All Tangled Up in Darjeeling

Overhead wires hinder views of colonial and Gothic architecture and mountainous glory in Darjeeling

- Avantika Bhuyan

Did you know that the older name for Darjeeling was Dorje-ling, or the land of thunder? When the British arrived, they couldn't pronounce the original name and called it Darjeeling—a name that stuck on," says our tour guide, Rahul Thapa, as we travel from the pristine tea estates of Kurseong to the main town of Darjeeling. Locals such as Thapa are worried that the picturesque hill station nestled in north Bengal may soon acquire another name, "Taarjeeling," due to the proliferation of entangled wires dangling across the main town. In fact, this quip has become a popular joke with which guides and taxi drivers greet tourists.

As someone who has visited Darjeeling earlier—my last visit being nearly 14 years ago—the statement seems like hyperbole. That is until I reach Darjeeling's Mall Road. Landmarks such as the Planter's Club (now renovated) and the Darjeeling Clock Tower, which had once stood tall, framed by mountains all around, today seem to be peeking out from behind a veil of tangled wires.