Observatory Hill is a hill near Chowrasta square , or The Mall as it is popularly known, in Darjeeling , West Bengal , India . Views of snow-clad peaks, including Mount Kanchenjunga , are visible from the Observatory Hill. The Bhutia Busty monastery was originally located here. Now the hill has the temple of Mahakal . Two important arteries of the town, Nehru Road and Bhanubhakta Sarani, meet at Chowrasta. Another school of thought suggests that the presence of the megalithic core to have been a place of worship of the Rongs, representing a sacred location of the classic Long Chok (erect stones) type.
29-702: Observatory Hill is the name of several hills around the world including: Observatory Hill, Darjeeling , in West Bengal, India Observatory Hill, Hong Kong Observatory Hill (Pittsburgh) , a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Observatory Hill in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada, the location of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Observatory Hill (Washington, D.C.) , site of
58-467: A cozy boarding area of the bachelor English and Scottish tea planters, was converted into a hotel in 1939. There are a number of hotels and restaurants in and around Chowrasta or The Mall. A road from The Mall leads to "Step Aside" - the house of the eminent freedom fighter Chittaranjan Das . He died in Darjeeling on 16 June 1925. The latest addition coming up is a large "Ranga Manch" (theatre) overlooking
87-525: A distinguished Bengali poet, when, during the troubled days of National movement, he published the first two volumes of his collection of poems titled " Malancha " and " Mala ". In 1913 he published " Sagar Sangeet " (The Songs of the Sea). Sri Aurobindo was in Pondichery and when he was in dire need of financial support. Chittaranjan offered him one thousand rupees as a token of his support for an English translation of
116-753: A listening ear And thy immense refrain I hear, O Ocean circled with the lights of morn. What word is it thou sing’st? what tune My heart is filled with, and it soon Must overflow? What mystical unborn Spirit is singing in thy white foam-caves? What voice turns heaven to music from thy waves? III Long gazing on this dawn and restless sea, My heart
145-633: A monthly journal named Narayana, and many eminent writers such as Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay , Bipin Chandra Pal and Hariprasad Shastri contributed their writings in the journal. In 1925 Chittaranjan's health began to fail due to overwork. Chittaranjan went to Darjeeling to recuperate his health staying at Sir N. N. Sircar's house "Step Aside" in May 1925. Mahatma Gandhi visited him and stayed with him for some days. Gandhiji wrote, When I left Darjeeling I left much more that I had ever thought before. There
174-485: A number of literary societies and wrote poems, apart from numerous articles and essays. Chittaranjan Das was born on 5 November 1870 to a well-known Bengali Hindu Baidya Ambasth family in the village named Telirbagh, situated in present-day Tongibari Upazila of the Munshiganj (Bikrampur) district of Bangladesh. Das family were members of Brahmo Samaj . Chittaranjan was the son of Bhuban Mohan Das, and nephew of
203-463: Is clear during October to November. At other times of the year, clouds sometimes engulf the area and some portions of the view available only at opportune moments. Some people, similar to the characters in Satyajit Ray 's Kanchenjungha , wait for long periods of time for the mist to clear so that they may have a view of third highest peak in the world. Apart from the mountain views, tourists come to
232-470: Is here that cries eternally? I know not, but a trembling sweet and strong Has taken my every limb touched by thy song, O infinite Voice, O Soul that callst to me, As I look on this luminous dawn and on the sea! ... Chittaranjan started
261-439: Is moved with a strange minstrelsy. Tranquil and full and slow that music’s sound Or a chant pitiful, tender and profound. At times its passing fills my heart with tears. Maddened it runs and maddening him who hears. What spirit lives and laughs and weeps in thee? What thought
290-592: Is still a place of great sanctity for the Bhutias . Bells ring in the midst of fluttering flags, which are used to pray in the shrine. Monkeys are seen in plenty at the Observatory Hill. Chowrasta and The Mall around Observatory Hill are among the main centres of tourist attraction in Darjeeling. They spread on hill slopes at an altitude of 2,134 metres (7,000 feet). In clear weather, one can see Mount Kanchenjungha and twelve other peaks, all above 20,000 feet. The view
319-479: Is that a man like this who is being charged with the offences imputed to him stands not only before the bar in this Court but stands before the bar of the High Court of History and my appeal to you is this: That long after this controversy is hushed in silence, long after this turmoil, this agitation ceases, long after he is dead and gone, he will be looked upon as the poet of patriotism, as the prophet of nationalism and
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#1732851402288348-576: Is the hilltop. Situated atop is the ancient temple of Mahakal, a form of Lord Shiva . There is a cave sacred to worshippers in the temple. In Sanskrit , the word "Durjay Ling", means "Shiva of invincible prowess, who rules the Himalayas." There is a suggestion that the name Darjeeling could have emanated from this name. The place where the Mahakal Temple stands was once occupied by the Buddhist monastery. It
377-757: The British Parliament . In 1894 Das gave up his law practice, and went into politics during the non-cooperation movement against the British colonial government. He again took up the brief, and successfully defended Aurobindo Ghosh on charges of involvement in the Alipore bomb case , in 1909. In his Uttarpara speech, Sri Aurobindo acknowledged that Das broke his health to save him. In the Alipore bomb case in 1908, Chittaranjan Das as defence counsel for Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, made this closing statement: My appeal to you therefore
406-675: The Brahmo social reformer Durga Mohan Das . His father was a solicitor and a journalist who edited the English church weekly, The Brahmo Public Opinion . Some of his cousins were Atul Prasad Sen , Satya Ranjan Das, Satish Ranjan Das , Sudhi Ranjan Das , Sarala Roy and Lady Abala Bose . His eldest grandson was Siddhartha Shankar Ray and his grand daughter is Justice Manjula Bose. He married Basanti Devi (1880–1974) and had three children, Aparna Devi (1898–1972), Chiraranjan Das (1899–1928) and Kalyani Devi (1902–1983). The Das family of Durga Mohan
435-592: The Chowrasta for pony rides (mostly by children) and collecting souvenirs. There are several places around Observatory Hill. Birch Hill, or Jawahar Parbat, an offshoot from The Mall, is a residential section where the Raj Bhavan is situated. The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute is located on the western spur of Jawahar Parbat, about a kilometre and half from Observatory Hill. The Windamere Hotel and West Bengal Government's Tourist Lodge stand above The Mall. Windamere,
464-548: The Chowrasta. The range on which Darjeeling is located is Y-shaped with the base resting at Katapahar and Jalapahar and two arms diverging north from Observatory Hill. The northeastern arm dips suddenly and ends in the Lebong spur, while the northwestern arm passes through North Point and ends in the valley near Tukver Tea Estate . Chowrasta Darjeeling Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called Deshbandhu (Friend of
493-652: The Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party , with Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar and veteran Motilal Nehru . Other prominent leaders included Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Subhas Chandra Bose of Bengal, Vithalbhai Patel and other Congress leaders who were becoming dissatisfied with the Congress. In May 1923, at AICC meet in Bombay, Das was able to get majority support for his policy of council entry, with 96 members voting in favour, and 71 against. Chittaranjan Das emerged as
522-685: The Country or Nation), was a Bengali freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the Political Guru of Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose . He is the founder-leader of the Swaraj Party in undivided Bengal during the period of British Colonial rule in India . His name is abbreviated as C. R. Das . He was closely associated with
551-565: The United States Naval Observatory Observatory Park, Sydney , New South Wales, Australia, also known as Observatory Hill Tähtitorninvuori ("Observatory Hill"), a hill and park in Helsinki, Finland [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
580-429: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Observatory_Hill&oldid=1093205654 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Observatory Hill, Darjeeling Rising abruptly from Chowrasta
609-467: The lover of humanity. Long after he is dead and gone, his words will be echoed and re-echoed not only in India, but across distant seas and lands. Therefore I say that the man in his position is not only standing before the bar of this Court but before the bar of the High Court of History. The time has come for you, sir, to consider your judgment and for you, gentlemen, to consider your verdict. Chittaranjan Das
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#1732851402288638-413: The pale glimmer of the faint moonbeams. If thou at last art come indeed, O mystery, stay Woven by song into my heart-beats from this day. Stand, goddess, yet! Into this anthem of the seas With the pure strain of my full voiceless heart Some rhythm of
667-513: The poem, a few verses of which are given below: Songs of the Sea I O thou unhoped-for elusive wonder of
696-646: The rhythmless, some part Of thee I would weave today, with living harmonies Peopling the solitude I am within. Wilt thou not here abide on that vast scene, Thou whose vague raiment edged with dream haunts us and flees, Fulfilled in an eternal quiet like this sea’s? II I lean to thee
725-418: The skies, Stand still one moment! I will lead thee and bind With music to the chambers of my mind. Behold how calm today this sea before me lies And quivering with what tremulous heart of dreams In
754-485: Was a family of lawyers. Durga Mohan's eldest son Satya Ranjan matriculated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and was at Middle Temple during 1883–1886, followed by Chitta Ranjan Das, Durga Mohan's brother's son, during 1890–1894. Satish Ranjan Das (1891–1894), Jyotish Ranjan Das and Atul Prasad Sen (1892–1895) followed suit. In London, Das befriended Sri Aurobindo Ghosh , Atul Prasad Sen , and Sarojini Naidu , among others, and together they promoted Dadabhai Naoroji in
783-594: Was a leading figure in Bengal during the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1919–1922, and initiated the ban on British-made clothes, setting an example by burning his own European clothes and wearing Khadi clothes. He brought out a newspaper called Forward and later changed its name to Liberty as part of his support for various anti-British movements in India. When the Calcutta Municipal Corporation
812-536: Was actively involved in the activities of Anushilan Samiti . When Pramatha Mitter organised the Samiti as its president to produce hundreds of young firebrands who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the cause of the Nation, Chittaranjan became his associate. Anushilan Samiti was maintained by P. Mitter with the assistance of Chittaranjan Das (1894), Haridas Bose (1895), Suren Haldar (1900) and Manabendra Nath Roy (1901). He
841-542: Was formed, he became its first mayor. He was a believer in non-violence and constitutional methods for the realisation of national independence, and advocated Hindu-Muslim unity , cooperation and communal harmony and championed the cause of national education. He resigned his presidency of the Indian National Congress at the Gaya session after losing a motion on "No Council Entry" to Gandhi 's faction. He then founded
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