Culture and history · Jaldapara National Park
Totopara and the Toto language
Totopara, about 22 km from Madarihat near the Bhutan border, is the home of the Toto, one of India's smallest communities, about 1,600 people with their own language. Visit with a local contact, slowly and respectfully, as you would any village.
The Toto live in and around Totopara, a village on the hills at the edge of the Dooars near the Bhutan border. Their language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family and is spoken by fewer than 2,000 people, which makes it one of India's most endangered. In 2015 Dhaniram Toto, a writer and government employee from Totopara, introduced a script for it after about a decade of work, and in 2023 he received the Padma Shri for literature and education.
Totopara today is a village of farms, betel-nut and orange trees, schools and small shops, home also to Nepali-speaking families. It is not a museum. Go with a driver or guide who knows people there, walk the lanes, buy tea and snacks in the village shops and, if a resident invites conversation, ask about the language, the school and how life has changed.
Do not photograph people without asking, do not enter homes or shrines uninvited, and do not treat the visit as a show. The road crosses several river beds that can be cut by floods in the monsoon; check current status before you travel.
Cost: Car ₹1,500–2,000; no entry fee
Questions people ask
Good to know
How do I visit Totopara from Jaldapara?
By car from Madarihat, about 22 km on a road that crosses several river beds; allow about an hour each way. A car for the half-day costs roughly ₹1,500–2,000. Go in the dry season, as the river crossings can be cut in the monsoon.
Is it appropriate to visit Totopara as a tourist?
Yes, if you visit as you would any village: quietly, respectfully and without treating people as an attraction. Go with a local contact, ask before taking photographs, spend money in local shops and avoid intrusive questions. Many visitors simply walk the lanes and have tea.
Who created the Toto script?
Dhaniram Toto, a writer from Totopara, worked on a script for the Toto language from around 2005 and introduced it in 2015. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2023 for literature and education. The script has 37 characters.
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