A Bandt

Darjeeling, 18-02-1994. A bandt, Hindu for general strike, forced me and two other foreigner travellers on the train to stay overnight in Siliguri, a typical Indian dusty small town at the foothills of the Himalaya. Darjeeling is a small but intresting Himalaya city dedicated to thea growing and the locals look very different from the Bengalies in Calcutta, short and stocky and dark skinned. They hassle me less than the other Indians I have met so far, their behaviour is more friendly although at times more indifferent. No isgn here of the average Indian who indulges in stupid stares and childish giggling.