posts have remained vacant for decades.
Tomorrow, Mamata will again promise numerous development projects in Darjeeling region, but what she won't promise is the equal treatment of Nepali language or Nepali speaking people in Bengal. She won't promise that the next Chairman of PSC will be from the hills, she won't promise that the next VC in any of the Bengal based universities will be a hill academic. She won't promise that non-Bengali students and youths will be provided with equal opportunity, she won't promise that they will be given equal benefits, and she won't promise that these children will have a bright future in Bengal. While students in the plains are given Kanyashree and Sabujh Saathi, hill students are deprived of even most basic of all needs - text books, that itself should be telling.
Most hypocritical of all though is the fact that Bhanu Bhawan, which is built in the honour and memory of Kabi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya is 5 minutes walk away from Chowrasta, which has a massive hall where such functions could be undertaken, but no that wouldn't assuage Mamata's ego, would it? She had to dig up and destroy Chowrasta so that she could send proper visuals back to Kolkata and non-Nepali speaking homes and proudly claim "Pahar Hasche" and our sellouts would indeed be laughing like mentally challenged retards who don't know right from wrong.
*Milan Pradhan is one of the most famous stunt riders from Sikkim. नयाँ बर्ष २०७३ को प्रारम्भसँगै राजधानीका २ स्थानमा बाइक स्टन्टका अनौठा दृश्य प्रस्तुत गरिए । राइडर्स युनिफाइडको संयोजनमा संकटा मन्दिर परिसर र जावलाखेल मैदानमा सम्पन्न उक्त बाइक स्टन्टमा नेपाली स्टन्ट राइडरहरुको प्रस्तुति कम रोचक थिएन । यद्यपि भारतको सिक्किमबाट आएका मिलन प्रधानको स्टन्ट राइडिङ प्रस्तुतिले सबैभन्दा बढी प्रभाव छोड्न सफल भएको छ ।
बाइकलाई बेतोडले कुँदाउने, हुत्याउने, हात छोडेर कुँदाउने, बाइकमाथि खुट्टाले टेकेर पनि सन्तुलनमै कुँदाउने आदि मुटु नै सिरिङग हुने दृश्य उक्त अवसरमा देखिएका थिए । ‘यस्तो पनि गर्न सकिन्छ र ?’ भनी दर्शकले जिब्रो नै टोक्ने दृश्य प्रस्तुत गर्ने मिलनको क्षमतालाई कसले पो तारिफ नगर्ला र ?
सिक्किमको गान्तोकमा बाइक वर्कसप र एसेसरिज तथा पार्ट्स व्यवसायको रुपमा ‘बाइकर्स सिक्किम’ संचालन गरिरहेका मिलनले सिक्किमकै नाम्ची गभर्मेन्ट कलेजमा पढेका थिए । कलेज पढ्दै गर्दा नै यस्ता स्टन्टप्रति रुची राख्ने साथीहरुको एउटा समूह थियो । उक्त समूहमा ९ जना थिए र उनीहरुलाई सबैले ‘बाइकर्स ब्वाइज’ भन्थे । उनीहरु ५ किलोमिटर टाढाको हेलिप्याडमा गएर यसका लागि अभ्यास गर्थे ।
खासमा मिलनले त्यतिखेर पनि स्टन्टका विभिन्न शैलीका वारेमा सुनेका पनि थिएनन् । एक दिन १५० सिसी पल्सरमा ‘ब्रेक लगाउदा पछाडिको चक्का माथि उठ्छ’ भनेर कसैले भनिदियो । उनले अभ्यास गरी हेरे । साँच्चिकै चक्का माथि उठ्यो । त्यसैलाई ‘स्टपी’ भनिदो रहेछ भन्ने कुरा पछि मात्र थाहा पाए । उनमा यस प्रकारको स्टन्ट गर्ने हौसला जाग्यो । त्यसपछि उनले यस्ता दृश्य भएका फिल्म हेर्न थाले । त्यसका लागि अभ्यास पनि गर्न थाले ।
Milan Pradhan is one of the most famous stunt riders from Sikkim.
उनले साथीहरुसँग मिलेर यस्ता ग्रुपको खोजी गर्न थाले । सिलिगुढीमा रहेको प्रसिद्ध बाइकर्स ग्रुप ‘एक्सकेएमपीएच’ को सम्पर्क खोजे । उनीहरु १ सय १० किलोमिटरको दूरी पार गरेर उनीहरुलाई भेट्न पुगे । अब मिलन यस्ता स्टन्ट सिक्न र जान्नका लागि मरिहत्ते गर्न थाले । इन्टरनेट, भिडियो मात्र होइन, बाइक इन्डिया र अन्य पत्रिकामा समेत स्टन्टका बारेमा खोजी गर्न थाले । युट्युबमा उनले यस्ता विभिन्न दृश्य हेर्ने र त्यसै अनुसार अभ्यास गर्ने गर्न थाले ।
विस्तारै बाइक स्टन्टको क्षेत्रमा मिलन परिचित हुँदै गए । उनी सिक्किममा स्थानीय स्तरमा आयोजना हुने विभिन्न प्रदर्शनीको अवसरमा आफ्ना कला देखाउथे । उनले अन्य स्थानमा पनि आफ्नो कला देखाउदै गए । सन् २००८ मा बजाज पल्सरले ‘फस्र्ट स्टन्ट मेनिया’ आयोजना गरेको थियो । उनी उत्तरपूर्वी भारतबाट भाग लिए र अडिसनको फाइनल राउन्डसम्म पुगे । बाइक इन्डिया म्यागेजिनले उनको कभर फोटो प्रकाशित ग¥यो । त्यसपछि त झन् उनको चर्चा एकाएक चुलियो । फोन आउने र अन्तर्वार्ताका लागि अनुरोध आउने हुन थाल्यो । उनी एउटा सेलिब्रेटी नै बने ।
स्टन्ट शो एउटा खतरायुक्त खेल भए पनि सुरक्षित रुपमा खेल्न सकिने उनको भनाइ छ । यसका लागि आफूमा स्टन्ट टेक्निक चाहिन्छ । भन्छन्, ‘जुनसुकै खेल पनि आफैमा खतरायुक्त हुन्छ । तर खतरामुक्त तरिकाले सिप सिकेर खेल्दा बाइक स्टन्ट पनि रोचक हुन्छ ।’ अहिले सिक्किममा कुनै फेस्टिभलको अवसरमा बाइक स्टन्ट हुन्छन् । यस्तो समयमा १०÷१५ दिनसम्म पनि स्टन्ट शो आयोजना गरिन्छ । यो समयमा उनी नयाँ राइडरहरुलाई स्टन्ट समेत सिकाउछन् । मिरिकका चिराग राई उनका मन पर्ने स्टन्ट राइडर हुन् । त्यसैगरी ‘किङ अफ स्टन्ट’ को रुपमा परिचित क्रिस पिफरलाई उनी फलो गर्छन् । क्रिस बीएमडब्ल्युका अफिसियल स्टन्ट राइडर हुन् ।
स्टन्ट राइडिङका लागि अन्य बाइक पनि उपयुक्त हुन सक्छन् । तर बजाज पल्सरमै आफूलाई बढी सुविधायुक्त लाग्ने मिलन बताउछन् । पल्सरलाई आवश्यकता अनुसार मोडिफाई गरेर पनि स्टन्टका लागि उपयुक्त बनाउन सकिन्छ । उनी भन्छन्, ‘सस्तो मूल्य भएर पनि पल्सर पावरफुल समेत छ ।’
मिलनको मामाघर ललितपुरको जावलाखेल हो । यद्यपि उनी १८ बर्ष पछि मात्र मामाघर आए । यही समयमा उनले स्टन्ट प्रदर्शन गर्न पनि भ्याए । उनले धरानमा पनि यस्तो स्टन्ट प्रदर्शन गरिसकेका छन् । जीवनमा लगभग २० बाइक परिवर्तन गरिसकेका मिलनले कक्षा १० पढ्दा नै बाइक चलाउन सिकेका थिए रे । त्यतिखेर यामाहाको आरएक्स १०० को सिटको उचाइ घटाएर भए पनि उनी बाइक चढेका थिए रे । यद्यपि स्टन्ट शोमा भने पछि मात्र मन गयो ।
स्टन्ट शो आफैमा जोखिमयुक्त खेल हो । त्यसैले होला, पहिलो पटक छोराको यस्तो दृश्य देख्दा उनकी आमा रुनुभएको थियो रे । बुवाले भने लुकेर भए पनि मिलनको यस्तो स्टन्ट हेर्नुहुन्छ । मिलनले नै आफ्नो स्टन्ट भएको समयमा बुवालाई नआउन अनुरोध गर्छन् । त्यसैले पनि बुवाले लुकेर हेर्ने गरेको उनले बताए ।
यस्तो अनौठो खेलको अभ्यास गर्दा पनि अहिलेसम्म मिलन खासै ठूलो दुर्घटनामा भने परेका छैनन् । उनी भन्छन्, ‘सामान्य रुपमा त १५÷२० पटक लडे हुँला । तर त्यस्तो ठूलो दुर्घटना भने भएको छैन ।’ कुनै अभ्यासमा चित्त बुझेन भने उनले राती सपनामा पनि त्यही स्टन्ट गरेको देख्छन् रे ।
प्रस्तुति : एकराज सुवेदी
Via nepalauto
विधायिका सरिता राईले दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को प्राथमिक शिक्षा व्यवस्थाको सुढृढ़ीकरण, कालेबुङको उत्तर बंग कृषि विश्वविद्यालयको पुनर्सञ्चालन, केन्द्रिय विश्वविद्यालय निर्माण गरिनुपर्ने विषयमा जोड़ दिइन्।
