(Un)Doing

… Sunflower isn’t the most visible hotel at the mall anymore. The McDonald’s outlet has closed down, perhaps. For an 11-year-old, Darjeeling was a rare experience, a privilege bestowed by extended family members whom I had begged to take me along. For the next 15 years this would remain my only such trip. Today, the place remains warm; the people a little too kind. On your way towards the mall – thronged by fellow tourists as usual – you will notice streams of flags stretching across the sky. There might be some boys painting the walls too. World Cup is just a few days away and Darjeeling, as I am later told by Kapil, is crazy about football... much like Kolkata, a city that holds its purse strings tight. Fig 1: Darjeeling Mall It is easy to forget that only 12 months back, the hill station, a former British administrative capital (during summers) was completely shut down reiterating demands of an independent separate state. To describe the event as mere ‘shutdown’, wou...