I belong to a small town in the state of West Bengal in India. Named Siliguri. It’s on the foothills of the Darjeeling hills. It’s like any other Bengali city, but Siliguri isn’t as advanced as the capital city Kolkata. When I was a kid, the city didn’t have malls, multiplex movie theatres, clubs, or five star hotels. No discotheques even. Swimming pools were only in the two most luxurious three star hotels. The guests and members and people who subscribed for swimming training classes could use. The fees for training was high and the hotel is away from the main city, so not anyone and everyone could use. Now there are malls, multiplexes, discos, and also a club and a five star hotel. The city has changed a lot within the last 20 years of my life.
One can find three prominent groups of people- Bengalis, Marwaris and the Nepalese. So there’s Bengali, Hindi and Nepali spoken mostly.
Judging by economic status, one can find people below poverty line, the middle class and also millionaires. Most Marwaris are businessmen and are among the richest in the city. Bengalis and Nepalese can be seen in all fields and strata.
Compared to the metropolitan cities, Siliguri’s economic condition is not too good, but at least the cost of living is cheaper. Moreover day by day our city is becoming a business hub in the northern part of West Bengal.
I’d like to go back to Darjeeling some day…and a stop at Siliguri would be nice
Have you visited Sikkim? I found Gangtok and Pelling better than Darjeeling. Though Darjeeling is more famous around the world
I’m just waiting for an opportunity to visit d north…from Himachal..Dharmashala to Kashmir…I wanna experience it all. Some day I will.
Nice…