After 15 years ‘Ghising’s Kali’ returns to Gorkha Ranga Mancha in Darj
Darjeeling: It was a completion of a full circle with the 16-feet idol of Goddess Kali that was taken off the walls of Gorkha Ranga Mancha Bhawan in Darjeeling in 2009 was reconsecrated at the same Bhawan on Monday by the Gorkha Territorial Administration, after a gap of 15 years. This fiberglass idol was conceptualised by Subash Ghising during his tenure as the Chairman, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC.)
“The idol that had been consecrated by Late Subash Ghising at Gorkha Ranga Mancha and removed during Bimal Gurung’s tenure has been reinstated by us with all the prescribed pujas,” posted Anit Thapa in a social media post on Monday. Subash Ghising the former Chairman of DGHC and president of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) was known for his religious temperaments and ideas. Once he had declared that the worship of Goddess Kali was equivalent to worship of all Gods and Goddesses combined.
He had then installed the huge fiberglass statue of Shyama (Blue) Kali at the Ranga Mancha Bhawan along with a bust of Goddess Kali (Shyama) in his office at Lal Kothi. The Goddess is blue in colour and interestingly, the Goddess is not seen standing on Lord Shiva. Instead, she is found standing on what looks like rocks or mountains. In 2008, the Hills witnessed a change in guards resulting in Subash Ghising hurriedly departing from the Hills and Bimal Gurung taking the reins. Later, the GTA also replaced the DGHC. In 2009, the idol was taken down from the wall of the Ranga Mancha. Later, it was handed over to the Nripendra Narayan Bengali Hindu Hall (NNBH) in Darjeeling.
“With a staggering 16 feet height, we could not find a suitable place to install the statue inside the Hall or the building. The only way out was to install it on the outer walls. We tried but it ran into some problems, including procuring necessary permissions. Hence, we could not. However, we kept the statue safely in our premises. We then approached the GTA so that they could find a suitable place and install the statue,” stated Subasish Sengupta of NNBH Hall.
Finally, the statue was taken away by the GTA and installed back at the Gorkha Ranga Mancha on Monday. “This has been done on the instructions of GTA Chief Anit Thapa for the well being of all the people of the Hills. With one of the biggest festivals of the Hills, Tihar just a few days away, the time for the consecration has been apt,” stated Arun Sigchi, Sabhasad, GTA who was incharge of the re-consecration along with the department of Information and Cultural Affairs of the GTA.
