The Hilly Solitude - Day 3

I woke up to a very excited chirpy noise from the birds. Sparrows, black birds, blue magpies, etc. are in abundance near my little room overlooking the beautiful Dehradun valley. It’s Day 3 and a working Monday for me. Nevertheless, I still got 3 hours till my office started. I picked up the stick (which Rajesh - the caretaker in this BnB had got me yesterday) and set off on foot. Everything looks and feels thousand times better when Mr. Sun is up and about. And with the first light of the dawn, the mountain feels soft and crisp.

Good Morning from the cottage :)

I walked down the mall road and turned to the right en route to the Camel back road. You may have already guessed why the Camel back road is called so - because of the rocks on the mountains resembling a camel’s hump. It was a short serene walk shaded by long cypress and cedars on either side. I chanced upon the old cemetery where ‘pahari’ Wilson had been buried with his wife ‘Gulabi’ along with quite a few other well-known people. I first read about ‘Pahari’ Wilson in Ruskin Bond’s books and then I heard about him from my different visits in the Garhwal region of India. Just yesterday, my guide, Rohit, was also mentioning him on the Top Tibba trek. It’s so interesting - how an English boy visited India in his teenage years and then stayed back, spending his entire life here, gelling so well with the people that he was dearly called ‘pahari’ (belonging to the mountains) by the locals; a worthy title indeed.

Hawa Mahal - View point

As I continued my walk, my heart leaped up as I suddenly saw the white snowy peaks at the far end. I ran a little further up and came to a spot, called Hawa Mahal. From here, a wide range of the snowy peaks was visible. I could only identify Swargarohini and Bandarpunch whilst the rest of the peaks shined in equal glory in the morning sun. I stopped there to soak in the view for a while. But clock doesn't stop and office-o-hour was about to start soon. I gathered myself and continued along the twisty and turny path. A green parakeet flew over my head and several sparrows chirped away. A bunch of street dogs chased each other playfully (though I must say I am always scared of street dogs and hence, felt much safer having the stick in my hand) The Camel’s back road brought me to the Picture Palace on the other side of the Mall road and from there I walked all the way back to my room. Work awaits now, after all it’s a working Monday. Ugh.

Work from Terrace today... Something good about this Monday indeed!