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Hello Kalimpong!

Travelled to Kalimpong for the week-end.I remember visiting the place when I was six.Had been there for an interview in SJC and to meet up with my sibling who was in the boarding school then.Allthough a stone's throw away from my state, never got around to climbing the hill to visit the place again.
There was a surpressed air of anticipation and excitement as we climbed and did the rounds of the multiple hills-it almost felt like Mandrake's xanadu.The town on the hill-top seemed to be a meek town caught somewhere in a time warp.It had it's old world charm in parts-very much Kalimpongish!!-nothing new or shiny about the place-the baker's shop selling the gigantic buns,little wooden houses with tiny gardens,dirty-market place,the famous mela ground where the 15th august celebration is supposed to be second to none in India and ofcourse the very old Gompus and their momos.A typically company humour doing the rounds during the gorkhaland agitation went something like this-,during the struggle, tourism was one of the main casualties.Apparently Gompus had to stow away a lot of pork momos due to lack of customers-some live porks, when sniffing through the bins ,apparently saw the momos in the bin and wondered aloud-'It looks like our demand for the free state has been agreed upon!'
That's Kalimpong for you!
Didn't regret the visit.
It's onwards to Darjeeling next-it's been even longer!

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