विधानसभामा आफ्नो सम्बोधनको क्रममा कालेबुङ विधानसभा समष्टिक्षेत्रका विधायिका सरिता राईले दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को प्राथमिक शिक्षा व्यवस्थाको सुढृढ़ीकरण, कालेबुङको उत्तर बंग कृषि विश्वविद्यालयको पुनर्सञ्चालन एवं अनि सबै वर्गका कर्मचारीहरूको समान सहुलियत अनि अवसर प्रदान गरिनुपर्ने विषयमा जोड़ दिइन्।
गत 17 जूनको दिन राज्यपाल केशरीनाथ त्रिपाठीले समग्र राज्यवासीहरूको पक्षमा राज्यवासीहरूलाई समान विकासतिर अग्रसर गरिनुपर्ने, उत्तर बंगालक्षेत्रका चियाकमान अनि चियाश्रमिकहरूको उत्थान गरिनुपर्ने तथा राज्यमा सर्वाङ्गीन शिक्षा विकास गरिनुपर्ने विषयहरूमाथि आफ्नो वक्तव्य पेश गरेका थिए भने उक्त प्रस्तावहरूमाथि प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त गर्नको निम्ति विधायिका राईलाई आज 5 मिनटको समय दिइएको थियो। सोही अवधिमा उनले राज्यपालको उक्त वक्तव्यको स्वागत अनि समर्थन गर्दै दार्जीलिङ पहाड़का उक्त तीनवटा महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दाहरूमा विधानसभामा प्रस्तुत गरेकी हुन्।
कालेबुङका विधायिकाले मुख्यरूपमा अव्यवस्थित अनि अचल प्रायः अवस्थामा रहिआएका कालेबुङका उत्तर बंग कृषि विश्वविद्यालयलाई व्यवस्थितरूपमा सञ्चालन गरिनुपर्ने विषयमा जोड़ दिइन्। उक्त विश्वविद्यालयको 30 ऐकर जमीन हालसमाम पनि सुरक्षित रहेको उल्लेख गर्दै विधायिका राईले भनिन्- कालेबुङ दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को सबैभन्दा ठूलो महकुमा हो अनि यस महकुमाभित्र 60 प्रतिशतभन्दा अधिक मानिसहरू कृषिमाथि नै निर्भर रहेका छन्। यसैले सोचनीय अवस्थामा रहेको कालेबुङको कृषि विश्वविद्यालयलाई व्यवस्थित बनाई सुचारूरूपमा सञ्चालन गरिएको खण्डमा यसक्षेत्रका कृषिसित सम्बन्धित उक्त मानिसहरूलाई धेरै सहयोग प्राप्त हुनेछन्। यस क्षेत्रका विद्यार्थी अनि किसानहरूलाई कृषिको क्षेत्रमा नयाँ तकनीक अनि कौशलहरू सिक्ने अवसर प्राप्त हुनेछ। यसैले राज्य सरकारले यस विषयलाई गम्भीरतापूर्वक लिइदिने म उक्त क्षेत्रको विधायिकाको नाताले अपील गर्दछु। यसरी कालेबुङका उत्तर बंग कृषि विश्वविद्यालयको समस्यामाथि बोल्दा आज राज्यका कृषि मन्त्री पुर्नेन्दु बोस पनि विधानसभामा नै रहेका थिए भने विधायिकाले कृषि मन्त्रीलाई पनि यस विषयमा ध्यान दिने अपील गरिन्।
सरिता राई
यसबाहेक विधायिका राईले दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को प्राथमिक शिक्षा व्यवस्थामाथि पनि चिन्ता व्यक्त गर्दै राज्य सरकारले यस दिशामा पनि पहल गर्न आवश्यक रहेको आफ्नो सम्बोधनको क्रममा विचार व्यक्त गरिन्। मुख्यरूपले दार्जीलिङ पहाड़का प्राथमिक पाठशालाहरूमा लामो समयदेखि शिक्षक नियुक्ति नभएको कारणले गम्भीर समस्या उत्पन्न भइरहेको उल्लेख गर्दै उनले भनिन्- दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को प्राथमिक पाठशालाहरूमा धेरै लामो समयदेखि शिक्षक नियुक्ति गरिएको छैन। अधिकाशं विद्यालयहरूमा सबै शिक्षकहरू अवकाश ग्रहण गरिसकेका छन् भने धेरैवटा पाठशालाहरू प्रधान अध्यापकबिनै अनि केवल स्वयंसेवी अनि अस्थायी अनि पारा शिक्षकहरूको भरमा सञ्चालन भइरहेको छ। यसले गर्दा धेरै पाठशालाहरूमा ताला लाग्ने अवस्था रहिआएको छ भने बाँकी अन्य पाठशालाहरूमा पनि शिक्षा व्यवस्था डावाँडोल अवस्थामा रहिआएको छ। यसैले पहाड़को प्राथमिक शिक्षाको विकास अनि व्यवस्थापन गर्नुको निम्ति सरकारले शिक्षक नियुक्तिको साथसाथै विभिन्न समस्याहरूको निराकरणमाथि ध्यान दिन राज्य सरकारप्रति म अपील गर्दछु। विधायिका राईले सम्बोधनको क्रममा विधानसभामै उपस्थित रहेका शिक्षामन्त्री पार्थ च्याटर्जीलाई पनि यस विषयमा पहल गरिदिने अपील गरिन्।
हिजो दार्जीलिङ विधानसभाका विधायक अमरसिहँ राईले विधानसभामा उठान गरेको सी अनि डी वर्गका कर्मचारीहरूसितै ए अनि बी वर्गका कर्मचारीहरूको पनि वेतन वृद्धि गरिनुपर्ने वक्तव्यलाई पनि समर्थन जनाइन्।
यस विषयमा जोड़ दिँदै उनले भनिन्- सी अनि डी वर्गका कर्मचारीहरूको मात्रै वेतन वृद्धि गरिएपछि दार्जीलिङ पहाड़मा पनि ए अनि बी वर्गका कर्मचारीहरू असन्तुष्ट भएर धरना अनि आन्दोलन गरिरहेका छन्। यसले गर्दा जीटीएलाई प्रशासनिक कार्यहरूमा पनि धेरै बाधा भइरहेको छ। ए अनि बी वर्गका कर्मचारीहरूमा अभियन्ता, शिक्षकलगायत अन्य महत्वपूर्ण ओहोदाका कर्मचारीहरू पर्न जान्छन्। तथापि उनीहरूको वेतन वृद्धि नभई सी अनि डी को मात्रै वृद्धि भएकोले गर्दा तनाखाको हिसाबमा उनीहरू सी अनि डी कर्मचारीहरूभन्दा पछाड़िएका छन्। यसैले उनीहरू आन्दोलनमा उत्रिएका छन्। यस गम्भीर समस्यामाथि विचार गरी राज्य सरकारले यथाशीघ्र समाधानसूत्र निकाल्न आवश्यक रहेको छ।
यसबाहेक कालेबुङका विधायिकाले जीटीएको सम्झौतामा पनि उल्लेख रहेको केन्द्रिय विश्वविद्यालय निर्माणको निम्ति पनि राज्य सरकारले आफ्नो तर्फबाट आवश्यक सहयोगहरू जीटीएलाई पुराइदिने पनि अपील गरिन्।
-दिप मिलन प्रधान 22nd June 2016 मंजु चियाबारीको लाप्चे खोप स्थित सुबास घिसिंग को पैत्रिक गाव घरमा सम्पन्न जन्मजयन्ती समारोहमा सौरेनी समस्टीका अध्यक्ष-गणेश प्रधान,सचिव –जी.एस प्रधान,मिरिक समस्टी भिलेज प्रोटेक्सन सेलका प्रमुख शन्तमणि राई,टिंगलिंग भिलेज चिफ तिलक लुंगेली लगायत अन्य उपस्थित थिए भने यस अवसरमा दिवंगत सुबास घिसिंगको जन्मजयन्तीको अवसरमा उनको जीवनी तथा उनले गोर्खा जातिको निम्ति दिएको योगदान बारे वक्ताहरु ले प्रकाश पारे I
कार्यक्रममा मिठाईहरु पनि वितरण गरियो भने स्व. घिसिंग को तस्बिर मा धुप तथा दीप प्रज्ज्वलन गर्दै चिरशान्ति को प्रार्थना गरियो I
यसरी नै मिरिक समस्टी कार्यालय मा पनि सुबास घिसिंग को जन्म जयन्ती पालन गरियो भने तराई मा पनि गोरामुमो ले पार्टी सुप्रिमो को जन्मजयन्ती सादगीपूर्ण वातावरण मा पालन गरिएको जानकारी प्राप्त भएको छ I गोरामुमो सौरेनी समस्टी र मिरिक समस्टी ले आज सुबास घिसिंग को पैत्रिक जन्म थलो मंजु चिया बगान को लेप्चा गाव मा स्व घिसिंग को ८१ वा जन्म जयन्ती पालन गर्यो I
सुबास घिसिंगको पैत्रिक गाँव मंजु चियाबारीमा जन्मजयन्ती मनाए ।
या अवसर मा स्थनीय नागरिक, आफन्त तथा पार्टी क कर्मठ कार्यकर्ताहरु लगायत समस्टी का प्रतिनिधिहरु उपस्थित थिए I गोरामुमो का संस्थापक सुबास घिसिंग ले गोर्खा जाति को निम्ति दिएको योगदान तथा उनको जीवनी बारे प्रकास पर्दै वक्ताहरु ले स्व घिसिंग को सपना एक दिन पुरा हुने प्रतिबद्दता व्यक्त गरे I
जितस राई ले संचालन गरेको कार्यक्रम लाइ आसराम राई ले अध्यक्षता गरेका थिए भने कार्यक्रम मा सौरेनी समस्टी का अध्यक्ष गणेश प्रधान सचिव- जी एस प्रधान , भी पी सी चिफ संत मणि राई , टिंग लिंग भिलेज चिफ तिलक लुंगेली , लगायत अन्य को बिशेष उपस्थिति रहेको थियो I यसरी नै मिरिक समस्टी कार्यालय , लगायत तराई को बिभिन्न पाठशाला मा पनि स्व घिसिंग को जन्मजयन्ती पालन गरियो I
Writes NIRMAL MANGAR Gangtok, June 20: The Nepali Sahitya Parishad here has announced the name of writer, poet and musician Birkha Bahadhur Muringla for Bhanu Puraskar, 2016, for his contribution to literature and music.
