`The Endless Wait' set for Kalimpong release on 8 Jan`

SNS, SILIGURI. 6 JANUARY 2023: English novel 'The Endless Wait" (Metaphor of a people's longing for identity) written by Wilfrid Singh is all set to be released amid a function in Kalimpong town on 8 January. 

Based on the bloody Gorkhaland movement spear- headed by Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader Subhash Ghisingh in 1980s, the novel is being considered an honest initiative to narrate the history of the struggle and sacrifice of the Gorkhas in their quest for a separate homeland. 

The story of the novel centres around an incident on July 27, 1986, when as part of the agitation, Gorkhaland protesters in Kalimpong torched copies of Article-7 of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950, claiming Indian Gorkha identity, and 13 protesters were killed when police opened fire at the gathering there. In the 'The Endless Wait', Mr Singh presents the simple lifestyle of the Hill people, coupled with their fighting spirit in a very beautiful manner. 

He goes on to show how the Gorkha community is able to live a positive life even in the face of adversities. The author has expressed hope that his first creation will he liked not only in the Hills of Darjeeling Kalimpong and Sikkim, but by readers across the country.

"This is my first attempt. I have tried to bring forth the lesser-known facts about the Gorkha land movement back then. Other writers are also writing about the agjtation, but I have tried to tell our story in a slightly different craft," Mr Singh says. 

According to Suraj Gurung, the Director of Book-Ant, which has published the book, this is arguably the first time that the Gorkhaland agitation and issues related to the Gorkhas have been written so vividly and lucidly in the English language. "The Endless Wait" carries the story of Gorkha identity in a classy manner. Book-Ant feels proud to undertake the publication of this book," Mr Gurung says.

At the release function to be held at The Epilogue Book Café in Kalimpong at 11 am, Senior Supreme Court advocate Amrit Singh Sinchuri is scheduled to be the chief guest, while Kalimpong Nepali Sahitya Adhyayan Samity official Gyan Sutar, novelist Munnu Gautam, intellectual Puran Gurung and Darjeeling district library officer Amrit Subba will be the guests. 

The entire event will be presided by Sikkimese translator and Hindi-Nepali author Subas Deepak. Also, English author Manohar Thapa of Kalimpong will conduct a review event on "The Endless Wait"; while a discourse on Gorkha Identity and English writing in the Hills will be conducted, in which author Wilfrid Singh, former MLA Dr Harka Bahadur Chhetri, journalist Sandeep Jain and Soumen Nag will be the resource persons. The discussion will be facilitated by Sarika Atreya.