The Hilly Solitude - Day 11

It is a love story - every time, every season, every moment I’m in Landour. I have been to Landour before and I was in Landour today and I will be in Landour again. I know I have a piece of my heart tucked in those whispering oaks and long slender deodars, the steady slopes and the lonely turns, the rustling leaves and the soft gentle breeze, the chirping birds and the cheeky monkeys. I know I have a piece of my heart tucked in those hilly swirly paths of Landour and I know a piece of this place is tucked deep inside my heart.

Just doing what I love best...idle strolls :)

I have been to quite a few places, have fell into a whirlwind of adrenaline rush and romance in those high snowy slopes of the Kedarkantha, have been charmed by the mystical flowers in the Valley of Flowers, have felt acutely spiritual standing in front of the mighty Annapurna massif, have felt magical getting lost in the European lanes and etc. etc. But when I come to Landour, it's like a sweet subtle love story woven between those gnarly barks of the trees, the homely flowers in the corners and the serene tree shade in every turn of the clean brick path. It reminds me of the South Downs Hills in England, for some reason. Even though there is no practical similarity between the two places, I guess the feeling is the same - cozy, comfortable, undaunting, sweet love.

Just be :)

I walked around Landour, mostly tracing similar paths I have been before ( Feb 2021 - Lazy@Landour), but at times sneaking into a few unexplored lanes (got warned by a growling dog when I almost started walking into the Doordarshan TV tower campus), sometimes watching the little birds which are at abundance at the start of this spring (got watched by a bunch of red-bottom monkeys in return), sometimes getting lost and wandering off to a nearby village (got back in the right track with a help of a patrolling army officer), sometimes sat with a coffee looking at the snowy Siwalik range doing nothing, sometimes smiling at the new blossoms and the big trees (do you ever think of Deodar as a tree sprawling its many hands as if trying to maximise the surface area for soaking warmth?), sometimes just stopping and listening to the trees whisper in the soft breeze and sometimes just pausing to let the big Langur cross the way.

Coffee with Kedarnath, Badrinath and the Bandarpoonch trio!

Gastronomy is as important as love! Hence, I had to make my way to my all time favorite - Rokeby Manor. I had been fasting since this morning so that I can hoover up their entire kitchen store. I think I did justice because my walk after the meal saw an extremely slow pace to adjust to the sudden heavy input to the tummy.

Feast at Rokeby Manor!

I’m already missing Landour as I climb down the hill and walk back to my cottage. I have to be back here again…one day, some day, maybe tomorrow?