Muringla's name was finalised at a meeting of the selection committee on June 14.
The award will be conferred on him at the 202th Bhanu Jayanti celebrations here on July 13 . The annual award includes an anga vastra, tamra patra, certificate and cash.
BB Muringla conferred Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture Samman in 2014 - File Photo
"He had designed the Limbo syllabus for government schools," said the deputy director of the state HRD department, S.B. Subba.
The 73-year-old writer and musician is from Lingchom village in West Sikkim.
"The contribution of Mr Muringla to literature is outstanding. He may be referred to as the Balmiki of Limbo literature," said president of Sahitya Parishad, Rudra Poudyal.
Muringla was born on April 13, 1943. He studied in Tashi Namgyal Academy and Darjeeling Government College.
Master Mitrasen Thapa Magar (1895 -1946) (Nepali/नेपाली: मित्रसेन थापा मगर (१८१५ – १९४६)) Indian Gorkha folk singer, lyrics writer, dramatist, social worker and a Freedom Fighter who took part in World War-I Master Mitrasen Thapa was born on the 29th December 1895 in Village Totarani, Bhagsu /Dharamshala. He was called master because in those days, the society called writers and musicians as Masters. He is the only Gorkha who has been felicitated by a postal stamp by both India and Nepal. He was concerned about the quality of the Gorkha society and his works are dedicated to the people. Besides his great talent, Master Mitrasen discovered and employed three major tools in communication to the masses.
One was humor, second, easy-to-sing and pick-up songs in melodious tunes and the third, the usage of simple Nepali householders‟ language. Thus, instead of sermonising in seriously, Mitrasen Thapa used the medium of humour, drama, singing and dance. His songs first mesmerised the audience who then continued to sing them again and again. The messages got repeated in the process. Mitrasen realised the community needed to come together and get united all across. Through his creative work in the Nepali language and travelling, Mitrasen united all Gorkhas from Nepal to Darjeeling to Punjab. Mitrasen also highlighted the weaknesses of the society which could affect the future. He wrote against extravagant living and excesses of drinking.
Master Mitrasen Thapa Magar Indian Gorkha folk singer, lyrics writer, dramatist, social worker and a Freedom Fighter who took part in World War-I
He wrote about the upliftment of women, and also the importance of high thinking and simple living. He wrote and spread in Nepali, the messages of Gautam Buddha, Bhagvad Gita and Mahabaharata for the Nepali masses to understand and imbibe in their daily lives.. He was always concerned about the quality of the Nepali society and most of his works are dedicated to the people. Instead of sermonising in serious tunes, Mitrasen Thapa used humour, drama, singing and dance to communicate his messages. There was time when everybody from Darjeeling, Sikkim, Dehradun to Dharamshala was all singing Master Mitrasen Thapa‟s songs. This was his way of uniting them all. It is said that during his travels, he found Nepalis speaking different dialects, along with the highly Sanskritised Nepali bhasha. He realised that he had to develop a simple common man‟s Nepali language which could be understood by all. He then decided to write in simple Gorkhali, easily understood by all. Like they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Lahure Ko Relimai - Master Mitrasen Thapa
Today as our society stands at crossroads, a revival of Master Mitrasen‟s works will again create the same magic. Nine of his songs are there recorded in his own voice and with his own music group. His writings have been compiled by several authors. 35 of his original Pandulipis are there. Out of which only a few have been published. A museum has been dedicated to him at his residence „Mitra Jhupro‟ in Totarani, Dharamshala /Bhagsu. The museum could do with funds and management for better care, but nevertheless it still houses his work, his costumes, his stage jewellery, his harmonium, his medals and all that he possessed in his humble life of fifty years. It is painstakingly run alone by his only daughter-in-law Smt Devkanya Devi Thapa, widow of Master Mitrsen‟s only son Late Digvijay Singh.
Her message this morning to me was “Jole Mitrasen Thapa lai prem garcha unsang yehi vinti chha.. Unko Jyot hamesha jali rahos. Yo jo mitra jhupro chha yo hamesha chamchama rahos. Ma ta aba pachharti saal ko chhu. Ekley sambhali rahu chhu. Roj Dhoopbatti jalai dinchu. Saal ma ek baari unko janam din ma sabai la khana khilai dinchu. Aru ma kya kari sakhum? ” (Those who love Master Mitrasen Thapa, should ensure that the light of the flame of his work continues) Extracts translated from some of the books written on Master Mitrasen Thapa
1) Mitrasen: A monograph by Magan Pathik on the Nepali author. Sahitya Academy, New Delhi (1994). First edition 1989. Second edition 1994. Amongst the many Gorkhas who made major contributions to Gorkha society was Master Mitrasen Thapa. Magan „Pathik‟of Dharamshala in his Bhartiya Sahitya Academy published book „Mitrasen‟, hails Mitrasen‟s lifetime as the golden period of Indian Nepali literature history. During this time, the country was astir with spiritual, social and political thinking. After the contributions of Vivekananda, Ramtirth and Lokmanya Tilak, great men like Gandhi‟s non-violence Satyagraha made a major impact on people. These great people were very inspiring to the people.
Rabindranth Tagore, Saratchandra, Jayshankar Prasad, Maithilisharan, Premchand, Dr Iqbal, Hasrat Muradabadi, Akbar Illhabadi and Josh Malihabadi, etc are considered the blessings of this time period, to the world of literature in the languages of Bangla, Hindi and Urdu. During that time the writers of the Nepali language included Dharnidhar Sharma, Surya Vikram Gewali, Paras Mani Pradhan, Thakur Chandra Singh, Bahadur Singh Baral and
2) Master Mitrasen ko Sanchhipt Parichay by Trilok Singh Thapa Magar, Master Mitrasen Thapa Smriti Pratisthan, Kathmandu. Family background: Enriched with Multitalented virtuoso, Master Mitra Thapa Magar was born on 29th December 1895 in India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra District, Bhagsu Dharamshala, village Dhaarakhola. He is a Sijali Magar. His original home is from Western Nepal, earlier Banglung (now Parbat zilla), and Rakhupulla village. It is said that his grandfather Santsen Thapa (Santu Thapa) in the 18th century, came via Kumaon, Garhwal and Dehradun, to Bhagsu.
After military commander Amar Singh Thapa returned to Nepal, many Gorkhali soldiers settled near the Kangra fort area. Here was born Manver Sen Thapa Magar. Mitrasen was the son of Manversen Thapa and Radha Thapa. Despite born and brought up in India, Mitrasen has made great contribution to Nepal and Nepali language through his literature, folksongs, folk theatre, and folk lore. In 1936, he started wearing Nepali daura suruwal to create awareness of the Nepali dress. He was a great writer, director, actor, singer and producer. Nepali theatre and diary writing, humour and travel writing Mitrasen‟s contribution have been hailed as immortal.
Brief life history:
Master Mitrasen studied till class 8 in the Urdu medium as was the medium then in the Himachal schools. At a young age he also learnt music. From 1912 till 1920, he joined the 1st/1st Gorkha Rifles as per family tradition. During the 1st World War he was engaged in operations in Europe and Africa. The war‟s blood, gore, violence and hatred touched his soft heart. He entertained them with hare, rode, swarthy, Baja, chudka, played with his harmonium. Maruni dance, Phusungay dance, Horitakko phaag-dance. Being of creative bend, he was not much interested in his signalling work.
In 1914, he went with his troops to France and reached the island of St Marseilles. After one year, his troops reached Mesopotamia. There they fought against the Turk army for three years (1916-18). In the WW, lakhs of people died. Lakhs of people got injured. They included many of his friends. Therefore on returning from abroad, he resigned from the army in 1920. After that he devoted himself completely to the spread of the Nepali language through the mediums of plays, story writing, drama performances, social reforms and spread of dharma for the next 24 years of his life.
Nepal Tour In 1933-35
Mitrasen undertook a long tour of Nepal and different parts of India. First he reached his family home in Nepal at Banglung. After seeing the social condition there his work is seen to have veered towards jaati sudhaar and social reformation. Towards the end of 1933, he travelled through Palpa, Gulmi and Kathmandu. With a troupe of six members he presented his prowess in drama. Then he took the same troupe and reached Calcutta. There he recorded his plays “Dhuv” “Draupadi Charitraharan” on gramophone. In 1936, while touring Kathmandu, he advised Master Ratnadas and Melva Devi that music should have Nepaliness. His last trip to Nepal was in year 1944.
At that time Folk Theatre In 1936, Master Mitrasen established the Himalayan Theatrical Company. He performed in Hindi, Urdu and Nepali plays and earned name and fame. In Nepali language, his famous unrecorded plays are „Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra (8 parts), „Satyavaan Savitri‟, etc. In Hindi and Urdu, his works include plays „Badshah Tower‟, „Darde Jigar‟, „Noor kin Putli‟, „Mashoor ki Hoor‟, etc.
Nepali Folk songs He performed in the Kathmandu‟s durbar plays, dramas, songs and shamans. He was highly felicitated for the same.
Gramophone Disc Records (Recorded in Calcutta)
1) Malai khukrukkay paryo jethan timro bahini le.
2) Dhaan ko Bala jhulyo hazoor deshei ramailo
3) Lahureko reli ma pheshun ramrod
4) Aba ta jau kanchhi ghara, baato chha Ukali Ourahli
5) Bhana Gorkhali Daju bhai Jai Gorkhali
6) Swami na jao chhari bidesh
7) Kina garchha tanataani dui din ko chha jindagani
8) Chui chui chukiney jootta
9) Chhatre topi dhalkai dhalkayi khukri chamkayi Out of his 63 songs, only 23 have been recorded.
