Culture of Darjeeling

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mahakal Temple at Observatory Hill, Darjeeling
.
St. Andrew's Church, Darjeeling. Built- 1843, Rebuilt- 1873
St. Andrew's Church, Darjeeling. A view from the downhill side road, May'17

The culture of Darjeeling, India, is diverse and has a regional distinctness.[1]

Festivals

The two predominant religions are

Kiranti Rai people (Khambus) celebrate their annual Sakela festivals of Ubhauli and Udhauli. Deusi/Bhailo
are songs performed by men and women, respectively, during the festival of Tihar.

Darjeeling Carnival, initiated by a civil society movement known as The Darjeeling Initiative, was a ten-day carnival held yearly during winter that portrayed the rich musical and cultural heritage of Darjeeling Hills as its central theme.[2] Every year, cultural festivals are held in the town of Darjeeling and its surrounding areas.

Cuisine

The people of Darjeeling consume a diverse variety of foods. Each ethnic group has its own distinct traditional food. A popular food in Darjeeling is the

cow or yak's milk, is another popular mini-snack that is both nutritious and masticatory. Soft chhurpi, a traditional soft cheese, is consumed along with green vegetables as savoury dishes, used as filling for momos, ground with tomatoes and chillies for chutney or made into a refreshing soup. A type of noodle called thukpa, served with soup and vegetables/meat, is extremely popular in and around the hills of Darjeeling. There are a number of restaurants offering a variety of traditional Indian, Continental and Indian Chinese cuisine to cater to tourists. Tea is the most popular beverage, procured from the famed Darjeeling tea gardens, as well as coffee. Chhang or jaanr is a local alcoholic beverage made from fermented millet
, maize or rice.

St. Andrew's Church, Darjeeling: During snowfall

Architecture

Colonial architecture characterizes many buildings in Darjeeling; several cottages,

Buddhist monasteries showcase the pagoda
style architecture.

Music

Darjeeling is regarded as a center of music and a hotbed for musicians and music admirers. Singing and playing musical instruments is a common pastime among the resident population, who take pride in the traditions and role of music in their cultural life.

Indian Idol 3 is a resident of Darjeeling
.

Sports

Football is the most popular sports in Darjeeling. An improvised form of ball made of rubber bands is often used for playing in the steep streets, and is known as Chungi.[7][8]

Films

Darjeeling is also a popular setting for

Kanchenjungha (1962) here. Bollywood movies such as Aradhana (1969), Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman
(1992), Main Hoon Na (2004), Parineeta (2005), Barfi! (2012), Yaariyan (2014) and Jagga Jasoos (2017) were partially filmed in the town.[9][10]

Places of interest

Some notable places to visit include the

mass tourism.[15] Since 2012, Darjeeling has once again witnessed a steady inflow of both domestic and international tourists. As of 2015, around 50,000 foreign and 500,000 domestic tourists visit Darjeeling each year,[16] the so-called "Queen of the Hills" continuing to appeal strongly to the imagination of tourists.[17]

See also

Chowrasta

Culture of West Bengal

Citations

  1. ^ West Bengal (India) 1980, p. 126.
  2. ^ Chattopadhyay, S.S. (December 2003). "The spirit of Darjeeling". Frontline. 20 (25). Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2006.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b Dasgupta, Suryendu; Garg, Pushplata (November 2016). "Transformation of Architectural Character of Darjeeling". Urban heritage conservation of Colonial hill stations of India: A case of Darjeeling. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b Bhattacharya 2013, p. 442–61.
  5. ^ Rasaily DP, Lama RP. "The Nature-centric Culture of the Nepalese". The Cultural Dimension of Ecology. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi. Archived from the original on 15 July 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
  6. ^ "Nepali Folk Dances in Darjeeling". darjeeling-tourism.com. 9 March 2021. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Chungi on the Chowrasta- Nepali Times". Nepali Times. 1 December 2005. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  8. ^ Krishna, Bal (9 March 2019). "Darjeeling - Games We Played". The Darjeeling Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  9. ^ Singh, Bikash (6 July 2021). "Film shooting process on toy train goes digital". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  10. ^ Singh, Deepali (13 September 2020). "7 Bollywood films that will whisk you off to Darjeeling, on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar". Vogue India. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  11. The Hindustan Times. 11 June 2017. Archived
    from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Planters Club members want lost glory back". The Statesman. 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  13. ^ "A Peace Pagoda Pathway: Discover The Lesser-Seen Locations Around India". Outlook Traveller. 5 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  14. ^ Chodon, Thinley (21 June 2018). "There is much more to the queen of hill stations than clock towers, post offices, toy trains and tea. Welcome to the land of pious pleasure and holiness...on a height!". Outlook Traveller. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  15. ^ Brown, Scrase & Ganguly-Scrase 2017, p. 535.
  16. ^ "Darjeeling hills showing highly positive tourist inflow picture". timesofindia-economictimes. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  17. ^ Middleton & Shneiderman 2018, p. 1.

References