The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Museum at Giddapahar where the new centre will come up

Siliguri, Feb. 28: Ever wondered who wrote the deosey and bhailo songs, an integral part of Nepali Diwali celebrations? Or where do the jogis, who do the rounds of our homes at night with their bugles, come from? Or how the ready-to-cook gundruk (fermented green leafy vegetables) came into being?

To answer such questions and more, the Netaji Institute for Asian Studies (NIAS), Calcutta, has decided to set up a Centre for Himalayan Studies at Giddapahar, 4 km from Kurseong.

The centre, to come up on the premises of the NIAS-run Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Museum, will closely study the society, culture and language of the three hill subdivisions — Kurseong, Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

“An administrative set-up has already been put in place at the museum,” Chitra Ghosh, a professor at the department of social and political history, NIAS, told The Telegraph. “We are looking for the right people to carry out research in these fields. We hope that the centre will be operational in another year’s time.”

Two years ago, the institute renovated and refurbished the house of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Giddapahar and set up the museum, which was inaugurated by Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi. The upcoming centre for Himalayan studies there will be the second of its kind in the region after the one at North Bengal University (NBU). “Besides carrying out our own exclusive studies, we will also collaborate with NBU as and when the need arises,” Ghosh added.

“Despite the richness and variety in the life and culture of the hills, little work has been done towards a comprehensive study and documentation,” said Mamata Desai, head, department of ecology, physical and human resources, NIAS. “While the centre will focus on culture, society and language, NIAS, Calcutta, will continue with the work of studying other aspects — like geology, ecology and natural resources — as it had been doing in the past.”

Landslide hazards (mapping and analysis), drainage basin mapping (watershed management), road status analysis and land-use and capability analysis are some of the projects that the NIAS has recently taken up for the state government.

Following a workshop on “Natural Resources Management in Eastern Himalayas” at NBU, the varsity and the NIAS have resolved to undertake joint studies in a number of subjects concerning the Darjeeling hills, Desai said.

“We have resolved to work jointly in areas like alternative sources of fuel and energy, watershed management and rainwater harvesting and control of solid waste pollution,” she added.