In 1942, he wrote the „Buddhvaani‟ in Nepali language to spread the message of the
Buddha in a simple language. From 1940 till 1944, he wrote in Nepali, „Tirth Yatra‟, „Dharma Chhora‟, „Premma Bhagwan‟, „Teen Kura‟, „Teen Yogi‟, etc. „Premma Bhagwan‟ 3) Mitra ko Diary This edition contains Epics „Mahabharat ko Prahlad‟, „Parshuram Lakshman Samvad (73 lines)‟, „Bhakt Prahlad (702 lines), „Chandra Haas (107 lines), „Veer Abhimanyu (1120 lines), etc. For women‟s emancipation he wrote „Ekadashi Vratkatha (142 lines)‟, „Satyanarayan Katha (245 lines)‟, „Vitwamagal (1760 lines)‟, „Chandra hans (170 lines) and „Sant Sukhvai (330 lines), etc
Song writing: Master Mitrasen wrote his songs in a simple language which would reach the Gorkhali masses. For example: “Rajya Sukh bhog Nimti Phaaakeyma, yudh rachaune kina? Mero manle mandayina, Krishna sansar dubauna kina? Duniyalai kasth, dukh diyara garib ko ragat choosera Jansamuhlai masera mauz urauna kina?” Mahabharat In 1934-37 he wrote from the Mahabharat „Aadiparva‟, „Sabhaparva‟, „Viraat parrva‟, „Udyog parva‟in Nepali. 4) Buddha Baani by Master Mitrasen Thapa This book was published in 1996 by the Mitrasen Sahitya Sangeet Sabha, Bhagsu, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India with foreword by His Holiness.
दार्जीलिङ, कालेबुङ अनि खरसाङका तीनजना विधायकहरू क्रमैले श्री अमर सिहं राई, श्रीमती सरिता राई अनि डा. रोहित शर्माले आज माननीय मुख्यमन्त्री सुश्री ममता व्यानर्जीसित भेटवार्ता गरी कालेबुङ जिल्ला गठनको घोषणाको निम्ति आभार व्यक्त गर्दै दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को जनतालाई प्रशासनिक सुविधा प्रदान गर्नुको निम्ति अझै थप जिल्ला अनि महकुमाहरू निर्माण गर्नुपर्ने माग पनि पेश गरयो।
विधानसभामा आज माननीय राज्यपाल केशरीनाथ तिवारीजीको सम्बोधन कार्यक्रमको समापनपछि तीनजना विधायकले सुश्री ममता व्यानर्जीले उनकै च्याम्बरमा गएर सौहार्दमूलक भेटघाट अनि बातचीत गरेको थियो। विशेषरूपले कालेबुङलाई जिल्ला बनाउने प्रक्रिया शुरू गरिएकोमा माननीय मुख्यमन्त्री महोदयालाई समग्र पहाड़वासीको पक्षमा धन्यबाद दिइयो। यसको साथसाथमा खरसाङ महकुमालाई पनि जिल्ला बनाइनुपर्ने, मिरिकलाई महकुमा बनाइनुपर्ने तथा दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को सर्ववृहत खण्ड विकास क्षेत्र बिजनबारीलाई पनि महकुमा बनाइनुपर्ने पनि मुख्यमन्त्रीसमक्ष अपील गरियो। पहाड़का मानिसहरूले दीर्घकालदेखि विभिन्न प्रशासनिक समस्याहरू झेलिरहेको कारणले गर्दा जिल्ला अनि महकुमाहरूको विस्तार गरिन आवश्यक रहेको पनि मुख्यमन्त्रीलाई अवगत गराइयो।
तीन विधायकहरूले ममता व्यानर्जीसित कालेबुङ जिल्ला गठनको घोषणाको निम्ति आभार व्यक्त गरयो
मुख्यमन्त्री ममता व्यानर्जीले पनि पहाड़का विधायकहरूको उक्त अपीललाई सम्मान गर्दै सकरात्मक आश्वासन प्रदान गर्नुभएको छ। जिल्ला अनि महकुमा विस्तारकार्यको निम्ति थुप्रै औपचारिकता अनि पूर्वाधारहरूमाथि कार्य गर्नुपर्ने हुनाले यस विषय़मा चाड़ै कार्यान्वन गर्न नसकिने भएतापनि भविष्यमा उक्त विषयहरूमाथि राज्य सरकारले अवश्यै सकरात्मप पहल गर्ने माननीय मुख्यमन्त्री महोदयाले आश्वासन प्रदान गर्नुभएको छ।
Kalimpong,15th June Pasang Tamang and his independent party today burned effigies of Sikkim chief minister Dr Pawan Chamling at Damber Chowk Kalimpong.
Tamang with around 150 supporters first took out a rally from the town. The supporters,who were carrying black flags and placards, raised slogans against Chamling demanding apology for his statement.
The protest came nearly a month after after Sikkim chief minister Dr Pawan Chamling while addressing a Sakewa celebration programme at Singithang Ground Namchi said that Sikkimese Nepalis must be clear that Gorkhas are people who had come to India to serve in the army in the past and later settled in different parts of the country.
Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling's Effigy burnt in Kalimpong
He later added that the Sikkim Nepalis are not the same as the Gorkhas. Despite similarity in culture and tradition there is no similarity of the Sikkim Nepalis with the so-called Gorkhas, he said.
The statement was condemned by many but no one came forward. Pasang Tamang today said, “We as a small party waited for bigger parties to condemn the statement but they did not utter a word. Dr Pawan Chamling is a pride of our community and such a statement has hurt our sentiment.”
He said this is just the beginning of series of programmes.“We just want him to take back his words. If he does not we will hold protests in the Darjeeling Hills, Terai, Dooars and finally Delhi.
Shri Jual Oram
Hon’ble Minister for Tribal Affairs
Government of India
New Delhi
Tribal Status for categories within Gorkha/Nepali-speaking community
Respected Sir
Some tribes belonging to the Gorkha/Nepali community have already been granted Scheduled Tribe status. These include Kagatay, Yolmo, Sherpa, Lepcha, Tamang and Limbu tribes. Similarly, the government has recognized Kami, Damai and Sarki communities of the Gorkhas as Scheduled Castes.
There are many other categories within the Gorkha community. We request you to kindly take up the case of including all of them under the status of Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste, as the case may be. We also request you to include these, as well as the already recognized ST/SC communities in various states of India, under the Central list of such categories.
We would like to respectfully reiterate here that the Nepali-speaking Gorkha community consists of ethnicities that are tribal by nature and have their own unique tribal languages, dialects, culture, traditions and history.
We hope, Sir, that you will take up the cause of the ethnic communities within the Gorkhas who have not been granted ST/SC status as soon as possible and help them access development measures that they desperate need to progress as a community.
“MAYA” is the name of his new album. The infectious main riff of his songs chants nostalgia, the sound of his voice sends us all into pangs of desperate homesickness. By now you know who I am talking about. Bipul Chettri needs no introduction. His fans across the globe have been waiting with bated breath for the next set of tear-jerking, addictive Himalayan folk songs that tug at every Gorkhali’s heartstrings.
Don’t miss a single word as Adwiti Subba Haffner interviews the chappal wearing, folk song singing, homesickness inducing, our very own humility toting, Bipul Chettri for a down-to-earth interview where he opens up about his creative process, offers his insights on songwriting, his opinion on where Gorkhali music is heading towards, the latest controversy on plagiarism, what it takes to be a “skilled musician” and about how he maintains his “zen” like calm through his musical voyage.
Bipul Chettri Photo credit: Sonam Tashi
ADWITI: “It takes 10 years to become an overnight success” Robin Sharma. You rattled the airwaves with your soulful voice, your music and captured the hearts of millions of Nepali speaking population all over the world. Besides being a good singer and having great discipline, what skills/personal attributes is most important to being a successful musician?
BIPUL: Thank you. For me, it was more like 15. (smiles) I prefer to use the word, ‘skilled’ musician rather than a successful one. There are some successful artistes in this industry without great skill as well who become famous overnight and disappear in as much time. I wish there was a recipe for success though. And I can only speak for myself when I say that being proficient at what you choose to do is one of the few attributes that will help in the long run. At the end of the day, it is all done through years and years of practicing while trying to perfect ones art. And it is a never-ending learning process.
ADWITI: From small town, sleepy Kalimpong to Delhi and now performing all over the world, did you dream that your voice and your music would take you places? In an interview you have mentioned that “success” is a subjective word. What is your idea of success? BIPUL: Never in my wildest dreams! For the longest of time, all I wanted was to become was a classical guitar soloist, and then ‘Wildfire’ happened. Success for me is subjective as every single person has his own standard of the bar being raised and scaled at. Some might just be happy with being a recluse, or some might just want a lot of fame. Money and fame are just numbers at the end of the day and is temporary. For me, success means leaving a body of work behind which people would not mind listening to in 20-30 years from now.
ADWITI: There has been a lot of Bollywood/Hollywood/Western Rock culture that has influenced and infiltrated the music of our region. Where in your opinion is our music (Gorkhali/Nepali music) collectively heading?
BIPUL: From the time, the radio, television and the Internet entered our lives; this infiltration was bound to happen one way or the other. But I also feel that this influence has been the cornerstone of Nepali music having survived in whatever forms it has till now. The whole of the 70s and early 80s was deeply influenced by the Ghazal genre and then rock music started making inroads into the Nepali music scene while folk music has always been there but mostly relegated to the background. But I think there is a sort of mini revival taking place in this area with some good artistes coming through and I think it can only get better in the coming days. ADWITI: Apart from being a singer/songwriter you are currently the head of the Arts Department in Vasant Valley School, a leading school in India. Given your career success, can you share some advice for struggling musicians, to help them keep moving forward?
BIPUL: I have only been in the Nepali music scene for less than two years, so it would be naïve of me to start giving advice. But all I can say is that keep doing what you enjoy doing. Make music for yourself first rather than the world. If the world likes what you produce, good for you, if they don’t, it really does not matter, as long as you are happy with it. And most importantly, stay humble to your roots. ADWITI: In our society, can an aspiring musician solely survive on her/his art without the support of an actual or a part/time job? If not. Why?
