Higher than Mt Kanchenjunga

Kajal Chatterjee *

As we walked inside the Mall area of Darjeeling in the sunny morning, a Nepali man of probably late 30s or early 40s approached us to ask whether we would go sightseeing. As we were negotiating the price with him, I noticed his impeccable humility and innocent smile. So without opting to negotiate with another driver so as to get a "better deal" in our favour, we chose him.

Without belittling the "mainstream" tourists, it is my humble submission that my definition of tourism is in stark opposite to their mindset. Landing in a spot, promptly flashing mobiles to take a selfie in front of the chosen peak or fort and immediately posting it in social media to count the number of "Likes" is definitely not my cup of tea !

I would prefer to negotiate dangerous steps to reach the bottom of Bong Bong falls near Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh instead of searching every alley of the Buddhist town to purchase electronic goods at comparatively cheaper price or to have a good bite at restaurants !

No wonder why I have to regularly meet blank faces when asking the "tourism lover" where the particular fort (embedded in his glamorous pictorial album) is located--Jaisalmer or Jodhpur, Bikaner or Barmer !

My tourism is not confined within the facade of the Taj or flowers of Mughal Gardens Srinagar only; but it extends to the history and heritage of the place/State/country visited with the greatest focus reserved for the culture, lifestyle, general mindset and attitude of the local population concerned.

And just like the famous Lalmohan babu or "Jatayu"( one of the three icons of Feluda series of Satyajit Ray), who frantically asked Feluda on their Uttarakhand visit (then Uttar Pradesh) in which exact spot on the Indian map were they stationed and felt satisfied on getting the exact picture; I also always remain inquisitive of the roads/streets upon which I am travelling and also minutest details of the surrounding area!

So when our cab driver, Mr Suresh, started commenting in his own accord that now we are travelling through Lebong Cart Road or Peshok Road or that village in far distance on the Himalayan ridge is actually situated in Sikkim; I got thrilled that I have met my match--call it luck, destiny, coincidence or God's will !

However it was not running commentary, just a small description at the right place at the right time ! Also the tone was not of "know all" brand, rather a very humble presentation of facts which was enriching my horizon of knowledge that cannot be found readily available in books and brochures !

It was he who notified us that we were passing below the Ramkrishna Mission and even informed us that Sister Nivedita had spent her last days there ! This proves that far from mechanically transporting us from one tourist location to another, Mr Suresh (bearing the stamp of humble economic roots upon his persona) is also intellectually strong enough !

On the Darjeeling days, whenever we asked him to report to a particular place and time, he used to reach there at appointed time despite traffic congestion of the hill town with a soft warm smile thereby proving his punctuality and discipline.

How can I forget the honesty of Mr Suresh who called in his own accord to declare that he has got paid an extra amount of Rs. 1000/-! He could have taken the unfair advantage of my forgetfulness (paying Rs. 1000/- as advance in a fuel station) and pocketed the money, but he didn't do so !

After venturing a spot to start for another, whenever we used to offer him tea, he used to refuse it by saying "I have already taken a cup"! And on the day of return to the plains, he stopped at pre-scheduled Mirik after noon. As I offered him a certain amount so that he can have his lunch while we ventured the lake, vehemently refused. It took me much cuddling to make him accept the amount, such was his non-greedy nature!

During return trip to Siliguri, there were lot of scenic spots- - -the beautiful sleepy hamlet of Lepchajagat to Indo-Nepal border viewpoint offering a spectacular sight of Mount Kanchenjunga (resembling "Sleeping Buddha" from that angle) to series of tea gardens.

Apart from the scheduled spots, he was encouraging us to stop here and there (be it a secluded place where large green valleys can be witnessed or river beds) and enjoy as much as we wish instead of rushing to Siliguri to save his own time !

Despite being in driving profession just for sheer money, Mr Suresh is conscientious enough to give back due enjoyment to the customers/travellers also just like I witness the same mentality in the proprietor-cum-driver of the local car service which we regularly hail since a decade!

During Durga Puja pandal-hopping (contract of certain hours at the expense of a pre-fixed amount), Mr Bappa, of our local area, voluntarily takes us to more Puja pandals (without charging an extra penny) even after time limit if he finds that we haven't seen enough idols due to traffic jams within scheduled hours !

Not to speak of his extremely sweet behaviour (not only to customers, but to his subordinates and family members also), humility, sense of timing and ethics !

This brings us to a particular Director of our office who was agitated about the driver allotted to him! Yes, that particular driver might have been rude, dishonest, inefficient etc. The Director could have expressed his frustration revolving around his driver as an individual. But, while referring to his driver, the Director bluntly said "Surely you know the "class" of the drivers"!

And get remembered of that otherwise nice Bangla comedy film where the popular song starts with "Oh what a disgrace, girl of a Bhadralok family escapes with a driver"--which directly transmits a message that drivers can never be termed as "Bhadralok"!

If the so-called "Bhadraloks" (of "educated" "high class" vintage) of the society learn a few things revolving around civility humility humanity accountability and honesty from these unsung, socially marginalised lot of Suresh and Bappa, surely our society can attain a much higher height in terms of civility and morality!

Mount Kanchenjunga was sweet. Sweeter was the information given by Mr Suresh that the habitation on the far right of our position in scenic height of Tinchuley is Kalimpong and on our far left dwells Namchi of South Sikkim!

But sweetest is the character of Mr Suresh whom I treat higher than the world's third highest peak also !