Welcome to carnival with music and tea

Darjeeling, Nov. 7: For Bimalendu Nayak from Orissa, his sojourn to the Queen of the Hills kicked off on a perfect note.`What else can I say? I have visited various parts of the country and this is the first time that people, who are complete strangers, not only garlanded us (with khadas), but also presented us with a packet of tea. I was simply thrilled and have suddenly started feeling very comfortable about this place,` said Nayak.

In a unique move today, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Transport Joint Action Committee — an umbrella organisation of the transport association in Darjeeling — organised a ceremony as part of the Darjeeling Carnival to welcome tourists to the hill town.

The vice-chairman of Darjeeling municipality, B.M. Limboo, deputy director of tourism, DGHC, D. Pariyar and a host of public representatives, including DGHC councillors A.R. Dewan and K.B. Gurung, were seen standing near the railway station here since early morning with a khada in hand welcoming the `friends of Darjeeling`.

Young belles of the Yuma Rani Club, Ghoom, performed a cultural dance as the Darjeeling police band played various tunes, much to the delight of the tourists. Soon, the residents of the area lined up to exchange pleasantries with the visitors. `At first I was scared and thought it was a traffic snarl. It, however, turned out to be a great event,` said S. Kumaran, who has come from Tamil Nadu.

Councillor Dewan, who was the chief guest, said: `We must realise that tourists are our friends and the fortune of Darjeeling largely depends on them. It is our duty to ensure that their stay here is comfortable.` He also emphasised the need for tourist guides to be well versed in the history of the place and the need to send the right signals to visitors.

Pranay Rai, the general secretary of the transport committee, said: `We welcomed more than 500 tourists and presented each of them with a packet of Darjeeling tea. This is a just a small step to make the hills a tourist-friendly destination and we hope it will reap rich dividends for the people here.

Latest Travel News