Tea auction revival at fest - 17-day Darjeeling tourism festival begins on December 20
Darjeeling, Dec. 5.TT: The
Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival that will kick off on December 20
will have a tea auction for the first time after two decades.
Sources said more than 10 gardens
would take part in the auction and would sell a few hundred kilograms of
brew. The last such auction at the Darjeeling tourism festival was held
in 1991.
“The proceeds of
the tea auction will not be taken home by the planters but will be
handed over to a social organisation. We will also felicitate tea
gardens labourers who contributed to the growth of the industry, along
with prominent people of yesteryear,” said Binay Tamang, Morcha leader
and general secretary of the festival organising committee.
The GTA, the state
government and the “people of Darjeeling” have decided to organise the
festival by remembering the history of the land and felicitating the
sons of soil who made contributions in different fields.
Not to speak of Bollywood celebrities, many of whom won’t charge a single penny for their participation.
“The history of
Darjeeling is intertwined with the history of tea gardens. During the
festival this year, the Indian Tea Association will be organising a tea
auction at Chowrastha in Darjeeling where the brew from the gardens will
be directly sold,” Tamang said.
Last year, the
festival was conducted by the Darjeeling district administration and the
“people of Darjeeling”. “The GTA will actively take part in the
festival this year in an effort to improve the image of the hills,” said
Bimal Gurung, the GTA chief executive and also a patron of the
festival.
Saumitra Mohan,
the principal secretary of the GTA and also the president of the
festival organising committee, said talks were on to ensure the
participation of prominent personalities from Bollywood and sports.
“We are trying to
get in touch with Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and a host of other
celebrities. A lot of celebrities have confirmed their participation in
the festival and it is heart warming to know that many of them are not
charging for their appearance.”
The festival will end on January 5 next year.
Apart from dances,
traditional cultural shows, art and fashion shows, the organisers will
try to create a record of sorts by lining up 7,000 guitarists who will
strum the song Imagine by John Lennon. “This is an effort to create a unique record,” said Tamang.
Although he didn’t elaborate, the sources said the performance by the 7,000 guitarists would be part of an attempt to enter the Limca Book of Records.
The organisers
want to ensure that the benefits of the festival go beyond glamourous
celebrations and are looking at tying up with Olympian and world boxing
champion Mary Kom to set up a boxing academy in the hills.
“We have started
talks with Mary Kom’s representatives to set up a boxing academy in the
hills. The GTA is exploring the possibility of earmarking land for her
to establish an academy but no final agreement has yet been reached,”
said a member of the organising committee
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