DARJEELING CULTURE AND OTHER

The culture of Darjeeling is quite miscellaneous, due to the mixed ethnicity of the population. The local culture of Darjeeling can be well understood during the season of native festivals. The diverse community of people of Darjeeling consists of the Lepchas (the original inhabitants), the diverse dialect groups of Nepali Gorkhas who form the majority, Bengalis, Tibetans, Biharis and Marwaris to name a few sects.

Lepchas were the original inhabitants of Darjeeling and Sikkim but they represent a minority of the population in today`s Darjeeling. Nepali Gorkhas constitute the majority of the population of Darjeeling today. They come from different castes and dialect groups like the Limbu, Gurung, Tamang, Rai, Newar, Mangar, Sherpa and Thami communities. The Tibetan community is comparatively a new addition to the population formed when thousands of Tibetan refugees settled across Darjeeling district in 1950 when China captured Tibet. The rest of the population is an assortment of people who are from the plains of India, from states like Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and so on.

Festival contours the cultural synthesis of Darjeeling. Apart from the major Hindu religious festivals like Christmas, Diwali, Dussera, Holi, Ram Navami and others, the diverse ethnic population of the Darjeeling district observes several local festivals. The Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups like the Bhutias, Lepchas, Gurungs, and Tamangs celebrate New Year called Loshar during the months of January or February. Maghe Sankranti, Buddha Jayanti, Chotrul Duchen, and Tendong Lho Rumfaat are some of the local festivities in Darjeeling that largely tells about the culture of the place. Darjeeling Carnival, initiated by a civil society movement known as the Darjeeling Initiative, is a ten-day carnival held annually during winter that especially portrays the prosperous musical and cultural heritage of Darjeeling Hills as its basic theme.

Food is an important element of the culture of Darjeeling. The most loved food in Darjeeling is the momo, a steamed dumpling containing mutton, pork, beef or vegetables cooked in a doughy wrapping served with a watery vegetable soup and spicy tomato sauce. Most of the food made in Darjeeling are dry in exteriors, like Wai-Wai is a favourite packaged snack of the hills comprising noodles which are eaten either dry or with soup. Churpee, a kind of hard cheese made from cow or yak`s milk happens to be another popular mini-snack that is truly nutritious. A form of noodle called thukpa, served with soup and vegetables, is extremely popular in the district. There are a number of restaurants offering a variety of traditional Indian, Continental and Indian Chinese cuisine to cater to the varied palette of the tourists. Tea is the most popular beverage, prepared from the famed Darjeeling tea gardens, as well as coffee. Chhang and tongba are local alcoholic beverages made from millet that is often especially ordered by the tourists.

Culture of Darjeeling is also portrayed through its marvellous colonial architecture, characterising many buildings in Darjeeling; like the Gothic churches, Tudor residences, the Raj Bhawan (Governor House), Planters` Club and various educational institutions. Buddhist monasteries display the pagoda style architecture. Darjeeling is thought to be a center of music and a forte for musicians and music admirers. Singing and playing musical instruments is a common leisure among the resident population, who take pride in the traditions and role of music in cultural life. Western music is popular among the younger generation of Darjeeling, and it is a major center of Nepali rock music. Traditional dances in Darjeeling include the chutkay dance, jhaure dance, maruni dance and Tamang selos, which find their origins in Nepal. Other forms of dance in Darjeeling include the Tibetan Chaam performed with gaudy costumes and masks during the eve of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. Cricket and football are the most popular sports in Darjeeling. An improvised form of ball made of rubber garters is often used to play along the lonely steep streets.

Several monasteries like Ghum Monastery, Bhutia Busty monastery, Mag-Dhog Yolmowa are the preservation houses of ancient Buddhist scripts which still echo the culture of Darjeeling amidst their antiquity. Hinduism, Buddhism and to a certain extent Christianity are the chief religions practiced by people of Darjeeling. One can expect to find inter-faith places of worship like the Hindu temple at Dhirdham, Mahakal Temple, or the various Tibetan Buddhist monasteries like Yolmowa Buddhist Monastery or Aloobari Monastery, and the Dali Monastery. Nepali is the prime language used in Darjeeling with Hindi, English and Bengali being the other languages used for conversation between the locals and tourists.

The culture of Darjeeling has been retaining its charm and simplicity since ages. The hard line Indian politics has not yet made a strong hold in the region, thus enabling the inhabitants to spend a peaceful day and lulled to a quite night slumber.

DARJEELING CULTURE AND OTHER

Nepali Folk Dances

The Nepalese are rich in folk culture. The hills and dales are the treasure house of songs and dances of the hill folk. There is not a moment in their lives, possessed as they are of a lyrical mind and heart that does not turn into singing and dancing.

The panorama of the Majestic Himalayan mountains, its lush green hills and forests seem to have played a significant role in influencing the religion and culture including the folk songs and dances of the Nepalese people, inhabiting in and around the Himalayan regions with its serene, romantic and poetic shades of different hues. Even the two major religions. viz., Hinduism and Buddhism, seem to have influenced the Nepali culture full of its rich folks songs and dances, co-existing side by side.

