Members of the Morning Health Club at Chowrastha. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, Jan. 1: A bunch of grey-haired men braved the morning chill and celebrated their “birthdays” at Chowrastha today to teach the younger generation a lesson in the joy of sharing.

At 7am, around 30 elderly men could be seen at the busy junction, laughing and joking among themselves and distributing tea, laddoos, samosas, jalebis and chocolates among the few who got out of bed early.

The town was still recovering from New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“People don’t have time to share their happiness with friends. This is why we all decided to celebrate our birthdays together, irrespective of our actual dates of birth, and welcomed the entire town to join us,” said Debi Prasad Agarawal, 52, whose birthday is on June 4.

Ashok Pal, 54, said nothing was worth more than being happy together.

“We’ve formed the Morning Health Club. In the past three years, our membership has grown to 500,” said Tshering Dorjee, 63.

The members, mostly retired professionals, also share a fierce love for their town. They have planted 11,000 saplings around the Mall and are regularly seen cleaning roads around Chowrastha.

“We collect Rs 10 from each member every month to fund the projects,” said Dorjee.

Their most important mission is to fight encroachments. Illegal constructions around the Mall have all but blocked the view of the majestic snow-capped peaks.

“Yesterday we stopped the extension of two buildings near the Mall beyond what their sanctioned plans permitted,” said Dorjee.

The members do not believe in approaching the authorities to get their job done. “We started shouting at the owners and a crowd, in favour of us, turned up. The work was stopped,” said Dorjee.