BIPUL: This is a very difficult question to answer. Most artists are constantly struggling to have their voices heard and their music played and to get paid. There are a lot of musicians doing only music and living their life and I have the greatest of respect for such people as I still think it is difficult to manage in the current scenario especially in our part of the world. One only has to applaud their commitment to trying to earn a decent livelihood in this kind of difficult scenario. But I am certain it can only get better in the long run. ADWITI: Bipul Chettri is a sensation and very few people from our neck of the woods have not heard of you. For some who have never listened to your music, can you explain your sound in 6 words?
BIPUL: Everyone has their own interpretation of their music. For me, it has to be, ‘The Himalayan Pahari Feeling of Nostalgia’. (smiles)
ADWITI: You are aware that you have multi-cultural fans all around the world, some even look for inspiration from you and your music. Will you sing in any other language besides Nepali?
BIPUL: I guess I will eventually, but no plans at the moment. Although one of the first original tunes I wrote, ‘Samsara’ was in English, but including it in an album is still an iffy.
ADWITI: You have traveled in many countries since the release of your Debut album “Sketches of Darjeeling”. Can you share with us your favorite memory or experience so far?
BIPUL: There have been so many. One of the best feelings is the large number of people attending our gigs and singing our songs with us during the live shows. The next thing would certainly be the number of lovely people we met during our travels. Everywhere we have performed, from the event organisers to the audience, have been wonderful to us and have treated us like family. ADWITI: What five artists/songs would I see on your recent playlist?
BIPUL: I honestly don’t have a playlist. “Ghar ma buri ko playlist matrai baj cha”. ADWITI: Your music gives us a reason to congregate and interact in an environment of joy, nostalgia and celebration. You have a new album coming up, set to hopefully conquer the airwaves again. What is the name of the album? What is the release date? BIPUL: Thank you. The new album is ready and sounding good if I may say so myself. The album is called ‘Maya’ and we hope to release it soon. We are trying to tie up a few loose ends after which we will have a release date. We also have a very big surprise coming with it too. So stay tuned.
ADWITI: You are also known for your innovative, experimental way of creating music. What can your eager fans anticipate from your next album that is different from your previous one? BIPUL: There is bound to be pre-conceived notions about the sound of the album as people have been used to listening to ‘Sketches of Darjeeling’. The only difference this time around is that most of the songs from this album were written, developed and honed on the road, as you would have noticed from the ‘Soundcheck Series’ on our YouTube page. I have had so many influences, be it in writing/arranging and it has been a fun album to make.
ADWITI: Can you give us a sneak peek?
BIPUL: There are 8 songs in this album along with ‘Syndicate’ which was released as a Single earlier is also a part of it. All the songs, except for ‘Kahiley Kahi’ are written by me. Kahiley Kahi is a special song because my father recorded (if I am not mistaken) this somewhere in the very early 70s at the British Forces Broadcasting Station while he was serving in the British Army. A colleague and friend of my father sent me this recording and I felt it needed to re-record and heard by the public as well. It has a very Bossa nova feel to it, which was very rare for a Nepali song to sound like that then. I have kept the lyrics and melody as close to the original and am very happy with the final outcome. ‘Junkeri’ and ‘Nau Lakhey Tara’ are acoustically driven while the rest of the songs are with the complete band. ADWITI: Your songs have a level of depth and intrigue that make people sit up and notice you right away. Could you please share with us the creative process of your new album? Starting from the concept, the people/work/marketing/promotion/expectations involved.
BIPUL: I started writing for this album without any concept as such. The first one I wrote was ‘Syndicate’ and some others thereafter. I figured that most of the tunes were heading towards ‘love’ in the sense of it being real or an illusion for some, being the central or peripheral theme without being conscious while writing about it. But the ‘pahari’ element in the music will always be prevalent in our music.
I don’t have a process of writing as such. Sometimes, the riff/melody comes before the lyrics or vice versa. ‘Syndicate’ was one of the songs where the lyrics came first and the melody/arrangement later. I had initially planned to record it acoustically with just the guitar and a harmonica, but changed it considerably midway as I thought it justified a much larger sound. I also had a fantastic set of musicians in the band to help me achieve that particular sound which I was looking for.
Our Manager looks after all the marketing/promotions so I really don’t know much about that part of the story. I just make the music. (Smiles) But I do know that since we are independent musicians, without any label backing us, we have to lean mostly towards word-of-mouth and online social platforms to help our music get some form of mileage. As far as expectation goes, I have a theory as I mentioned earlier, that I make music for myself first. If the audience also enjoys it along the way, that is a bonus. ADWITI: Can you please give us an idea as to what happened with the recent plagiarizing attempt by a certain Bollywood music producer who ripped off the main riff of one of your compositions? I believe something similar was experienced by our famous "Musu musu hasee dewna" song.
BIPUL: I was actually in Kalimpong when all this happened and had no clue until our Manager informed me about it. The said tune had the same guitar riff used in Asaar throughout their composition as well which made it sound alike. Our Manager got in touch with the concerned people in Mumbai and sorted it out after which they removed the track and offered to redo it. So it all ended well. But this is nothing new, especially in Bollywood as you all know. All one can do is to be alert and try and sort it out as amicably as possible. Of course, one can take further action, if they don't agree with your claim, which thankfully we did not have to resort to. ADWITI: Who alerted your team of this situation? BIPUL: There were tons of messages from fans on our Face book page with the link. ADWITI: This is definitely a “teachable or a learnable moment” for artists? How can they protect themselves from being blatantly plagiarized?
BIPUL: Well... In India you can go to this address http://copyright.gov.in and register your songs or music. I think they charge about Rs. 2000 per song if I am not mistaken. It is essential to safeguard your creations if you intend to keep your Intellectual Property with you. ADWITI: I believe most of your audience love old/classic Gorkhali/Nepali songs. What can we all do for the curation of our cultural and musical heritage?
BIPUL: All of us love and cherish the past legacy of Nepali music. It is what has helped us get to the point where we are at the moment. I sincerely don’t have a specific answer to this question for the general public but I can only speak for myself when I say that I will keep making the kind of music that I am making and hope it helps in some way preserve some form of it. It would be too audacious to say that I am trying to deliberately help in saving this art form, as there are so many others who are doing much more. But do try and keep listening to our homegrown music is all I can say. ADWITI: How do you maintain your “Zen” like balance and authentic humility while experiencing your level of recognition and success?
BIPUL: I think I got myself into the public limelight a little later in life than most musicians did. So I think coming into the scene a little late helped in not giving in too much to the hype that most of the newcomers usually face in this industry. I am also by the end of the day, just a simple music teacher in a school and nothing more than that. ADWITI: What next for Bipul Chettri? The poet/the singer/the songwriter/the musician/the artist.
BIPUL: I think you are being too kind. Like I said, I write my music with whatever little I know of the language and the art. I just hope to get better and learn from all the experiences that I will face in the coming years.
Some time ago I was chatting with a friend about how we, Darjeelingeys have such a great sense of humor and how our gatherings are always filled with music and impromptu witty exchanges that we temporarily forget all our sorrows and setbacks. She said “my perception of humor is that a person who makes people laugh are doing what we Tibetans call "gewa" as for a few minutes they make people forget their sorrows or pains and have a good laugh, without realizing they make people happy”.
This particular word “gewa” or the meaning thereof comes to my mind when I listen to Bipul Chettri’s music. He is servicing us, the listeners with a nostalgic sliver of our hometown. His music, his songs and his voice has the powerful ability to connect us directly to our emotions and our lives back home - the place where we belong no matter how far we go.
Thank you Bipul Chettri for the “gewa”, for providing us with the experience of being home without actually being there. We wish “ Maya” to reach far and wide, to make more people happy and for you to feel fulfilled and rewarded with more songs that remind us of “home ...calling...home”.
[Adwiti Subba Haffner is an entrepreneur, social worker, writer, freelance journalist, world traveler, mother, wife, yoga/meditation teacher. You can find her at https://web.facebook.com/AdwitiHaffner and her website is www.alivewithadwiti.com]
Darjeeling, June 7: Amber Gurung, the composer of the Nepal's national anthem, breathed his last in Kathmandu today. He was 78.
Singer Gagan Gurung, a close friend of Amber, said: "I received a call from Kathmandu early this morning about the sad demise of my friend and guru Amber. ... Amber Gurung has been immortalised through his deed." Gurung said Amber was born in Kalimpong and raised here. "Every great singer from Darjeeling was his disciple," he said.
Amber's fame spread after he composed and sang Nepali poet Agam Singh Giri's " Nau lakh tara" (nine lakh stars).
In 1962, he was appointed a director in the state information and cultural department's folk artist section. He left for Nepal in 1969 on the invitation of King Mahendra.
Amber Gurung
When monarchy was abolished and a new government was formed in Nepal, Amber composed the country's national anthem, " Sayaun thunga phoolka hami" (of a hundred flowers).
Tomorrow, the GTA will hold a memorial service at the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan here at 11.30am.
Darjeeling Once again we are most thankful to Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia who has stepped up to protect the Nepali language. Following report on social media (The Darjeeling Chronicle) MP wrote to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu reminding him that not putting up signs in Nepali language is a violation of the Language Policy of India as well as a discrimination against the Gorkha community. Here is the full text of the letter that our MP wrote
To Shri. Suresh Prabhu Minister of Railway Government of India Re: Discrimination Against Nepali Language and the people of Darjeeling Suresh ji I want to draw your attention to the fact that the signboards that Indian Railways has put up in my Constituency – Darjeeling – has continued to violate the Language Policy of India since 2011. The standard official language policy of the Government of India clearly specifies that, importance to be given to official State Language (only those which are also included in the VIIIth Schedule of Constitution)/regional/national languages, signboards of Railway stations in regional language, use of language on Railway Information Boards, naming of Railway stations in regional languages etc.” Nepali was recognised initially in 1961 as an official language of West Bengal, and on 22/8/1992 as one of the Official Languages of India under the VIIIth Schedule of Indian Constitution as one of the 22 National Languages of India. Nepali is also the 1st official language for Darjeeling and Dooars region in West Bengal. DHR is still discriminated against and not featured in any of the sign boards put up by Indian Railways in Darjeeling. Not putting Nepali in these sign boards is not only a violation of the language policy of India, but also is disrespectful towards the Nepali language and also the Gorkhali community of my constituency. What is more hurtful to my constituents is the fact that Bengali which 99% of the population do not speak or read, is used as the 1st language. On behalf of my constituents, I request you to kindly instruct the local administrative unit of Indian Railways to remove the signs that do not feature Nepali language and to put up signs in Nepali which is a Recognised regional language in Darjeeling and Dooars as well as one of the National Languages of India. I look forward to your prompt action. Kindest regards SS Ahluwalia MP, Darjeeling.
Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia Writes to Railway Minister - Demands Signs to be Written in NEPALI
Rule 3A of the Bengal Official Language Act, 1961 also specifically states
3A. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 3, with effect from such date-1 as the Slate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf, the Nepali language may, in addition to the Bengali language be used for such— (a) rules, regulations and by-laws made by the State Government under the Constitution of India or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of West Bengal, and (b) notifications or orders issued by the Slate Government under the Constitution of lndia or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of West Bengal, as apply to the three hill subdivisions of the district of Darjeeling, namely, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong:
Provided that different dates may be appointed in respect of different matters referred to in clause (a) or (b). .
Explanation.—For the purposes of section 3 and this section the words "law made by Parliament or the Legislature of West Bengal" shall include any law made before or after the commencement of the Constitution of India by any legislature or other competent authority in the territory of India having power to make such a law.
Given this, we request the West Bengal government and all other administrative bodies to put up all the signs and instructions in NEPALI at the top.
Once again, we are grateful to our MP for stepping up to protect the dignity of Nepali language and Nepali speaking people... It is sad that none of our "intellectuals" and "sahityakkars" have so far bothered to highlight this issue. Via The Darjeeling Chronicle
हिज दिनांक १ जुन २०१६ को दिन दिल्ली राज्यका सम्माननिय मुख्यमन्त्री श्रीमान अरबिन्द केज्रिवालसित गोर्खा फाउनडेशनका प्रतिनिधिहरुले गोर्खाहरुको बिभिन्न लम्बित मांग लिएर एउटा सौहार्द भेटघाट गरे। यस् भेटघाटमा गत फरवरी महिनामा चडाएको ज्ञापन पत्रमा छलफल गर्दै यस माथि बिशेष कार्वाही गरिदिने अनुरोध गरियो। जसमा निम्न बिषयहरु थिए- १, गोर्खाल्यान्ड मांग प्रती समर्थन गरिदिने अनुरोध, २,दिल्लीमा बसोबासो गर्ने समस्त गोर्खाहरुको सुरक्षा हेतु सरकारको उचित कदम र् ब्यवस्ता गरिदिने, ३ दिल्लीमा बसो बासो गर्ने समस्त गोर्खाहरुको निम्ती एउटा सामुदायीक भवन चाडैनै बनाइदिने, ४, दिल्ली सरकार सरकारी नोकरीहरुमा गोर्खाहरुको अवसर प्रदान गरिदिने, गोर्खा फाउनडेशनलाई सामुदायिक भवनको निम्ती जमिन स्वयम खोज्ने वहाँले हामीलाई भन्नु भयो।
गोर्खा फाउनडेशनका प्रतिनिधिहरुले अरबिन्द केज्रिवालसित गोर्खाहरुको मांग लिएर भेट गरे
आजकै दिन भारत सरकारको सम्माननिय गृह राज्य मन्त्री श्रीमान किरण रिजिजु सित भेटघाट गरेर वहाँ सित बिभिन्न मांगहरु लिएर एउटा ज्ञापन पत्र सुम्पे। यस् ज्ञापन पत्रमा सर्बप्रथम, गोर्खाल्यान्ड मांगलाई चाडै संसदमा बिल ल्याएर, गोर्खाहरुको सपना साकार गर्ने अनुरोध गरियो। वहाँले यस्को जवाबमा - यस् प्रती चाडैनै सरकारले कार्य गर्ने छ भन्नु भयो, र् यस् प्रती हामी इमान्दार छौ भन्नु भयो। दोस्रो मांगमा, दिल्ली पुलिसको भर्तीमा पनि डुवर्स र दार्जीलिङका गोर्खा र डुवर्सको आदीबासी दाजु भाईहरुले अवसर पाउने छ भन्नु भयो, तेस्रो मांगमा दार्जीलिङ र डुवर्सलाई उत्तर पुर्बोत्तर राज्यमा एउटा संबैधानिक प्रावधान ल्याएर अन्तर्भुक्त गर्ने यस बारे पहल गरिदिने फाउनडेशन अनुरोध गरे, चौथो मांगमा, राज्य सभामा पनि हाम्रो जातीलाई प्रतिनिधि दिने मांग गरियो, पाँचौ मांगमा, राष्ट्रिय मानव अधिकार संगठन र नेस्नल फाउनडेशन फर कम्युनल हारमोनीमा हाम्रो जातीको प्रतिनिधित्व हुनु पर्छ भन्दा वहाँले यस् बिषयमा कानुन मन्त्रालय एव गृह मन्त्रालयको नियम बमोजिम अवस्यै गरिने छ भन्नु भयो, छटौ मांगमा, हाम्रो शहिद र शहिद परिवारको निम्ती मन्त्रालयबाट एव सम्बन्धित बिभागबाट अलग आर्थिक ब्ववस्था र परिवारलाई सुबिधाहरु प्रदान गरिनु पर्छ मांग गर्दा वहाँले बिभाग र मन्त्रालय सित बिचार बिमर्श गरेर जनाउने वहाँले आश्वासन दिनु भयो, सातौ मांगमा दिल्लीमा बसोबासो गर्ने गोर्खाहरुको सुरक्षा र आत्मा सम्मानको निम्ती वहाँले दिल्ली पुलिसलाई देख्ररेख र तुरन्त सहायता दिने बिशेष आदेश दिने छु भनी आश्वसन दिनु भए, गोर्खाहरुको एघारा जातीको ट्रैबल मांग प्रती पनि बिशेष ध्यान दिने अनी सम्बन्धित बिभाग सित पनि कुरा राखेर अनुमोदन गर्ने वहाँले भन्नु भयो । आजको यस् दुवै भेटघाटमा सघन मोक्तान, डि० के० प्रधान, मनिता प्रधान, एन्ड्रु गुरुङ, लोप्सँग लामा, रेबेका राइ अनी रुस्तम छेत्रीले प्रतिनिधित्व गरेका थिए.
All the hill MLAs Mrs. Sarita Rai from Kalimpong, Dr. Rohit Sharma from Kurseong and Mr. Amar Rai Darjeeling took their legislature oaths in our mother-tongue Nepali in the West Bengal Legislature Assembly. The entire Gorkha Community have praised their action and effort to preserve our language Nepali as their voice will be representing the entire Indian Gorkha Community. We, on behalf of the entire Indian Gorkha Community has requested the 5 gorkha MLAs to take the oath in our mother mother-tongue Details here (Request to Gorkha MLAs to take an oath in Nepali Language). Thank you all for taking our request into consideration.
This is the 1st time in the History that all the three Hill MLAs have taken their oath in Nepali.
As such various Gorkha Community pro organisations, associations and institution have been repeatedly highlighting instances of Linguistic Imperialism imposed by Bengal on our land and our people and this gesture of unity and solidarity by our MLAs will go a long way in letting Bengal know that they cannot continue to take our Language and our people for granted.
From the left Mr. Amar Rai from Darjeeling Mrs. Sarita Rai from Kalimpong and Dr. Rohit Sharma from Kurseong
Similarly, The Gorkha MLA from Barchalla LAC Shri Ganesh Limbu took an oath in Nepali language administered by Pro-term Speaker Sjt Phani Bhusan Choudhury in Assam Assembly. We thank him for fulfilling the wish of not only the Gorkhas of Assam but entire Indian Gorkha Community.
Bimal Gurung on his FB Wall Wrote:
दार्जीलिङ पहाड़का तीनजना विधायकहरू क्रमैले श्री अमर सिहं राई( दार्जीलिङ), डा. रोहित शर्मा (खरसाङ) अनि श्रीमती सरिता राई (कालेबुङ)-ले आज विधानसभामा विधायकको रूपमा आफ्नो मातृभाषा अर्थात् नेपाली भाषामै शपथ ग्रहण गरे।
20 अगस्त 1992 सालमा नै भारतीय सविंधानको आठौं अनुसूचिमा अन्तर्भुक्त भइसकेको नेपाली भाषामा नै शपथ ग्रहण गरेर आफ्नो मातृभाषालाई सम्मान अनि गरिमा प्रदान गरेकोमा म तीनैजना विधायकहरूलाई बधाई व्यक्त गर्दछु।
नेपाली भाषाको प्रयोगलाई लिएर गोरखाल्याण्ड क्षेत्रीय प्रशासन अघिदेखि नै निक्कै गम्भीर रहेको छ। जीटीएको अधिकारक्षेत्रमा रहेका कार्यालयहरूमा धेरै अघिदेखि नै नेपाली भाषालाई सरकारी तौरमा प्रयोग गरिदै आइरहेको छ भने प्रधानमन्त्री, मुख्यमन्त्रीलगायत अन्य मन्त्री तथा विधायकहरूलाई पनि जीटीएले नेपाली अनि अंग्रेजी भाषामा पत्राचार गर्ने गरेका छन्।
आज विधानसभामा नेपाली भाषामा विधायकको रूपमा शपथ ग्रहण गरेर पहाड़का तीनैजना विधायकहरूले नेपाली भाषाको उच्च सम्मान राखेका छन् भने यो क्रमलाई निरन्तरता दिँदै दार्जीलिङ पहाड़का समग्र विद्यार्थी, शिक्षक, अधिकारी, कर्मचारीलगायत सबैले आफ्नो मातृभाषालाई नहिच्किचाइकन प्रयोग गरेर यसको प्रतिष्ठा अनि सम्मान बनाइराख्ने पनि म आह्वान गर्छु।
“घाम चर्को लाग्दैछ... its getting hotter by the day”, mutters the village tailor in some far flung village of Sikkim. Nearby his son is meddling on the Android phone not paying much attention to what his father has just said. They are generations apart.
The boy seems to be engrossed in the phone and the old man mutters with a half angry tone, “के गरि खान्छ होउ यो केटा ले... how will you survive” The boy looks up for a while, shakes his shoulders, “टोपी सिलाउने विचार छैन मेरो... I am not going to stitch topis”. Then he goes back to his mobile…
The tailor looks up at the sky. In his mind he is thinking along these lines… sunny days means hot days, hot days means more people looking for topi, more demand for topi means more income and then we have all those good festivals coming up… aha! Business is going to be good now.
He looks down at the green house nearby his house. The organic डल्ले खोर्सानी, the रातो रातो अर्ग्यानिक टमाटर all ready to be made into some ‘Sikkim Supreme’ pickle product. He feels a sense of achievement.
The Day CM (Pawan Chamling) Wore Sikkimese-Nepali Topi
He turns back to his son. “के गरेको मुबिल मा... what are you fiddling that Mubile for?”
“मूबिल होइन बाबा.. मोबाइल मोबाइल... हेइत कत्ति भन्नु होउ.. News पढेको बाबा Disturb नगर्नु होस् त .... its MOOBILE and not Muubile... how many times do I tell you that Baba? I am reading news, don't disturb me”
The tailor is hurt. Last time the CM was on one of his tours, he was impressed to know that he is still sewing the Nepali topi. The CM even wore it while addressing the people of the village. He looks at the boy and thinks, well, he knows more than me. Let me ask what the news is all about.
"के रैछ news मा... what's in the news?” The visible irritated boy tells him, “CM ले भनेको हामी चैं Sikkimese नेपाली हरे... अरु चैं सबै गोर्खे हरे... the CM says we are Sikkimese Nepali, while everyone else is a Gorkha”.
And then in the most emotive expression of the information he has gained from ‘intellectuals’ over Facebook, the boy explains to his tailor father, the difference between the Sikkimese-Nepali and the Nepali people living just beyond the Teesta. He tells his father how the other Nepalis are the "Gorkhas who came to be recruited from Nepal in the Gorkha Regiment and how the Sikkimese-Nepali were living in Sikkim from the ages past…"
By the time the son finished practicing his theory session on the ‘History of Sikkim and Beyond’, the tailor father is thinking deeply with his age old wrinkles twisted in confusion.
“ए ए ए ए तेसो भा अस्ति मैले सिलाको नेपाली टोपी CM ले लाउनु भाको थियो नि… त्यो चैं Sikkimese-नेपाली टोपी पो हो? So the Nepali topi which I had sewn and CM has won is Sikkimese-Nepali topi?”
The son is back on his Android. He is not listening. All he mutters is, “हेत्त बाबा तपाईंले बुज्नु हुन्दैन क्या. तपाईंलाई थाहनै छैन इतिहास चुप्पो लागि टोपी सिउनु होस्... ahhh Dad you won't understand much... you don't know our history... let it be.. focus on sewing the topis”.
हामी छुट्टै राज्यका निम्ति संघर्षरत सबैको लागि गत केही सातामा विभिन्न अखबारहरूमा निस्केका चार–पाँचवटा समाचार अति नै चिन्ताजनक छन् । प्रथमतः १३ मेको टाइम्स अफ इन्डियामा दार्जिलिङका सांसदलाई संसद्को एक प्रमुख पब्लिक एकाउन्टस् कमिटीबाट हटाइएको खबर छापिएको छ । यस कमिटीबाट दार्जिलिङको सांसदलाई आफ्नै पार्टी भारतीय जनता पार्टीले नै हटाएको हो । यसअघि दार्जिलिङको सांसदलाई बीजेपीको उत्तरपूर्वी क्षेत्रहरूको देखरेख गर्न पदबाट पनि हटाइएको थियो ।
त्यसअघि दार्जिलिङका सांसदको नेतृत्वमा बनिएको जमिन उपलब्धि अधिग्रहण विषय संसद्को संयुक्त समितिको अवधि बढाइएपछि पनि कुनै ठोस रिपोर्ट नै प्रस्तुत गर्नु नसक्दा एनडीए सरकारले जमिन अधिग्रहण जस्तो महत्त्वपूर्ण मामलामा हार मात्रै नमानेर संसद्मा यसको परिचर्चा नै बन्द गर्यो । प्रश्नै–प्रश्न उठ्छ यहाँ ? एकपटक गोजुमुमोले ‘हामीले पठाएको सांसद केन्द्रीय मन्त्री' हुन्छ भन्थ्यो अहिले ऊ सांसदलाई नै आफ्नै पार्टीले यस्तो हालत बनाएपछि, दार्जिलिङमा आएर २८ दिनमै भोट जितेर गएको सांसदले संसद्मा छुट्टै राज्यको नामसमेत पनि उच्चारण गर्न सक्ला ? अब तीन वर्ष छ ।
दार्जिलिङका मानिसहरूले भूमिपुत्र र जातिको चिनारीसमेतलाई गलहत्याएर पठाएको सांसदले खोइ केन्द्रीय विश्वविद्यालय ल्याएको स्मार्ट सिटी खोइ ? दार्जिलिङलाई उत्तरपूर्वी क्षेत्रको काउन्सिलमा हालेको खोइ ? चिया कमानमा मानिसहरू बेसहारा भई भोकभोकै मर्दा पनि सांसद कहाँ छन्, सांसदलाई दार्जिलिङ ल्याएर जिताउने पार्टी कहाँ छन् ? पञ्चायत व्यवस्था के भो ?
महेन्द्र पी लामा
दोस्रो खबर, १३ मईको टाइम्स अफ इन्डियामा नै यत्रो ठूलो छापिएको थियो । बिहारको समस्तीपुरमा राजेन्द्रप्रसाद कृषकीय विश्वविद्यालय स्थापना गर्ने बिललाई लोकसभा र राज्य सभामा एकै दिनमा पारित मात्रै नगरिएर त्यही दिन राष्ट्रपतिले पनि स्वीकृति दिए । संसदीय इतिहासमा यो एउटा नौलो घटना थियो । अर्थात् सरकारले चाहेको खण्डमा विश्वविद्यालयको बिल एकै दिनमा पनि पारित गरिन सकिनेरहेछ हाम्रो सांसदले चाहिँ के गर्दैछ ? गोजामुमोले तीन–तीनवटा बजेटमा विश्वविद्यालयको घोषणा गरिनेछ भनी चारैपट्टि ढोल पिट्यो । डीपीआर बनाउनलाई लाखौँ रुपैयाँ खर्च गर्यो ।
मङपुमा आफ्नो हक अधिकार नहुँदानहुँदै पनि विश्वविद्यालयको निम्ति जमिन देखाइ टोप्लयो । तर विश्वविद्यालयको नमोनिशान छैन । विश्वविद्यालयलाई केन्द्रले दिँदा न डीपीआर चाहिन्छ, न बजेटमा घोषणा गर्नुपर्छ, न पहिल्यैबाट जमिन देखाउनुपर्छ । हामीले बारम्बार यी सत्य कुरा भन्दै आएका छौँ । केन्द्रीय विश्वविद्यालयको निम्ति संसद्मा सरकारले बिल मात्रै ल्याउनुपर्छ, अहिले बिहारको कृषि विश्वविद्यालय झैँ । सो बिल सरकारले ल्याउनुपर्छ, सांसदले ल्याउनुपर्छ ।
खोइ हाम्रो सांसद, खोइ हाम्रो बिल ? एउटा केन्द्रीय विश्वविद्यालयसम्म त ल्याउन नसक्ने सरकार सांसद र गोजुमुमोले छुट्टै राज्यलाई त ‘आकाशको फल आँखा तरी मर' नै बनाइदियो । भोट दिने जनता किन चुप छ ? एक दिन खाएर पाँच वर्ष भोकै बस्नु नै रुचाएको हो कि कुन्नि कहाँबाट हुत्तिएर आएको मान्छेलाई सांसद बनाउने हाम्रो जनताले ?
तेस्रो, रहेका सबै गोर्खा जातिका जातिलाई जानजातिको सूचीमा गाभ्ने जमर्को चल्दैछ । दोहोरी र फेद न टुंगैबिना ‘हाई लेभल' कमिटी केन्द्र सरकारले बनायो भनेर फेरि नाच्यो गोजुमुमोका भाइ भतिजाहरू । एकपटक मुखैमा, आँखाको अगाडि नै र गोर्खे छातीकै सामुने ‘बंग भंग हो बेना' भन्दा पनि यसरी नै अर्थनव्यर्थमा नाचेका थिए यिनीहरू र नाचेका नाचेकै छन् आज पनि । चुनावको अगाडि एनडीए सरकारले एउटा ‘संयुक्त सचिव' स्तरको कमिटी गोर्खाका जातलाई अनुसूचित जनजातिको सूचीमा हाल्नलाई विचार–विमर्शको निम्ति गठन गर्यो । यसलाई गोर्खाल्यान्डभन्दा ठूलो उपलब्धि हो भन्नेहरू पनि छन् ।
नोकरशाहीको सबैभन्दा तलका अधिकारीको नेतृत्वमा कमिटी गठन गर्दा मान्छे किन रमाएको ? सचिवस्तरमा, राजनीतिक स्तरमा वा विशेषज्ञ र न्यायाधीशको स्तरमा यो कमिटी बनिनुपर्ने थियो । यो केको ‘उच्चस्तरीय' ? पुङ न पुच्छरमा किन रमाउनु ? यो कमिटीको टर्मस् अफ रेफरेन्स खोइ ? जनजातिको सूचीमा हाल्न पाँचवटा खुड्किला चढ्नुपर्छ । तेस्रो खुड्किलो पुगिसकेको मागलाई फेरि यो कमिटी बनाएर प्रथम खुड्किलोमा किन झार्यो ? हिजोअस्ति जनजातिको माग प्रधानमन्त्रीको टेबुलमा छ र प्रधानमन्त्री विदेशबाट फर्किनासाथ पास हुन्छ भन्नेहरू कहाँ छन् आज ?
