Vedasri Siddamsetty

Uttarakhand at the northern part of India, shares it’s Himalayan border with China and Tibet yet it holds in it’s midst the soul of India. There are no doubt Gods, then there is nature and with the two confluencing in this beautiful Indian state there is peace and calm amongst the rains, thunder, lightening, steep slopes and even narrower bends. Before we landed at the Jolly Grant airport we did a plethora of studying of videos by influencers and none of them matched our feeling of actually being here and unearthing jewels that are not in the notes of any travel influencer. Now I am thoroughly certain that travel journals are pretty much useless because as they day, you can’t have the same river twice as either the river has changed or the shore. For time is the invaluable factor that changes the experience if not for the person themselves coming here with a different feeling.

So read on with your own discretion!

The Jollygrant airport is extremely quaint just like Dehradun that is inundated with beautiful cafés yet offering the latest of the brands in it’s glitzy malls. Our places of interest were the Doon School and the Forest Research Institute, both of which were awe-inspiring campuses with red brick buildings and an alumni that makes one delight. The Doon school for one gives out all those Harvard feels but this boys school misses out the Hogwarts dining hall. It makes up the lack with a wellness centre (why in the world!) and some seriously noteworthy old boys. Equipped with all the latest facilities, even their curriculum is a crisp IGSCE, the curriculum that has taken the world by storm. The student boards were impressive with very relevant topics being mulled on by the students. The Forest Research institute that trains the Indian Forest officials also reiterates the importance of forests and documents with great alacrity the types of Indian woods. As an architect employing wood in all her projects u was mostly excited to see how other Indian woods measure up against my Favorite teak. There is no parallels to teak I found, a fact I knew but garnered a scientific reason. The fact that a popular Ali’s Bhatt movie was filmed there is unfortunately the talking point rather than its super informative museums.

The Dehradoon zoo was given a miss yet we managed to visit the famous eatery Kalsang eating the momos and ramen. Well it didn’t measure up against our local Favorite Shokudo, a gem of a place and I couldn’t help but surmise how Bangalore serves up better Tibetan food than Tibet itself. The world is flat indeed, as decided my Husband chiding himself for not waking early in the morning to catch the sunrise from the same balcony that he sat and saw the sunset from! I had to promptly remind him that the sun does not rise from the same spot that it sets at. This my seven year-old quipped on how do I really know that this earth is round? Did I see it with my own eyes, it could all be half Bluff. Well, the greek philosopher’s who first argued that the Earth is flat would be so amused with this evening, conversation of ours.

Mussoorie is probably India’s least populated but beautiful hill station in Uttarakhand. The mall Road of Mussoorie literary serves up the latest and fashion, hair accessories, clothes, stockings, and even Korean brands that bring you the latest in skin care. The pretty Mall Road is split in two levels offering great views from both the levels. The bakeries in the mall road are actually delightful and as old as time. Several children’s play areas that dot the Mall Road were super effective in keeping the seven year old glued. My new find in terms of the stores was Koja a curated store of Corean goodies. This small Road has been the subject of many a short story of Ruskin Bond and hence I had to pick my loot of Ruskin Bond books from the Cambridge book depot. The library chalk on one end of the Mall Road and the Kurri Chowk at the other end of the Mall Road protect this road from the use of vehicles in the evenings. The steep climb from the mall Road to our hotel ensured that we were in good appetite all the time. Hotel climbed up along the Gun hill with its pretty pastel coloured room cottages.

Almost seeing Ruskin Bond characters running around the Mall Road, we had to go to Landour that is located at an elevation from Mussoorie. Landour is a Cantonment town with the Indian Institute of technology management located in its tiny precinct. in Landour Cha Dukan is a lovely tea stall right from the British era. Landour Ba house is another magnificent landmark. The Landour Infiniti loop as it is called takes one in an infinity symbol pathway across the top touching upon the Lal Tibba scenic point. Cafe Ivy was another favourite something that not many influencers talk about. At a Prakash and Co, we loaded up on our gems and bought some for friends and family. Landour is also this place where Ruskin Bond resides in a two bedroom flat with his adopted family. He claims that though he could live in this world, he picks a tiny two bedroom flat in Landour that shows him the Shivaliks or the lower Himalayas and the might upper Himalayas on a sunny day. We were undoubtedly mesmerised with its stone streets. Deodar pines. The field of Landour is simply remarkable.

