‘Aappa’ leaves an indelible mark in Lichubagan Matigara, Siliguri, 19 March: Days of suspended animation among people keeping a watch over politics in the region finally ended today. The bags were all packed and loaded in three small cars, the LED TV had been dismantled and put away in one of the cars, and men ran helter-skelter trying to fix things for the final time. The time had arrived. The now physically frail and weak supremo of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Subash Ghising, set out on a journey that political observers say can very well change the political dynamics in the Darjeeling Hills, especially in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Since early morning today, journalists roamed around the rented three-storey house in Lichubagan at Matigara in Siliguri, where Mr Ghisingh had been living for the past 11 months, while neighbours stood in silence to bid him goodbye. A long wait over, ‘Aappa’ (dad), as his supporters fondly call Mr Ghisingh, climbed down the stairs of the house, only to be mobbed by the journalists, who threw a volley of questions on the chairman of the erstwhile Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), who has maintained a low profile since he left the Hills. The neighbours recalled him as a ‘quiet man,’ who seldom went out and mingled with them. “This could be because of his old age and frail health,” a lady at a Penticostal church nearby said. “It is a mixed feeling. While we are sad that he is leaving for good, we will pacify ourselves at the thought that he will be going to the Hills as per the wishes of thousands of his supporters there,” said another neighbour, who added that Mr Ghisingh, despite remaining aloof from the outside world, was busy everyday meeting his party people. During his stay in the place, a village-like area dotted by a few houses and a dirt road, Mr Ghisingh, who is not keeping too well these days, maintained a ‘healthy’ lifestyle. According to the landlord, Rajesh Oraon, the former Darjeeling strongman used to get up early and take a ‘jog’ on the terrace every morning, before he started the day with newspapers and TV news channels. “He was also a very religious man, and he offered the puja to the gods every day,” Mr Oraon said, adding that Mr Ghisingh lived in the house as a ‘family member.’ The all-the-way pious side of the GNLF chief was evident today at Matigara, when his aides made sure that he faced the east as soon as he came out to leave for Darjeeling from the door that was facing north. Even as he headed for Darjeeling, he stopped at Rohini below Kurseong and offered puja at a temple there. According to Mr Oraon’s cousin, Akhilesh Puri, Mr Ghisingh believed in different Hindu deities and that he thoroughly worshipped them before he left the house today. Meanwhile, while some neighbours questioned people around if the ‘popular figure’ will return to the house, Mr Ghisingh said in Darjeeling that he will stay put there now. However, Mr Oraon said he will not rent out the house to anyone again until and unless the GNLF boss tells him he is done with it. “He just said he will be going to Darjeeling and left. He never talked anything about leaving the house forever,” Mr Oraon said, expressing hope that the man who made his building and the entire Lichubagan popular in the region would return some day. sns
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 10:33:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015