A multilinguist, soldier of Gorkha cause -GOPAL SINGH BHANDARI (BORN 09 MAY 1931, DIED 14 JANUARY 2021)

BAL KRISHNA, SNS, DARJEELING. 25 JANUARY 2021: Shri Gopal Singh Bhandari was a rare star in the Gorkha sky, for he was celebrated for his Hindi and Urdu creations as much as for his Nepali writings.

Originally from 9th Mile in Kalimpong, his grandfather Subedar Major Jangbir Singh Bhandari had fought in the Chin-Lushai expedition of 1889-90 and NE Frontier in 1891. His father Deopal Singh Bhandari had participated in the 1st World War and had fought in the Iraq frontier.

Born in Kurseong, GS Bhandari was a curious child and this streak in him continued all life-long. Following on his family's illustrious military traditions, after completing his ISC (Intermediate in Science) from Darjeeling Government College, he joined the Army, but due to family circumstances had to quit and return. Once back in Kurseong, a group of people approached him to help set up a school in Nepal. He followed them to Nepal and helped establish the school, after which he came back. He then joined the Pushparani Middle English School (as it was known back then) as a teacher for a brief period, after which he joined the Public Works Department and worked there all his life.

However, his heart and passion was elsewhere-literature. Being a voracious reader, he was a self-taught multilinguist who had knowledge of Urdu, Hindi, Bengali and English in addition to Nepali. His passion brought him in contact with All India Radio (AIR) and that is where he found his true vocation-writing about social issues that most wouldn't talk about.

Back in the day, AIR would hold hour-long dramas-like our podcast of today. The dramas would be selected by the AIR Headquarters in Delhi and set to all regional stations to be translated. He was the only translator of Urdu plays into Nepali and Nepali plays into other languages at the AIR Kurseong for a longtime. He himself wrote many plays for AIR and lyrics for song,. poems and articles for various magazines. During emergency, AIR refused to publish his Hindi play 'Surat apni apni,' as it was based on the trade union movement. The play could be broadcast only after the emergency was lifted. Always a forward thinker, another one of his Hindi plays, 'Cactus ke phool, which became a sensation across the country was based on intercommunal marriage. His association with literature brought him in close contact with the who's who of the Nepali Bhasa Manyata Andolan, in which he was an active participant. His articles and write-ups in Hindi and Urdu languages made people outside Darjeeling region aware of the plight of Nepali speaking Gorkhas. A dedicated foot soldier of Gorkha cause, Gopal Singh Bhandari openly supported the demand for Gorkhaland even as a government servant. The then Govt of West Bengal transferred him to Krishna nagar as punishment, following which he had resigned, but later the government relented.

In his lifetime, he penned over 200 poems and equal number of articles, most of them progressive and a commentary on social good.

Bhandari breathed his last at his home in Salbari in Siliguri on 14 January at the age of 90. His 'anthesti' (final rites) will be held at his home in Salbari on 26 January.

We pay our humble tribute to this soul, whose love for our language and community was unequaled.