Retaining the old charm: Tourists flock back to Queen of Hills to celebrate Christmas, New Year

Amitava Banerjee | MP | Darjeeling: It might not be the picture post card white Christmas that Darjeeling once upon a time could boast of but the Queen of Hills has reason enough to cheer.

Tourists have started flocking back to Darjeeling to enjoy the festivities.

Chowrasta, the nerve center of the Hill town, is a bee hive of activity with the return of tourists.

"Though Darjeeling has changed a great deal and the Raj effect has worn off considerably it has still its own charm and we love to spend Christmas here," stated Tanmoy Chakroborty,

a tourist from Kolkata.

Most of the Hotels in Darjeeling are booked till the first week of January 2019.

Noreen Dunne, former teacher of the St. Joseph's College fondly reminisced: "Back in the days when we were kids, Christmas was all about goodies. But the specialty of our family was that all the Christmas goodies were prepared at home. We used mix the cake in huge containers wearing rubber boots, the container generally being placed in between our legs and we vigorously mixed the ingredients with spatulas. As we didn't have an oven big enough, Ghuramiya (the oldest confectioner in town) used to bake it for us.

Then, there was home made cold meat to which my father used to add his special seasoning and my mother's famous short bread. We used to go for Carol singing and the special midnight mass. My sister used to hang long stockings that used to be stuffed

with presents."

The true flavour of Darjeeling Christmas is still preserved by Glenary's — one of the oldest eateries in town.

Glenary's which opened in 1938 was then called Pliva's after the owners — the Pliva family. After the Plivas left for England, A T Edward, who was the then Manager, bought the confectionery and rechristened it the Glenary's.

Ajoy Edward, the grandson of Late AT Edward, stated: "Christmas means good food and good wine." From the British days till date, Glenary's has been laying out a sumptuous buffet on Christmas eve and Christmas.

The Christmas spread consists of continental dishes like roasted pork, roasted chicken, gratin, mince pies and plum puddings.

The confectionery is packed with Christmas goodies — the Plum Cake with white icing, the Noel Cake, Mince pies and puddings.

The fruits used in the Christmas cakes are marinated for two months in liquor. Recipes are still traditional.

Christmas decoration, the crackling fireplace and the waiters wearing bright red Christmas hats conjure up the perfect Christmas.

"We have carol singing groups and live bands singing Christmas numbers to add to the old world charm" added Ajoy.

The Windamere Hotel in Darjeeling is also a seat of traditional Christmas celebrations. The visitors get a treat of overseas entertainers, Carol singers and a great Christmas spread.