DALHOUSIE

I was editing a candid photo of the Dalai Lama Temple and it naturally prompted me about our memorable journey to Himachal Pradesh.

Especially it subtly reminded me about Dalhousie, though I don’t recall why Dalhousie came to my subconscious mind but we undoubtedly had some joyous memories with this lovely place. If I ever get a chance in this dear life to re-visit Himachal Pradesh, I will rarely miss visiting Dalhousie.

We visited Himachal Pradesh in 2017 December and Dalhousie remains the last destination of our travel program. It was a memorable journey for us. We reached Dalhousie in the afternoon, around 4 pm. The sun was just about to go behind the mountains. Our bank’s holiday home “Surya Resort” was on the edge of a valley. Entering the room Payel rushed to the window as she was bursting with excitement to explore the view from there and called me to join her after opening the window. Looking out of the windowpanes Sharmaji pointed through the fog the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir. The evanescing mountains were enticing me to go there.

The striking scenery numbed out us in such a way that standing in the chilled weather we forgot to shut the window. Closing the window, she ordered three cups of tea. After a brief conversation about the next day’s trip, Sharmaji obtained leave and went to the market to arrange a hotel for him. The ambiance of the room was pleasant and also everything there was well ordered. I would rather say the room was the best room we had availed during our whole journey. The windowpanes were covered with long, plush curtains and floral carpet laid on the floor to curb the cold effect. The bathroom was clean and fortunately, the water heater was working properly. We went for a walk in the local market which was not far from our hotel, Sharmaji adequately described us everything about nearby. St John’s Church was precisely the first local place we visited which was opposite the mall road and the place named Gandhi Chowk consists of an iconic statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Next, we entered the mall road where no vehicles were allowed which was a familiar thing that to be seen equally in Shimla and Manali.

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The mall road was not as vibrant as Shimla or Manali but it was crowded with tourists and various kinds of shops. A local boy was selling hot Gulab Jamun at the pedestrian entrance of the mall road and was surrounded by peoples there. We spent some time in the market by typically visiting numerous shops. Many wood benches were appropriately placed alongside the mall road for visitors. After spending quality time, we returned gently to our hotel room.

The next day, we started for Khajjiar, also known as mini Switzerland. The road to Khajjiar was not as smooth as we thought but it was spiral and rugged in some places. The splendid place was crowded with tourists and guides. Various kinds of paid activities were happening there for entertainment like horse riding, paragliding, etc. While Sharmaji was busy with finding a parking place we were eagerly searching for a decent teashop for proper breakfast. There were exactly enough teashops, but unlikely most of them were closed at that time. We, fortunately, found an elderly person selling tea and other food items under a pleasant shade of a massive tree. Without any late, we instantly ordered tea and bread-omelet. Sharmaji candidly told us we were lucky enough that snowfall did not start in December that year otherwise it would have been impossible to visit khajiar for road blockades.

The name “Khajjiar” likely derived from the local deity “Khajji Nag”. A dedicated temple equally can be discovered nearby. Khajiar is known for the small pristine lake surrounded by the lush grassy meadow and splendid forests of long pine trees. Most of the tourists hired splendid horses out there on nominal rent to travel around the lovely place but we allegedly decided to explore the lush greenery by walking. We strolled around but never felt exhausted for the splendid weather. I captured quite a few photographs there but the picturesque aura and exquisiteness of the place can’t be described or explained merely by clicking some pictures. We returned to the parking area from where we started as it was apparent noon and the dazzling sun undoubtedly was upon the heads. Sharmaji was sitting there on the grass gossiping with his friend. We joined them by ordering sweet corn and Sharmaji described us many rare things about that place.

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By 3 pm we returned to Dalhousie. After enjoying a delicious lunch in an elegant restaurant, Sharmaji steered us to Subhash Chowk and accurately indicating the local road that leads to Gandhi Chowk he took leave from us. At Subhash Chowk there was St. Francis church, beautifully decorated with a flower garden. Expending a delightful time there we preferred the walking path that leads to Gandhi Chowk through the Mall Road. Other tourists were also strolling there. One side of the road was the deep valley and on the other side, there was a disintegrated wall of the grassy hillock. Local artists portrayed a colorful image of Lord Buddha on a stone of the wall which was clear that people used to worship there. It was a pleasant evening, and the last gentle rays of the Sun were tenderly kissing the leaves of the trees. We luckily found an iron bench at that place and spent some pleasant time there by beholding the excellent view of the gorgeous sunset behind the mountains.

We visited some shops there in the market and purchased some of there local showpieces and headed towards our hotel. The local boy was selling hot Gulabjamun at the entrance of Mall road. I promptly requested her whether she would like to taste one Gulab Jamun as I was ready to relish them, she instantly rejected my request. I ordered one sweet and the boy served promptly it with a plastic spoon in a bowl made of withered leaves. The hot sweet was so delicious I instantly ordered one more to relish. After that, we returned to our hotel. The subtle reddish clouds on the gentle blue mountains were looking breathtakingly beautiful. At night the mountain looks so gorgeous which cannot be satisfactorily explained in words. It was like someone has decorated the majestic mountains with glowing pearls. I was snapping pictures one after one through the window of our room.

Hence, it was the last day in Dalhousie and of our memorable journey too. But we already had fallen in love with Dalhousie. This place may not have the grandeur roads and malls like Shimla and Manali but the idyllic town retains an aura that cannot be found in other places.

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At last I must say the melodious lines of Louis Armstrong’s popular song are perfect to get nostalgic about Dalhousie.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I say to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
Bright sunny days, dark sacred nights
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world…….