Bharat playing in Final ... Factions merge for Kamtapur fight

Bharat cheered by players Photo: AP

KalimNews: Bharat kumar Chhetri born of Karna bahadur Chhetri and Smt Parvati of 16th Mile Kalimpong  on Dec 15, 1985 is now the heart throb of hill people. Bharat was educated in St. George’s High School Pedong upto Class IX. Karna bahadur found his youngest son Bharat interested in Hockey though he never played the game.
He admitted Bharat in Hockey Training camp in Danapur, Bihar. In no time Bharat proved his excellence and was selected in Army Boys Team in the year 2000 and due to his hard labour and his skill in 2001 he was selected in the Indian Junior National Team. Later he joined Canara Bank and promoted as Manager.

Photo: Reuters

While playing for the nation in the Jr. World Cup held in Australia in the year 2001, the Indian Junior team defeated Argentina in the finals and won Gold. It was Bharat’s first Gold. In the same year in the Mini Gold Cup played in Dacca in the year 2001, Indian team defeated Pakistan winning Gold for the second time. He also played in the Asian Games in the year 2002 in Bhusan Korea and was placed second winning silver. In the Afro Asian cup held in India in 2003 Indian team defeated Pakistan winning Gold. After that Indian team participated in Champion’s Trophy in 2005  as well as Commonwealth Games in 2006 and placed in 3rd and 5th position respectively.
In the World Cup 2006 held in Canberra,Germany India was placed 6th. In the Asian Games held in Doha Katar in 2006 Indian team was placed 5th while in Asian Games held in Chennai in 2007 Indian team defeated Korea to win Gold.

 Mrs.Gandhi during India Pakistan Match Photo: AP

Bharat Chhetri was decorated with Kaleybung Ratna Puraskar in 2008 by Kalimpong Press Club, an award given to prominent citizens for their outstanding achievement and performance. Speaking to Kalimpong News Bharat expressed his satisfaction in playing a vital role in making the Indian team to play  with the world champion in the finals. He said that he will remember the day as his victory for the nation.
Later Bharat himself made a call to the administrator of KalimNews and informed that he is a bit  nervous about the match against the world champion Australia  to be played on 14th October in Major Dhyanchand National Stadium at 11.30 am but he has boasted himself of  keeping the Gorkha's name in the international level. He also sent his goodwishes for the Dasain festival as well as Deepavali.

Hills hail hockey hero - Bharat, India triumph

TT, Kalimpong, Oct. 13: The hill town is basking in the glory of Team India’s hockey goalie, a day after the nation toasted Bharat Chhetri’s match-winning save that helped the country reach the Commonwealth Games final for the first time.

Bharat was born in Upper Payung at 16 Mile, about 10km from here, on December 21, 1981.

India sealed a berth in the Games final after an exciting semi-final match last night. India and England were locked 3-3 in the regulation 70-minute play plus the extra time. Then Bharat came up with a brilliant save to foil England’s Glen Kirkham’s shot in the penalty shoot-out that followed.

The hill boy’s birth as a hockey player took place in Danapur, a town in Bihar, 12 summers after his birth. That was the time his mother Parvati put him under the tutelage of a distant relative Rana, a hockey coach based in Danapur.

Till then, Bharat was a student at St George’s High School in Pedong, 22km from here.

“After he finished his Class VIII, I sent him to Danapur and put him under the tutelage of my relative. He stayed with him for two years and got initiated into hockey,” said Parvati, who now lives with her husband, K.B. Dahal, in Methibari near Siliguri.

The Chhetris, quite expectedly, were overjoyed at the exploits of their son.

“I didn’t have the heart to watch the penalty shoot-out. I, instead, turned to god and kept praying. We have been following every hockey game featuring India in the Commonwealth Games. We are so proud of our son,” said Parvati on the phone from Methibari.

Bharat’s teachers at St Geroge’s School, however, have little memory of the boy, which suggests that he was average both in studies and extracurricular activities.

“I can’t put him in place. I think I must have taught him for a year. Most of the teachers from his time in the school have retired,” said Ashok Tamang, a senior teacher of the school.

The hills are hailing Bharat as the hero, even though hockey as a sport is not played generally by the local people.

