Winter white in Darjeeling

Reza Pradhan, SNS,DARJEELING, 29 JANUARY 2019: On then 25th wedding anniversary, Rudrajit Chattopadhaya and Manjushree Chaterjee, a couple from Noida in Delhi got one of the best gifts they could have asked for, as they walked hand in hand, with snowflakes falling around them here today,

For the second time this year, Darjeeling town witnessed bouts of snowfall that lasted for almost four hours, even as jubilant people gathered mostly at Chowrasta, a popular promenade, to enjoy the flakes. Many of them said this could be the first big snowfall" in a decade in the town. It may be recalled that the town areas saw slight snowfall on 28 December last year.

"This is one of the best gifts one could get in their 25th anniversary. We just arrived in Darjeeling and it started snowing. We have seen snowfall in other places, but we are feeling ecstatic today and cannot contain our joy" said Mr Chattopadhaya, who came to Darjeeling after 13 years, while his wife was here for the first time. Snowball started around 10 am and continued right up to 2.30 pm. It was, however, an intermittent affair, with snow, rain and hailstones taking turns to fall.

Another tourist, Samitra Sengupta, from Kolkata said, "I work in the tour and travel business and have been to this place and Sikkim areas a lot of times earlier. I have seen snowfall in the Sikkim area, but this is the first time that I am experiencing snowfall in Darjeeling. This was a "once- in- a-lifetime experience"

A local Subha Pradhan said this could be the first- "snowfall" after a decade. "Even though snow did not accumulate much, the experience was mind-blowing," he said,

Several people also went to Tiger Hill, a popular tourist spot around 8 km from town, where it usually snows. However, the people returned disheartened after the white flakes eluded that area today. On the other hand, Sandakhpu area, around 61 km from here and standing at a height

of 3,636 metre, also witnessed snowfall today, with about 3 inches of snow accumulating in the upper reaches there. That area had experienced snowfall last on 23 January this year, with around 8 inches of snow accumulating then. The last time snow had accumulated in Darjeeling town area, that too in the upper reaches of the town, was on 28 January 2008.