Winding out from Mussoorie, we headed to Kanatal, literally is secluded with nothing but the hills for company. This is also just like Landour, a perfect place to probably do nothing. The sweetness of doing nothing they say, but can be cherished if it is only for a little time! From Kanatal we did, what would go on to be probably the best memory of the trip that is to visit the Tehri Dam. This one location not guided by any influencer in spite of the videos we saw about the space. The rope way that we took from Kanatal to the Surkanda Mata Temple was state of the art, but the cable car that we took across the Tehri Dam literally won our hearts. The Surkanda Mata Temple in itself was extremely beautiful as a piece of architecture and the vibes that had for the devotional. Located at an elevation of about 2700 m above sea level, this temple looked much like Nepali architecture in its build and feel. With many army personal visible in the location, we knew we were close to the international border! Not as close, but closer than we would have been in Bangalore!

The Tehri Dam is extremely exquisite with a dam built on the blue waters of the Bhagirathi River, the upstream of the head stream of the river Ganges. This dam is used for generating hydro power. It is used to store water for the people in the Garhwal region. Chatting up with the local on the other side of the cable car we were told how beneficial Modi‘s government had been to Uttarakhand. I could test the fact having been here more than 20 years ago when this state was merged with the present Uttar Pradesh. Having been on a school trip, Mussoorie was a place where a lot of my friends lost bags, wallets, and it just seems so scary. But this time around it seemed super safe that I myself ended up walking on a nature trail all by myself. This beautiful state of India definitely deserves a lot more, but then it also has. It has the Chardham, which is Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, the mouth of the river Ganges. It is a holy spot in fact, the entire state I feel has this excessively holy vibes to it. Not to mention the holy cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh amongst its others. I am told by the locals here, then Nainital is very beautiful and I remember it just as that. With the weather in the hills quite unpredictable, it could be raining once second and bright sunny the next the calm that the mountains give to the passing clouds is truly commendable. Sitting on my hotel, balcony, one night with my husband and son sick, I was treated to a red display, a sound and light show of thunder and lightning. It was probably not rare in this part of India, but to me, it was exciting of a lifetime. Much like Arora Borealis lightning streaked up the sky, like the white in an x-ray, and then after a couple of moments was accompanied by thunder. The view of the hill in the dark without much habitation, made it look like a black cat sleeping under the velvet sky, starlet velvet sky. The sky full of stars provided the perfect backdrop for this beautiful light and sound show.

On our return we headed to the holy city of Rishikesh, a beautiful spirit pervades this Indian city that witnesses according to me the best part of the Ganges. The Triveni ghat is so serene inspite of the many people who visit this ghat for the Ganga Aarti. At Varr we treated ourselves to the temple thali, an artisanal thali that serves temple food of popular temples around India. My Favorite was the pudina paani! Rishikesh is vast and sprawls across to make space for pilgrims who visit this Garhwal region for pilgrimage or pleasure! Uttarakhand has a vibe of this anonymous celebrity like an oxymoron where the question to be mulled about is whether God is nature or is nature God?

PS. This beautiful state also comes with its share of disclaimers. The winding roads and the altitude had me looking after a sick adult and a sick child. Messed up digestive systems, headaches and generally a difficulty in the hills, not to mention the traffic jams of Landour could bring out the temper in most drivers or existential questions in others. I myself quite okay, pulled my back with a sudden motion of sitting! Just plain and simple sitting. Talk of tragedy. Then the drive and the general effect of sitting during the various modes of travel gets to one. The importance if posture was one of the things that were imprinted on me. It’s not easy to be a Pahadi like they say, but if you are one then you are blessed.