Home GNLF chief didn't stay in - Sherab returns as Subash to ancestral village

The hearse carrying Subash Ghisingh's body crosses Tingling, 3km from Lepcha
Khop, the late GNLF chief's ancestral village, where he was cremated on Sunday
evening.
Picture by Suman Tamang

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Manju, Feb. 1: Sherab Ghisingh was today brought to his birthplace at Lepcha Khop near Darjeeling. He came back as Subash Ghisingh.

The GNLF chief when alive had not stayed for even a night at a home built for him in his ancestral village. Today, too, the body was not taken there for religious reasons - once a body leaves a home, it does not enter another.

Other than Ghisingh's family and a few village elders, few know that Subash Ghisingh was born as Sherab.

Phurba Ghisingh, the cousin brother of Subash Ghisingh, said: "When I was small, I used to call him Sherab. Then he changed his name to Subash when he became an author and then, I too, started referring to him as Subash Ghisingh. Apart from his family members and our villager elders, few know him as Sherab."

It was in the 1960s that the GNLF leader first published his novel titled Fulmaya. He went on to write more than 22 novels, plays and compilation of poems.

He only used "Subash" in his published works. "He was Subash the writer, Ghisingh the leader," Phurba said.

This morning, thousands of people lined up along the streets when his body was brought from his Dr Zakhir Hussain Road residence in Darjeeling to his ancestral place Lepcha Khop that is near the Manju tea estate, 50km from Darjeeling town.

Residents of Sukhiapokhri, Mirik, Dudhia and other places in the hills shut their shops to pay their last respects to Ghisingh.

Darjeeling town, which had downed its shutters yesterday, remained closed in the morning till noon today.

Ghisingh was born at Lepcha Khop village at Manju division of Singbul tea garden on April 22, 1936.

He had, however, lived most part of his life in Darjeeling town.

Ghisingh started staying in Darjeeling from the 1950s, soon after returning from the army.

His family wanted his body to be brought to his native place and to his newly constructed home, in which for some reason, he had never spent a day.

Uma Tamang, the granddaughter of Ghisingh, said: "There was this old wooden ancestral home here. However, in 2001 the house was dismantled and a new structure was erected as a gift by his well-wishers. The house was completed in 2003 but for some reason he never stayed there."

Ashram Rai, a relative of the leader, said: "In 2004, he had come to his house but was very angry that the cemetery of his younger sister, Maichang, was not kept properly. This was probably the last time he came to this place."

Ghisingh had three elder brothers, Jita, Sindel, Lalit and an elder sister Manu. Maichang was his younger sister.

Today, his body was brought to his ancestral home - the three-hour journey from Darjeeling to Manju taking more than seven and half hours - but even then, Ghisingh's body did not enter his house because of religious reasons.

"Once a body is bid farewell from a house, it cannot enter a second house," said Phurba.

Ghisingh's body, which left Darjeeling around 9am today, reached the Lepcha Khop residence around 4.20pm.

The hearse was parked on one side of the two-storied house that has five rooms, for about 15 minutes, before the body was taken to Manjushree Park, about a kilometre away. Ghisingh's elder son Sagar lit the pyre at 5.15pm.

The park is about a kilometre from Ghisingh's ancestral place. The place is at present, looked after by his relatives. In Lepcha Khop there are about 20-odd houses of which five families are related to Subash Ghisingh.