“Bharat has done the entire hills proud. We had wanted to invite him when the Queen’s Baton relay passed through the hills, but we dropped the idea as he was then playing for a club in Germany. Our best wishes are with him,” said Urgen Mini Lama, the president of the Kalimpong Sports Association. 
Subhajit Saha  with Achanta Sarath Kamal are the gold medalists in doubles of Table Tennis. They defeated Singapore team. Subhajit is a resident of East Vivekanandapalli , Siliguri.
Factions merge for Kamtapur fight 

Nikhil and Atul

TT, Siliguri, Oct. 13: Nikhil Roy and Atul Roy have decided to bury the hatchet and merge their parties — the Kamtapur People’s Party and the Kamtapur Progressive Party — to carry forward the movement for a separate state with greater vigour.

The Kamtapur People’s Party formed in January 1996 split in 2003 with Atul floating the Kamtapur Progressive Party after serious differences cropped up between him and Nikhil.

With the merger, there is only Kamtapur People’s Party now.

“There had been differences between us, leading to the formation of the new party. However, we found it tough to carry on with the campaign for the separate Kamtapur state and the recognition of the Kamtapuri language. The support for the movement was getting divided between two of us. The followers felt discouraged by the rift between the two parties and there was pressure from them for the merger,” said Atul, who was the president of the progressive faction.

“We called for a joint meeting on October 10 and invited delegates from all north Bengal districts. More than 2,000 people assembled at Mainaguri in Jalpaiguri and all of them consented to the merger. Finally, we decided to set aside our differences and joined hands to carry out the movement,” said Atul, who was chosen the president of the people’s party after the merger.

“It was important that we were together as there was no denying the fact that both the groups had grown weak in terms of support base. We had lost the spontaneous support of the Rajbangshi population,” said Nikhil, who was selected as the general secretary of the KPP.

“The urge of supporters prompted us to sit together and take the decision and we hope to start the movement again in full swing.”

Atul also hinted at the renewal of the movement.

“It is the festive season now and we will wait till Diwali. Once the festivities are over, we will hit the streets with a united spirit, like the KPP used to be during its initial years of movement. We are chalking out programmes to bring in more people and renew our demands,” he said.

Harmony in ethnic looks

The idols at the Sewa Samiti. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Bireswar Banerjee, TT, Siliguri, Oct. 13: At a time the region has witnessed strife between the communities, a club near Siliguri has come up with idols dressed in different ethnic attires, sending a message of social harmony to the pandal-hoppers.

At the Agam Singh Giri Nagar Gram Sewa Samiti pandal at Pintail Village, 7km from here, the idols of Kartik, Ganesh, Lakshmi and Saraswati have been given looks of different communities living in the region. Durga idol, however, will be in the traditional form.

“Our aim is to send a message of social harmony and assimilation through our puja so that we can prove our oneness and strengthen the motto of unity in diversity,” said Ajay Tamang, the secretary of the samiti.

“After considering the differences that have cropped up among different communities in the region, we have decided to organise the puja on the theme of togetherness and harmony,” said the committee secretary.

Bhola Pal, a local artisan who was asked to translate the ideas into reality, has completed the idols.

“When the organisers told me about the idea, it appeared little surprising to me. But later I thought that I would not change the traditional image of Durga who is the supreme mother of all. But I have thought of giving ethnic looks to other gods and goddesses who are the children of Durga. After all, all children are equal before a mother,” Pal said.

The artisan said Ganesh would be in a common Bengali outfit of dhoti and shawl, while Kartik would be dressed in gamchha and short dhoti, much like a tribal man in the region.

“The attire of Saraswati will be in chaubandi choli-fariya, the traditional dress of Gorkha women, and Lakshmi will be draped with a sari with a look of a Rajbangshi woman,” he added. 

Hill puja evokes 95-year-old memories

The idols at the Nripendra Narayan Bengali Hindu Hall in Darjeeling. Picture by Suman Tamang

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Oct. 13: The dhakis have started to drum up the evenings in Darjeeling, bringing alive a journey that started 95 years ago with the hoot of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

The Durga Puja at Shree Mandir, also known as the Gopal Mandir at the Nripendra Narayan Bengali Hindu Hall, is considered one of the oldest in the region and the fervour with which the celebrations had started in 1915 is continuing even today.

