THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE]

BY ZAMYANG ZIMBA

The ghost of the Adhi Kavi has come back to life again. His lone self standing at the heart of Chowrastha is in state of complete disarray. Having already withstood the humiliation of being hacked once for the mere gratification of some mindless fools, he wonders if he has to face the same music again. The change around him seems inevitable..only if his distressed voice could be heard.

The recent beautification drive at the focal point of Darjeeling town seems to be in full bloom. With funds allocated from the State Government to the tune of some fine crores, Chowrastha is all set to have a new look. There is a new gallery stand going to be built along with a new replenished lush green grass park at the same mount where the current one stands adjacent to the Windamere Hotel. Furthermore, the old green benches will be painted afresh and new jazzy streetlamps installed to do away with the old colonial feel. Construction is underway and it certainly seems to come at a heavy cost.

A walk down memory lane and I recollect some vivid scenes of the past. After my early morning stroll around the Mall Road, I used to come and sit on this particular bench just beside the Great poet himself. There were two benefits that came along with it. One, that as the sun’s rays fell directly over head the statue of Bhanu Bhakta, I felt assured of some divine aura myself and secondly, simply because it provided a better viewpoint of the entire place. As I sat there enjoying the warm hues of the morning sun, there was this old Tibetan lady accompanied with a furry little white apso who came for the same purpose as mine, I wonder. She sat hours together after finishing her rounds in the seat next to mine rolling her beads and chanting mantras while her little one kept watch over her in peaceful co-existence. Perhaps, they both felt a certain bonding here which they probably hadn’t felt anywhere else.  Read the rest of this entry »

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE]

BY DARJ MAN

Apropos The Statesman News Service 25 February 2012,”GJMM to stay away from Sen Committee proceedings” for the same valid reasons as the opponents of GTA formation, the political parties and pressure groups are seen to avoid becoming signatories to the report, understanding full well the Justice Sen Committee is in fact akin to a State Reorganisation Commission (SRC), deliberating on matters related to the constitutional provision for Darjeeling District and the Duars aspects of Jalpaiguri District as areas within the Fifth Schedule.

The above areas is confirmed with the provision of the Fifth Schedule by none other than ABAVP, President Mr. Birsa Tirkey, when he refers the concerned areas under the Integrated Tribal Development Project and which right, to agree with his statement, “could not be bartered away without violating the constitutional canons” happens to be the truth of the matter confirming the Fifth Schedule safeguard of Darjeeling District and the Duars aspects of Jalpaiguri District.

To safeguard the Fifth and Sixth Schedule areas in India, it is reckoned Article 275 (1) &(2) was incorporated Grant of Fund, “to enable that State to meet the cost of such schemes of development as maybe undertaken by the State with the approval of the Government of India for the purpose of promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes in the State or raising the level of administration of Scheduled Areas therein to that of the administration of the rest of the areas of the State”. Part (1) of the Article is responsible for the financial grants sanctioned by the Constitution of India to the Fifth and Sixth Schedule Areas as (i) Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Plan (SCA to TSP) and (ii) the reference by Mr. Birsa Tirkey arguing, that the land concerned under Integrated Tribal Development Project, happens to be an aspect of (i) delegating verification of the Scheduled Tribes within the Fifth Schedule area for the allocation of the Central financial grants supported by equal amount for infusion by the State.  Read the rest of this entry »

FROM ESPNSTAR.COM

They don’t play but they bear the brunt, fingers are pointed at him. The trend is the same for coaches worldwide, and India’s Savio Medeira is no exception.

Less than 90 days ago, Savio and his side convincingly won the SAFF Championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. That though, is a thing of the past, for transition galore has taken place since that momentous success.

Defender Mahesh Gawli and creative midfielder par excellence, Climax Lawrence, have announced their international retirements, leaving Medeira to back a new look India ahead of next month’s AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal.

None among Nirmal Chhetri, Syed Rahim Nabi, Rocus Lamare, Lalrindika Ralte, Clifford Miranda and Sunil Chhetri started against Oman in last week’s friendly loss to Oman. Add to that, the fact that Jeje Lalpeklua has been missing for some time now, and it would appear that the game against Paul Le Guen’s Oman was the shape of things to come.

Not that Medeira is particularly concerned. Read the rest of this entry »