Festive spirit in the air

With three days left for the start of the Darjeeling Carnival, a 10-day cultural festival to be held here, the town is abuzz with preparations on a war-footing.

Banners and colourful posters are coming up everywhere even as the municipality has engaged its entire conservancy staff in a round-the-clock cleanup of the town. Additional dustbins are coming in different parts of the town.

The repair of public toilets are nearly over. Potholes are getting filled up. Shops and important landmarks are being lit up. Some establishments are even getting a fresh coat of paint.

At the Happy Valley Tea Estate, whose centenary celebrations will kick off the carnival, hundreds of tea labourers are busy preparing the stage and the grounds. Besides cultural dances and songs by different communities at the tea garden, there will be ethnic food for visitors.

There are many other attractive programmes at the garden. Today, the ponies that go around Chowrasta were attended to by veterinarians. A health checkup and inoculation of the animals was carried out. This was in preparation of the Pony Pageant, one of the many events of the carnival. Dr Sanjay Gurung, one of the volunteer vets, cleared at least 16 of the 20 ponies for the pageant.

Nearly 20 different ethnic Hill communities will showcase their cultural wealth. On each day of the carnival, a different community, ranging from the Bhoteys to the Bhojpuris, will present their programmes. It will also include their traditional cuisine. Chowrasta, the most popular concourse in the heart of the town for both visitors and locals, will be the epicentre of the carnival. Most of the programmes will be held here, including the daily musical concerts.

Some guest bands have already begun to arrive. But all eyes and ears will be straining for jazz doyen Louis Banks, who will perform with his band on the evening of 12 November.

The stage is being set up in Chowrasta. The bandstand is being enlarged so that performers will have a bigger stage and audience a wider view. The sound equipment and lights are on their way from Kolkata. There will be several schools presenting musical plays. The most acclaimed among these is Evita by the Himali Boarding School of Kurseong.

Volunteer orientation sessions are underway. Nearly 500 volunteers are expected to register for the smooth running of the festival. Security has been tightened, especially in the Chowrasta area.

The carnival is being initiated by Darjeeling residents, with the support of the DGAHC, Darjeeling Municipality and Darjeeling Police. It is therefore a unique exercise. Cooperation has come from all sides. Several top-notch hotels are giving free rooms to accommodate invited guests. The Statesman, the first national daily to be launched from the region, is the media sponsor.

Courtesy
The Statesman

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