“Earlier, the idols used to be brought from Krishnagar to Siliguri. From there, they would be taken to Darjeeling on toy train. It took three-four days for the idols to reach here,” said Subasis Sengupta, the secretary of Shree Mandir.

Two engines were used at the rear and front of the toy train to negotiate the hilly terrain.

“From the 1950s, the idol is being made in Siliguri. It used to be made by Late Umesh Paul and after his death the idols are being sculpted by Debesh Paul,” said Sengupta.

Such is the fame of the puja that luminaries like Sister Nivedita, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Acharya J.C. Bose and the revolutionary Bagha Jatin have all paid a visit.

Old timers recall that K.L. Saigal, the legendary singer, had also once offered pushpanjali at the Durga puja.

Every aspect of this Darjeeling puja is laced with history.

Bisarjan (immersion of the idol) was accompanied by a police band and the procession used to halt at the Burdwan Palace where the maharaja would offer a mohor (gold coin) to the goddess. The idol would be immersed at Kakjhora near Darjeeling town.

Things have changed now. The police band and the maharaja are no longer there to accompany the procession and to offer the gold coin.

“We now immerse the idol at Sonada,” said Sengupta.

The puja is organised by the Nripendra Narayan Bengali Hindu (NNBH) Hall committee. The Shree Mandir is housed in the NNBH, and hence the puja is referred to as the NNBH Hall Durga puja.

In 1890, a five-member trust board was formed to build the hall. On January 14, 1891, land was allotted for the hall by the Darjeeling Municipality and Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, the maharaja of Cooch Behar, donated Rs 1,000. Subsequently, Rs 40,000 was collected to build the structure.

On April 29, 1906, the hall was damaged in a blaze. It was rebuilt by 1908.

Shree Mandir is known for exotic lacquer work and wooden frescos and the main idol is a monolithic Narayan.

There are also other idols of Kali and Radha Krishna at the temple. Akchala Thakur (goddess Lakshmi, Ganesh, Kartik and Saraswati are part of a single structure), is brought to the pandal during Durga Puja.

“As in the olden days, we still have cultural shows, dramas and bhog on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami,” said Sengupta. As far as the cultural show is concerned, the only thing that is missing is “a special ladies gallery” with a net in front for women to watch the programme with ghomtas.

Bharnobari estate under bonus siege- Manager gheraoed for 12 hours

The Bharnobari garden manager (left) being gheraoed by the workers on Wednesday. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

Anirban Choudhury, TT, Bharnobari Tea Estate (Alipurduar), Oct. 13: More than 1,000 workers of Bharnobari Tea Estate gheraoed the garden manager for 12 hours in two phases since 7.30pm yesterday, demanding 20 per cent bonus instead of 12 per cent that the management had offered them.

The siege was lifted around 4.30pm today to allow the garden manager, N.K. Singh, to withdraw the money from the bank before it closes for Puja holidays. But the protesters said they would decide tomorrow whether to take the money promised as “advance” or “bonus”.

Singh was confined to his office as soon as he reached the estate in Kalchini block, 42km from Alipurduar town, at 7.30pm yesterday. The gherao continued till 1.30am when officers from Hashimara police outpost rescued him and took him to their custody.

At 10.15 this morning, the police brought the manager back to the garden. But the workers did not allow him to enter his office and allegedly abused him. Singh was made to stand on the same spot till afternoon.

Road Robbery
TT,Alipurduar, Oct. 13: An employee of a lottery agent was robbed of Rs 4.69 lakh by three youths on NH31C at Bania Jhora near Kalchini this morning.

Dilip Chatterjee, a resident of Hatkhola, had sent his staff member in his car with the money to collect a draft from a bank at Hashimara. The vehicle was stopped by three youths near Bania Jhora around 10.30am. They damaged the car with iron rods and threatened the employee and the driver with a dagger before snatching the money and fleeing on a motorcycle. Chatterjee has lodged an FIR with Kalchini police. The agent’s employee, Nayan Debnath, and driver Manirul Haque have been detained for interrogation.

Fire damage

TT, Siliguri: A restaurant and two finished Durga idols at an adjacent workshop were damaged in a fire at Mainaguri on Wednesday. Local people doused the flames. The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained.