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Kurseong
Kurseong (Nepali pronunciation: [ˈkʰʌrsaŋ], Bengali pronunciation: [ˈkaɾʃi̯aŋ]) is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision.
Located at an altitude of 1,482.55 metres (4,864.0 ft), Kurseong is 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout the year.
Kurseong is 34 kilometres (21 mi) from Siliguri and is connected to the city by road and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The nearest airport is at Bagdogra and the nearest major railway station is New Jalpaiguri, which is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the town. The economy is based primarily on education and tourism.
The origin of the name is unclear; stories suggest it comes from the Lepcha language word for "small orchid", kurson-rip because of the little white orchids (Coelogyne cristata) dotting the valleys, or perhaps the term for a stick made out of a local cane.(O'Malley 1999, p. 216)
The original inhabitants were the Lepcha people, who named their home "Kurseong", because every spring it was alive and bright with Kurson-Rip orchids. In the remote past, Kurseong was a part of the Kingdom of Sikkim, even before the British came to India. However, in around 1780 the Kingdom of Nepal conquered and annexed Kurseong and its surrounding areas. Then came the Gurkha War, which the Nepalese lost. The 1817 Treaty of Titalia restored Kurseong to Sikkim.
With its mountains providing a cool and dry environment in the summer, Kurseong was a favourite of the British[original research?]. Nevertheless, they found travelling there from the plains of Bengal difficult, even on warm sunny days because of the mountains[original research?]. Although a road was built from Kurseong to Darjeeling from Titalia in the 1770s and 1780s, its irregular maintenance soon made the new route, the Military Road, almost useless[citation needed]. The next route, Hill Cart Road (now Tenzing Norgay Road), opened in 1861 and fared better[citation needed].
Nevertheless, in 1835 the British decided that Darjeeling would make an excellent sanitorium and summer residence for their military and civilian officers along with their families[citation needed]. Negotiations with the Chogyal of Sikkim, Tshudpud Namgyal, provided them a strip of hill territory in Kurseong for an annual fee. As one of the hill stations on the road to Darjeeling, Kurseong began to develop.[citation needed]
Kurseong is home to one of the oldest municipalities in the state of West Bengal.[citation needed] Established as an independent Municipality in 1879, it did not become a Sub-Division until 1890, when the District of Darjeeling was formed. Kurseong and the District were added to the Rajshahi Division (now West Central Bangladesh) by the British Raj for the Bengal Presidency. In 1908, they were transferred to the Bhagalpur Division in the same Presidency.
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Kurseong
Kurseong (Nepali pronunciation: [ˈkʰʌrsaŋ], Bengali pronunciation: [ˈkaɾʃi̯aŋ]) is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision.
Located at an altitude of 1,482.55 metres (4,864.0 ft), Kurseong is 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout the year.
Kurseong is 34 kilometres (21 mi) from Siliguri and is connected to the city by road and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The nearest airport is at Bagdogra and the nearest major railway station is New Jalpaiguri, which is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the town. The economy is based primarily on education and tourism.
The origin of the name is unclear; stories suggest it comes from the Lepcha language word for "small orchid", kurson-rip because of the little white orchids (Coelogyne cristata) dotting the valleys, or perhaps the term for a stick made out of a local cane.(O'Malley 1999, p. 216)
The original inhabitants were the Lepcha people, who named their home "Kurseong", because every spring it was alive and bright with Kurson-Rip orchids. In the remote past, Kurseong was a part of the Kingdom of Sikkim, even before the British came to India. However, in around 1780 the Kingdom of Nepal conquered and annexed Kurseong and its surrounding areas. Then came the Gurkha War, which the Nepalese lost. The 1817 Treaty of Titalia restored Kurseong to Sikkim.
With its mountains providing a cool and dry environment in the summer, Kurseong was a favourite of the British[original research?]. Nevertheless, they found travelling there from the plains of Bengal difficult, even on warm sunny days because of the mountains[original research?]. Although a road was built from Kurseong to Darjeeling from Titalia in the 1770s and 1780s, its irregular maintenance soon made the new route, the Military Road, almost useless[citation needed]. The next route, Hill Cart Road (now Tenzing Norgay Road), opened in 1861 and fared better[citation needed].
Nevertheless, in 1835 the British decided that Darjeeling would make an excellent sanitorium and summer residence for their military and civilian officers along with their families[citation needed]. Negotiations with the Chogyal of Sikkim, Tshudpud Namgyal, provided them a strip of hill territory in Kurseong for an annual fee. As one of the hill stations on the road to Darjeeling, Kurseong began to develop.[citation needed]
Kurseong is home to one of the oldest municipalities in the state of West Bengal.[citation needed] Established as an independent Municipality in 1879, it did not become a Sub-Division until 1890, when the District of Darjeeling was formed. Kurseong and the District were added to the Rajshahi Division (now West Central Bangladesh) by the British Raj for the Bengal Presidency. In 1908, they were transferred to the Bhagalpur Division in the same Presidency.