केही गर्नुपर्दैन । आसामका ६ जाति कोच–राजवंशी, मुतिया, ताई अहोम, मोरान र मुटोकलाई एनडीएका प्रधानमन्त्रीले लोकसभा चुनाव जितेको खण्डमा ६ महिनाभित्र नै जनजातिको सूचीमा हाल्छु भनेर आश्वासन दिएको दुई वर्ष भयो । भर्खरै भएको विधानसभाको चुनावअघि नै हाल्छौँ भनेर सात सदस्यीय कमिटी पनि बनायो, तर केही भएन । दार्जिलिङको सांसद र गोजमुमोले गोर्खाल्यान्ड झैँ यसलाई २०१७ को जीटीएको चुनाव र २०१५ को लोसभा चुनावको मुद्दा बनाउने नै छ । कारण यी दुवैमा यी दुई मुद्दाहरूलाई पार लगाउने न क्षमता छ, न लगनशीलता, न त इमानदारीता नै छ ।-
चौथो गत १५ मईमा टेलिग्राफ खबर कागजमा हामीले भन्दै आएको कुरोलाई नागाल्यान्ड सरकारले लैजान सुरु गरेको खबर छापियो । जापान सरकारले नागाल्यान्डबाट १५ हजार प्रशिक्षित नर्सहरूलाई जापान लगेर त्यहाँका बूढापाकाहरूका हेरचाह गर्नमा रोजगारका निम्ति निम्तो दिने । जापान र विश्वका विकसित राष्ट्रहरू अमेरिका, जर्मनी, फ्रान्स, इङल्यान्ड, क्यानडा आदिमा बूढापाकाहरूको संख्या अति बढी मात्रामा भएकाले चारैतिरबाट नर्सहरू लगेर जाँदैछन् । जापानमा भने बूढापाकाले हजारौँ रुपैयाँ तलब दिएर फिलिपिन्सबाट नर्सहरू ल्याउँछन् । कोरिया–चीन आदि राष्ट्रबाट ऐतिहासिक कारणले जापान नर्सहरू रुचाउँदैन ।
हामीले दार्जिलिङको कुना–कुनामा लोकसभा चुनावको समय दार्जिलिङबाट हजारौँ नर्सहरू जापान र अन्य राष्ट्रहरूमा पठाउने प्रस्तावना र कार्यक्रम अघि ल्याएका थियौँ । हामीले भनेका थियौँ– नर्स ट्रेनिङ स्कुल र केन्द्रहरूमा हाम्रा चेलीबेटीलाई भर्ना गरी, विदेशी भाषाजस्तै जापानिज सिकाएर, यी विदेशी सरकारसँग सम्झौता गरी, हाम्रै दार्जिलिङ र सिक्किम क्षेत्रका हजारौँको संख्यामा विदेश पठाउन प्रबन्ध मिलाउँछौँ भनेर । चुनाव हारेपछि पनि धेरै ठाउँहरूमा यस्तो प्रस्ताव राख्यौँ । म आफैँ जापानका विश्वविद्यालयहरूमा पढाउँदा र त्यहाँका उच्च अधिकारीहरूसँग कुराकानी गर्दा यसमा सहमति सबैले जनाउँथे । संस्कृति, रूप, रङ, लवाइखुवाइ आदिमा हाम्रा ठिटीहरू जापानसँग घतलाग्दो प्रकारले मिल्छन् । तर कसैले यो कुरो अघि बढाएन ।
गत ६ महिनामा उत्तरपूर्वी क्षेत्रका उच्च अधिकारी र राजनीतिक नेताहरूकहाँ विभिन्न कार्यक्रममा मैले यो प्रस्ताव राखेँ । आश्चर्यजनक कुरो, भारत सरकारका उद्योग वाणिज्य मन्त्रालयका अधिकारीहरू र उत्तरपूर्वी दुई राज्यका मुख्यमन्त्रीहरूले यो सुझावलाई टिपेर आज कार्यान्वयन पनि गरेकाले नै, नागा ठिटीहरू र खसिया ठिटीहरू नर्स भएर जापान जाने तरखरमा छन् । जीटीएले यस्तो कुरो सोच्न पनि सक्तैन ? सांसदलाई अत्तोपत्तो छैन हाम्रा ठिटीहरू र उनीहरूका परिवारले झेलेका पिरमर्काबारे । अनि नै दुःखलाग्दो कुरो हो, फोहोरमैला, दुःख–पीडा र अन्धकार भविष्यमा लादिएर पनि जनता ब्युँझिँदैनन् । यो ज्वालामुखी कहिले फुट्ने ? भित्रभित्रै लामाहरू खरानी भएपछि फुटेर पनि ज्वाला ननिस्केला एक दिन ।
पाँचौँ सिक्किमको एउटा नेताले सिक्किमे नेपाली हो, अरू गोर्खा हो, जो नेपालबाट आएर यहाँ बसोवास गरेका हुन् भन्ने एउटा खबर २२ मेमा छापिएपछि सर्वत्र भयानक हिसाबले भत्र्सना गरियो । गोर्खाहरूचाहिँ भारतीय सेनामा भर्ना भएर आएपछि देशको विभिन्न कुनामा बसोवास सुरु गरे ।
यिनी नेताले यस्तो खतरनाक भाषण दिएकोमा आफैँ लज्जित हुनुपर्ने हो । आफ्नो ज्ञानको सीमिततामाथि आफैँ घोत्लिनुपर्ने हो । तर लज्जित हुने नेता होइनन् यिनी किनकि यिनले आफ्नो नेतागिरीको दौरान भारतीय गोर्खा जातिको विरोधमा अनगिन्ती काम गरेका छन् । समयले यी सब जातिविरोधी कामलाई उजागर मात्रै नगरेर, भावी पुस्ताले धिक्कार्ने छन् ।
पाँचवटा प्रश्न राखौँ है त ? गोर्खा जातिलाई जातजातमा सिक्किम टुक्रा कसले पार्यो र पछि त्यही हावा सिक्किमदेखि बाहिर कसले बहायो ? के पश्चिम बंगालका मुख्यमन्त्रीले जातिगत बोर्ड बनाई गोर्खाहरूको गढ दार्जिलिङमा वीभत्स वातावरण जन्माउनुमा सिक्किमको हावाले प्रभाव पारेन होला ? भारतीय गोर्खाहरूका चिनारीको माग गोर्खाल्यान्डको एउटा प्रमुख हतियार दार्जिलिङ सिक्किमको राष्ट्रिय माग बन्द गर्ने प्रथालाई भारतको सर्वोच्च न्यायालयमा लडेको मुद्दामा करोडौँ खर्च गरी यसलाई गैरकानुनी घोषणा गर्नु कसले लगायो र पछि मागको यो दाहिने हात नै काटेपछि सहानुभूति देखाउँदै, सिक्किम विधान सभामा पुङ न पुच्छरको गोर्खाल्यान्डलाई सघाउने प्रस्ताव किन पास गर्यो ? त्यहाँको नेता भएको २२ वर्षमा भारत सरकार र कुनै उच्च आयोगलाई भारतीय गोर्खाहरूका चिनारी अस्तित्व र मागबारे कुन एउटा ठोस ज्ञापन दिएको छ, देखाउन सक्छ ?
सन् २००५ मा इन्डिया टुडेले गरेको दिल्लीको मुख्यमन्त्रीहरूको कन्क्लेभमा यिनी नेताले गोर्खाल्यान्डमाथि बोल्न किन मानेनन् ? सिक्किमबाट पठाएका गोर्खा नेपाली भाषा सांसदहरूले यिनी नेताले छत्रछायामा, छुट्टै राज्य त के भारतीय गोर्खाहरूले भोगेका पिरमर्का उत्पीडनमा किन प्रश्न उठाउँदैनन् र उठाएनन् ? फेरि त्यही सिक्किमबाटै गएकी सांसद सदस्यले कसरी नेपाली भाषा मान्यताको लागि लडिन् र तिनताकका नेपाली भाषी मुख्यमन्त्रीले कसरी भारतीय नेपाली राष्ट्रिय परिसंघ स्थापना गरेर गोर्खाहरूको निम्ति त्यतिविघ्न कार्यहरू गरे ? सन् २००३–२०१६ सम्म पनि भारतीय गोर्खा जातिमा रहेका तामाङ र लिम्बू जातका अनुसूचित जनजातिका सिक्किम विधानसभामा किन सिट आरक्षणको लागि यिनले लडेन र आज चारैतिर विरोध सुरु भएपछि किन लड्ने चासो देखाउँदैछ ? २००८ मा सिक्किम आएको डिलिमेटेसन कमिसनलाई यिनी नेताले के भनेर लट्पटाए ? अति नै भयानक र चिन्ताजनक यी कार्यले भारतीय गोर्खाहरूलाई सधैँ झक्झकाइरहनेछ ।
कालिम्पोङमा गोजुमुमोको जित भयो तर यो पार्टी र यसको मुद्दा देशमा धेरैपटक हार्यो । ... जित्ने सम्भावना नै छैन ।
तर फेरि जित्नु भनेको लड्डु बाँडेर कन्ट्रयाक्ट बाँडेर, सरकारले जनतालाई दिएको विकासको कोस आफू, भाइभतिजा, दलाल, संगिनीबीच बाँडचुँड गर्नु मात्रै होइन । जित्नु भनेको जाति, क्षेत्र विकासको लागि केही पाउनु हो, छुट्टै राज्य ल्याउनु हो । टक्कर दिनु हो । भूतको छाया भएर टक्कर दिन सक्तैन । विधान सभा र संसद्मा छायाको खेल हुँदैन, पैसाले जिताएको सदस्यको मोल हुँदैन । कहीँ न कहीँ, केही न केही कुरोमा झुक्याएर पठाएको सदस्यले आफ्नो रङ देखाइदिइहाल्छ । र नै देशमा जित्नुपर्छ, कालिम्पोङमा होइन । समुद्रमा पौडी खेल्नु पर्छ, खोल्सामा होइन ।
