Old Memory of Darjeeling

I must have been around 6 years old when my family planned for a short trip to Darjeeling. I don’t have vivid memories of the trip but some very interesting anecdotes are etched deep in my mind.

It was the month of October, and our Durga Puja vacation was just around the corner when I got to know that we were going to some trip in the mountains, and that it will be very cold and beautiful. I didn’t know what to make of the information but nevertheless my elder brother and I got pretty excited.

We boarded the train from Sealdah Jn. and Sushil Kaku (dad’s colleague) helped us to board and came to the station to see us off. It was pretty hot and humid in the sleeper coach and my brother and I took the top berths and kept climbing up and down and throwing and tossing things at each other. We always did things like that- creating mayhem and trouble for everyone.

Dad cleaned the berths with an old piece of newspaper we were carrying and Mom spread fresh bed sheets while I filled up the air pillows. We all had separate air-pillows and I would never let anyone else inflate my air-pillow. We had dinner by 8:30 and decided to call it a day soon and turned out the lights.

Mom and Dad woke us up at 6am and got us ready to de-board. The day had just broken and we could already feel the nip in the air. We went straight to the taxi stand from the NJP (New Jalpaiguri) station and I saw Dad bargained with the cab drivers. After 15 minutes we got our ride. Mom took out our woolens from our luggage before we started, and I had no idea why she was doing that.

Only 1 hour into the journey we realized the weather felt a lot chilly than NJP. Mom told that it was autumn season and the cold will start settling in another couple of weeks. I looked out of the car window and found the architecture of the houses to be a lot different from that of Kolkata. Many small hut like houses with sloping roofs stood together on slopes and formed a beautiful view. The landscape was dotted with pine trees all over and we could see the clouds almost touching the roads. I learnt from Mother that the huts had sloping roofs due to the heavy rains and occasional snowfall in the region, and the wooden construction helped the people keep off the cold.

We reached our holiday home after a good 4-5 hours of uphill journey, and I was a bit disappointed to find out that the hotel was not at all what I had fancied. It was a two story building with a grey and damp aura about it. It had rooms on the terrace as well and we occupied one of those rooms. The hotel was called Bhootbangla, and I found it strange why someone will name their hotel as a haunted house! But this name intrigued my brother and me, and we thought there will be some adventure in store for us.

There was another family occupying the other room on the terrace. An elderly couple with their daughter and a man who was a family friend. The girl looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. I was only 6 but I definitely fancied her and found her very attractive. She was wearing a printed salwar suit with a red button up sweater. The elderly couple seemed nice and my parents created a good rapport with them. We already made some plans along with them for the next morning to see the sun rise from a place called ‘Tiger Hill’. I wondered if we were going to see the sun rise or hunt for tigers!

We went to the Mall Road to spend the evening. It seemed like a nice place lined up with wooden benches where the tourists sat and enjoyed themselves. I also spotted some ponies. Ponies are always a hit with the children where they always want to get a ride on them. We were no different and got our pony rides arranged soon. There were some lovely souvenir shops along the Mall road, and Mom and Dad stopped and browsed through the items in those shops. There was also a Tibetan market nearby and they sold many imported stuff- right from soaps to shoes to binoculars to chessboards. We haggled with them for some items that we bought. I remember we got a lot of soap (Camay- not yet introduced in Kolkata at that time), a magnetic chess board, a foldable binocular, a Chinese fan, a pencil sharpener with a 3D sticker on it, etc.

We came back tired to our hotel and on the way I remember stopping at a marketplace from where we had some snack and tea, and Dad bought us Milkbikies Biscuits. I remember because, with each pack, a small comic book came for free. My brother and I had to collect the entire volume so we kept demanding the biscuits throughout the trip.

Next day started rather before daybreak. We went to the taxi stand at around 4:00 am and went to Tiger hill to see the sunrise; the other family we made friends with didn't come that day with us. The weather was clear and we got a good view of the sunrise. we got an amazing glimpse of the Kanchanjunga. the rising sun cast an orangish-pink shade on the snow clad mountains and it was truely a sight to behold!

We had some tea and then we took a car to visit the tea gardens. On the way there was an emergency stop, as I got an urgent call of nature and had to take a dump. Since there were no toilets around, Dad helped me to get on with my business in a corner on the road. I was too small to have cared or be embarrassed!

At the tea gardens, Mom got into the costume of a traditional tea-picker, as we roamed around in the garden. That was the first time I saw tea plants in my life. Later we went to a nearby stall and ate some hot momos along with hot cup of tea. Also the first taste of momo in my life, but I don't remember much. The morning was pretty bright and the heat of the sun felt very good on the skin.

I don’t remember the sequence of the events but we stopped by a place where there was a makeshift rope climbing set. I was too small to climb up, but I sure posed for the camera holding the bottom end of the rope! it was from here that Dad got us the ever so essential Bengali monkey cap. A Monkey cap is like a cap cum ear warmers cum muffler. I had got a deep green one and my brother got one in sky blue colour.

We later went to the botanical gardens. It was a nice a quiet place with very less tourists. It was here that I saw a greenhouse for the first time. Mom told me names of different kinds of plants and flowers. The place was well maintained and looked really beautiful.

I remember we had to walk a lot as our hotel was situated quite some distance away from the main square and mall. It was an uphill climb every time we had to get out to the city. It was pretty cold and I don’t think I took a bath for 4 days.

I loved the sight and smell of Darjeeling and I was very sad when we had to finally leave for home. We took a bus from Darjeeling to NJP to board our train. I remember I was feeling sick in the bus and I threw up from the bus window. The cold gradually decreased and we soon took off our sweaters when we reached NJP.

Next morning we were back home. I don’t have much memories of the return journey. But Darjeeling was special and this trip had been a beautiful one for all of us!