On
a lazy Sunday, while romancing with my lappy I came across a photo which was
clicked apparently six years ago. It was of our college trip in December’09.
After so many years it’s still so fresh in my mind. So I thought of penning it
down as my travel diaries.
When
we entered the first semester of our pre-final year in College, the first thing
that we plan was the name of the places we wanted to visit during our College
Trip. Though it was kept as Educational tour in our curriculum but it turned
into a vacation for us. First stop of the tour was Delhi, but I missed it due
to my sister’s marriage. So for me my first stop was... (Can you guess?)…
SHIMLA...
I
joined the troop at New Delhi Railway Station. We travelled to Kalka by night train
and reached in the wee hours of morning. From Kalka we travelled to Shimla by famous
Kalka-Shimla railway which was declared as UNESCO world heritage site. It was
one of the slowest but most scenic journeys in my life till date. The view
enroute was spectacular with lash green valleys, small houses midst the green
carpets; hill tops covered with white fur blankets….it was just awesome.
At
last when we reached Shimla it was already late afternoon. That day after
settling at our hotels we gave our bodies the most needed rest. And chilling
cold came as a cherry on the top. Next
day when I woke up it was hell of a cold; water in the pipes was frozen; geyser
was unable to provide warm water. That was my first experience really chilled
morning in Shimla. After grooming ourselves we gathered at the entrance and
were welcomed with the breathtaking view of the Himalayan city.
Our
first stop for the day was at the Kalyani helipad. On one side we viewed the
Himalayan Ranges covered with snow and on the other side we viewed the famous
snow forest. I experienced the first snowfall of my life at that top of the
mountain— the feeling when you are standing with your arms wide open on field
covered with snow and the first snowflake that touches your face- it was
awesome. Near the helipad, some of the localities were providing a Yak ride- I
was so scared while taking the ride.
Our
next stop was at Kufri which is around 16 kms from Shimla. From the foothills,
we took a horse-ride (another first for me) to the top. Kufri is famous for
winter sports and has an amusement park also on the top of the hill. We all
became children - making small snowmans; throwing snowballs at each other;
enjoying in the amusement park right from go-kart to different rides. At last
our guide had to intervene and drag us out of the park. While descending we
choose to walk through the horse dung and enjoy the smelly environment- it was
fun though. After the hell lot of activities food was the yummiest one.
Our third stop was
Jakhu Hanuman Temple. It is belived that Lord Hanuman stopped there to rest while he was searching for the Sanjivni
Booti to revive Lakshman in Ramayana. Our next stop was Sankat Mochan Temple. One caution: Beware of
monkeys. One of them took away my friend’s spec in such a way that we didn’t
have the time to react. At the end of
day’s journey, we went to the Ridge road. Leisurely walking through the road we
reached Christ Church which is the second oldest church in Northern
India. Stopping by nearly every shop we reached Mall
road. It is main shopping center of Shimla- best place to buy any souvenir. I
got myself a Ganesha on a leaf made of Nava-dhatu. Our second day at Shimla
ended by getting scolding from the hotel staff after celebrating birthday of my
friend.
On the third day of our stay, we went to Indian
Institute of Advanced Study.
It was a day to be soaked by history of our country. The building was previously known as Viceregal Lodge during 1884-88 since
it housed the-then Viceroy of India. Inside the institute, there is museum
which have great collection of pictures, furnitures etc. The building stands as
a witness to many major decisions during the Indian independence
movement.
The famous Shimla Conference was held here in 1945. Even the historic decision to carve
out Pakistan and East Pakistan from India was also taken
here in 1947- the table is there in the museum as a sole witness to that
debatable issue. After spending first half of the day in the institute we went
back to our hotel to start our journey for the next destination.