The earlier cave paintings, religious rites and temple songs and dances have also played another significant role in influencing Nepalese Folks songs and dances. The earlier form of dances and folk songs attributed to the Gods and goddesses of both the Hindu and Buddhist pantheon, are also inspirational in creating Nepalese folk songs and dances, impressions of religious dances performed either to appease Gods and goddesses or ward-off the evil spirits can also be seen distinctly in performing arts of the Nepalese people.

The following are some of the most popular and worth mentioning forms of Nepali folk dances.

1. Maruni Nach.

2. Dhan Naach.

3. Jhankri Naach.

4. Jatra Naach.

5. Damphu Naach.

6. Khukuri Naach.

7. Deora Naach.

8. Panchay Naach.

9. Dhimay Naach.

10. Sanginy Naach.

11. Balan Naach.

12. Jhyauray Naach.

13. Paschimay Chutki.

14. Rodhighar Naach.

15. Baton Naach.

16. Jhumara Naach.

17. Sakhia Naach.

Language

Nepali, Hindi, Bengali and English are the prevailing languages. Bengali is the language of the plains, Tibetan is used by the refugees and some other tribal people.

Religion

Hinduism, Buddhism and to an extent Christianity, remain the predominant religions here.

Food

Pamper your taste buds with the exotic but homely food and discover a mosaic of culture while satiating your gastronomical needs.

Whether it is the ubiquitous momos or thupkas whose fabled taste has transcended across the Himalayas along with the migrant Tibetans or the lemon grass menu from south-east Asia,Darjeeling offers you the best.

Momo

Meat dumplings which are steamed and accompanied by a bowl of clear soup and achaar. One can also order for vegetable momos in which the meat is ideally replaced by cabbage and other vegetables.

Thupkas

Tibetan noodles mixed with egg/meat, vegetables with a predominant soup base.

Shaphalay

Tibetan bread stuffed with meat.

Aludum

Typical indian potato preparation which the hill people cannot do without.

Tibetan tea

Salt tea which is mixed with butter which has its own distinct taste.

Tongba

Local brew made from millet and has to be sipped through a bamboo straw. Usually found in the local haat(fair) held on sunday near the Rock Garden.

Architecture

Developed by the British, many buildings of British style architecture can be found here. Apart from these, the Tibetan influence is very noticeable in the buildings of the monasteries.

Festivals

In addition to Durga Puja, Diwali, Saraswati Puja and Shivratri etc., there are local festivals unique only to this region. The Lepchas and Bhutias celebrate the New Year in January, while the Tibetans have their Devil Dances to celebrate their New Year in their monasteries from the last week of February to March. As in the Chinese tradition the snake or dragon dances curl through the streets. In mid-June, processions celebrate the birthday of His Holiness, The Dalai Lama.

Houses are decorated and spirits start building up for Diwali eve when the festival commences. Lasting two weeks, it consists of Lakshmi Puja, Bhailo, Deosi and Bhai Tika. There are robust folk dances with the males participating enthusiastically in the ‘Chabrung’ of the Libus, the Tamangs dance, ‘Damfu’, and the most popular of them all, the scintillating Maruni. Gay folk songs fill the air with ‘Jhowre’ relating to the lover, and the ‘Juhari’ which throws questions and answers between the lovesick couple. The ‘Rosia’ is sung in the fields, the ‘Baloon’ extols the deeds of the Mahabharata and ‘Malsiri’ is kept for the Durga Puja. The ‘Rateli’ are nursery rhymes set to music. It seems that the people have saved all their energy for these two weeks which are filled with great rejoicing.

Handicrafts

The culture of the hill people of Darjeeling are uniquely expressed in the exquisite and inimitable artistic handicrafts of the district and their traditional colourful designs, which show marked resemblance to the art of neighbouring Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. Among the artistic crafts, ornaments, trinkets and handlooms are worth mentioning. There is also fine craftsmanship in wood-work and bamboo fret work. While the principal utility products are blankets, woolen knitted garments and woven fabrics, the artistic products are hand-bags, wall panels, fire-screens, folding partitions, Bhutan paintings, cotton shoulder-bags etc. Beautiful curios are made at Darjeeling and Kalimpong on copper plates studded with red and blue stones with engravings of replicas of deities. Wonderful Tankas with paintings depicting the life of Lord Buddha are also available. Woolen carpets are made in a combination of shades in vegetable and synthetic dyes. Bhutia chaddars can be found in beautiful textures. Decorative Nepali khukris are made in Ghum. Bedroom slippers and rope-sole shoes, jackets, hats, hanzu coats made from handloom cloth and masks are among the many items which attract tourists and curio collectors.

Economy

The cash crops of the region are fruits, tea and cardamom. Tourism contributes in a great way to the economy of the region.

Industry

Tea and Darjeeling are synonymous. Darjeeling Tea is world renowned for its flavour, which is unequaled by other tea producing areas not only of India but also of the world. Darjeeling still manufactures the tea by the original methods known as the ‘orthodox’ method.