Shivering at sub-zero, Darj hopes for white Xmas

Deep Gazmer,TNN, Dec 17, 2015, DARJEELING: As Kolkatans rejoice at the onset of winter, albeit the delay , Darjeeling is under the grip of severe cold.The temperature in the Hills is plummeting below zero at night and early morning and hovering around 3-4 degrees Celsius during the day. 

Flocks of tourists who have landed up in Darjeeling for their Christmas break have their fingers crossed, hoping to catch a few flakes of snow during the festive season."You can see from our clothes that it's really cold here, but we are not complaining. We only hope it snows in a day or two," said Gauri Chakraborty from south Kolkata, who will be in Darjeeling for a week, with her family . Similar excitement is evident among other visitors. "We came straight from Gangtok where it is also cold. But here, it is really chilly, much colder than last year. We just hope it snows while we are in Darjeeling," said homemaker Taluka Mukherjee from Sodepur. 

Darjeeling town has not received any snow for the past few years, the last time being in January , 2008. But Tiger Hill, merely 12km from there, gets its fair share of snowfall every year. Pinning their hope on Tiger Hill's snowy history, tourists made their way there on Wednesday but they had to return disappointed when told that the white sheet on the road was only the morning frost. "Here, the temperature drops to -2 degrees Celsius at night. There is every possibility that we might experience snowfall," said Pradeep Lama, manager of the Tiger Hill Pavilion. Even oldtimers in Darjeeling predict a snowfall. "It has been years since it last snowed in Darjeeling in December. But this ti me, it looks like the Weather God is creating a favourable condition for it this Christ mas," said Pradip Chhetri who lives near Chowrastha. 

Tourists and locals alike can be seen wrapped in heavy woollens as they trudge up and down Darjeeling roads. 

While the young are beating the chill with a game of chungi (rubber-band ball game) or badminton, the elderly can be seen seated around fires, even during the day . Innumerable rounds of tea are being ordered at roadside stalls while visitors dig into piping hot momos and thukpas.