Cassini?s Division performs at the carnival. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Nov. 9: Culture and rock, brought the curtains down on the three-day Kalimpong Carnival today.

The event, part of the larger Darjeeling Carnival, ended on a high note with cultural troupes from Nagaland and Assam and Calcutta band Cassini?s Division and Satya, a local band, giving the audience enough reason to stay glued to their seats at Mela Ground till the end of the show.

Taking it up from where Darjeeling-based Trinetra Sangitalay Cultural Troupe left it yesterday, after showcasing the culture of the different Nepali communities, the Eastern Zonal Cultural Committee of Nagaland and Assam showcased their culture through a dance performance that left the spectators spellbound.

On the music front, Cassini?s Division broke away from the trend set by Funeral Fire, a Darjeeling band that made the crowd go wild with covers of heavy metal groups like Panthera and Iron Maiden.

The band from Calcutta toned down the tempo with covers of No Woman No Cry, I shall be Released and Imitation of Life by Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and Aryan, and offering cerebral original compositions like Drown, Higher, and Mr Mishra.

The last day definitely was one for showcasing talent that went beyond singing good covers.

Local band Satya also belted out Nepali songs like Umreendai Teen Patey and Gey Gey Rani, both original compositions.

John Bose, the bassist and the back vocalist of Cassini?s Division, said: ?This is a beautiful town and the people are very friendly. Looking at the tourism potential that this place holds, the idea of organising a carnival was a great initiative. Moreover, this decision also allows youths of the region a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talent.?

Samsher Ali, one of the coordinators of the Kalimpong Winter Fest Committee that is managing the event for the Darjeeling Carnival here, said: ?We got great feedback from the people here and feel this will also act as a warm-up session for the winter fest, which is slated for December.?

The first day of the three-day event was kicked off on November 7 by Nepal-based band Elezuim, Kalimpong-based band Pralaykalin and Darjeeling band Reincarnation.

Another set of programmes is scheduled for Thursday to welcome the governor of West Bengal Viren J. Shah. The event will be part of the Darjeeling Carnival and held at Town Hall.

In Kurseong, where the three-day carnival kicked off yesterday, experts organised an interactive brainstorming session to look at ways in which such events could help better the ?socio-economic prospects of the subdivision?.

Former deputy director of the DGHC tourism department B.K. Mukhia, director of the department A. Pariyar, principal of Kurseong College Saroja Rai, district magistrate Aariz Aftab, subdivisional officer B. Dasgupta and councillors N.B. Khawas and I.N. Pradhan were among the experts who were present at today?s interactive session. Kurseong Municipality chairman P.C.Agarwal conducted the session.

The experts discussed matters relating to the development of tourist spots and eco-tourism.

?The opinions of the experts have been recorded. We have decided to place the proposals made before the authorities concerned and councillor Bhawani Pradhan. A committee will be formed for the purpose,? Agarwal said.?