FACINATING MUSSOURIE

A North Indian Summer conjures up horrific images of dazzling sunlight and searing heat the dehyrdrating hot wind called loo. So take a few days break; and head for the little town of

 Mussourie in Uttarakhand. The road goes up the mud mountains of the Shivalik range.

Small town, but with many good hotels and eating places quite pocket friendly and pleasant place. Being a town developed by early British Settlers  the town manages  to transport you to a more gracious, less hurried way of life. Have a tummy filling, soul satisfying breakfast aloo paranta with curd and pickles.

Like all old British developed towns the main bazar for shopping area is called The Mall. Quite steep in climb, be careful , useful items, gift items, brass ware, take your pick. If you are in good shape walk upto the area known as Landour you find yourself transported difficult to believe ; calm clean, the hills with Deodhar trees rolling on for miles together on the undulating slops. Have lemon honey tea at “Char Doosan” – 4 shops – set up long back to cater to the needs of European Nursing sisters of the Military hospital . Savour the ambience, it will linker in your mind years to come. Have a respectful visit to the small church, now near 2 centuries old still a living church.

Descendants of British family who stayed back in India after independence still live there. Many of the old homes now belong  to locals but they retain their old names and looks.

If you are fortunate you may meet Ruskin Bond one of the most loved writers of India. Locals are very proud of him and assure you that he welcomes all visitors to his home. But he is now in his mid 80s; and it would extremely bad manners to disturb him. He is sometimes spent some hours at the Cambridge Book Depot in the mall and will autograph his books for you.

If you have some time to spare take a walk on the camel back road, it goes around the peak on which Missouri clings.The Himalayan range

can be seen from there often glittering with snow. – even if you cannot do admire the view . There are many small tea shops by the road of which  Mr. Bharadwaj’s tea shop is a place where you may meet many of the old time residents of the city, people who held high posts but have made the town their homes.

Instead of taking local sightseeing buses, hire a car and visit hathipau – where George Everest has settled. The garden is beautiful but the residential portion will collapse or slide down below to   the valley.

Dhanaulti  an Eco development park is worth more than a mere visit but Kemptyfall  you may well give a miss too crowded too dirty.

A Bit 0f God’s 0wn Country ....... Munnar

Kerala, the legend goes, is “God’s Own Country”. Spend a few weeks there and you will in your soul know why it is called so..........so many places to see; but to savour the spirit of Kerala you will do well to spend a few days at Munnar..........a not very big town in the Western Ghats range, ensconced in hills about 1700 metres above sea level.

Though only a small settlement some 150 years ago, British planters seeking suitable environment for Tea plantations began settling there, the beginning of a “Hill Station” for the British Raj elite in South India; and later the post-Independence elite, Government and civilian.

The old world charm still lingers, the broad streets lined with shops, hotels and restaurants to cater to the fancies of tourists from all over the world. And the speciality of the city seems to be home-made chocolates!  So many flavours to boggle your imagination  and leave a lingering regret that you cannot take home all of them.

Hotels and accommodations are aplenty ; basic large rooms with multiple beds to the OYO rooms to the most luxurious. Often there is no “service charge” for there is no room service- you get meals- very good meals- at some steps away. The Marwari meals at the restaurant of the Sujatha Inn are superb. Of course you can have meals of your choice at the literally hundreds of eating places lining the major and minor streets.  

For proper sight-seeing, a personal/private car would be nice, though all sorts of vehicles are available for hire. Moving towards Medupatty Dam, the Rose Garden is a couple of kilometres; worth a stopover.

and then you will move on through the Tea plantations; the green terraced   fields by the hill slopes, like waves of the sea, just awesome. Tea sales outlets are there every few kilometre .....Medupatty Lake  is a perennial favourite; a serene lake created by a dam, surrounded by the awe-inspiring mountain range...............take a speedboat ride for that “heart in mouth” experience; of course more sedate boat rides  are also available, but it is a good idea to book in advance. There are a couple of reasonably good eating places, with fast food and traditional goodies.