There’s nothing like getting away from all your problems and resting in the motherly lap of nature. We all need a getaway from reality at one point or another. One that takes us far away from all our worries.
It is known by all that a walk in nature can walk even the most tortured of souls back home. Nature plays the salient role of the mother that silently cures all our problems through her tender touch and heart warming smile.
For me, this winter vacation, my tranquil retreat was Mussoorie. Mussoorie, also known as the queen of the hills is one of the most popular and frequently visited hill stations. The reason being its enchanting hills, misty skies, dainty flowers and chirping birds.
Three days in Mussoorie relieved me of my urban world of pressure, restlessness, tension and constant reminders of everything that I have to do in so little time.
My soothing trip started on the chilly and bity morning of January 12th 2018 as my entire family rushed to get ready at 5:00 am. We were all ready by 5:40 am when we hustled ourselves into our car so that we wouldn’t miss our train which was to reach the station at 6:40am . We reached the station just in time. The train arrived at the platform just as we did. Inside we met our relatives with whom we were going to spend rest of our two cherish-able days. It was a 6 hour long train ride to the beguiling and busy city of Dehradun. Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand is another bewitching hill station located near the Himalayan foothills. From Dehradun, it was an hour long ride to my uncle and aunt’s guest house which was located on the outskirts of the city. They worked in Bharat petroleum and the guest house belonged to the company.
My aunt had recently attended a book fair and had bought books for all of us. I got a book which told the horrifying events of world war II- Anne Frank, The diary of a young girl. After talking to each other for a while, we had our breakfast and then we all slept like logs. After all, we had woken up at the crack of dawn and we had a long day ahead of us.
When the train reached Hardwar, another one of my aunt and uncle were there to greet us. They had bought along some food for all of us for the remaining train journey. We said our hellos, clicked a photo and jumped aboard the train again.
Rest of the train ride was mere chatting, reading and gazing in wonder at the awe striking beauty of the world of nature waving at us from the train window.
We finally reached Dehradun at 1:00pm, found our taxi and whizzed away. During the journey to Kamal Cottages, we stopped at the Dehradun Zoo. We saw all kinds of birds, animals and fishes there. My younger cousin sister shrieked with excitement when she saw numerous birds painted in vibrant colours.
We wandered through the zoo for about two hours and then we got back on the road to reach our final destination. We reached Kamal Cottages at about 5:30 pm. It was a beautiful place. It was simple and sober but still had an attractive aura. The cottages were located in rows and the wall running parallel to them gave the place a foreign and authentic look.
That day we were all dead on our feet and it was getting dark so we decided to stay home. We were also starving so we had hot pakoras and refreshing tea. Since there were many things that were not available at the guest house, we needed to go and buy them from the heart of the city, the mall road. So my father, my uncle, my baby cousin, the driver and I left for Mussoorie Mall Road. First we went to buy chicken as my brother is extremely fond of chicken. The butcher’s shop was a terror to my eyes. There was blood dripping from fishes and miserable cut up bodies of goats stood hung up against the wall. To add to it, they had kept heads of the goats as if they were some proud show pieces. And the smell! It was extremely malodorous. My father stayed to buy the chicken and after returning from the horrifying shop, he decided to stop having non-veg. During this time, my uncle and I, bought eggs, chips, sprite and thumbs up. After purchasing a few more things, we returned home. The food served to us was simple but scrumptious. Then we all went to bed in eager excitement of the days to follow.
The next morning after having breakfast, we went to Dhanaulti at 11:00 am. I was hoping to play in showers of snow but my expectations were not fulfilled. We reached Dhanaulti at about 1:00 pm. First we had Maggi which as always was extremely satisfying and then we had sweet corn.
Meanwhile my brother and my cousin sister did horse riding. My sister enjoyed it so much that she did it thrice.
We visited the Eco park and clicked photos there.
There wasn’t much to do. We stayed till about 3:00 pm and then we drove off in search of the Cambridge bookshop. Every Saturday, Ruskin bond sat here in the afternoon so that people could come meet him. Many people eager to meet Ruskin bond came here in high hopes and cheerful spirits, clearing their schedule just to meet the renowned and astounding author. He is a celebrated personality in the world of literature and has been recognised by the Indian council for child education for his major role in the growth of children’s literature in India.
This bookshop was located on the Mall Road. While walking towards the book shop, as we all know, shopping comes before all. Once we saw all the shops, in the blink of an eye, the bookstore got locked up in the back of our minds and we all got lost in the encapsulating world of shopping. After this, we found a cosy and heart-warming café where we ate like horses. At least I did! The food was a delight to my growling stomach and the dessert seemed like little drops of heaven melting in my mouth. After that we shopped once again.
After a while, we took a break from shopping and went down a winding road to a point from where we had our minds blown away by the stunning Sun set. Streaks of red, orange and yellow danced through the sky and slowly as evening transformed into night, the valley was engulfed into sheer darkness.
During our shopping tour, we reached the Cambridge bookstore. However luck wasn’t with us as this weekend Ruskin Bond wasn’t there as he had gone on vacation. Now that seemed like a place to shop! We bought various books and made lists of more books that we wanted to buy.
This was 13th January, and while returning to our guest house, we celebrated the festival of harvest along with local residents on Mall road. Lohri is also associated by many with the end of peak winter and is celebrated by people coming together and rejoicing around warmth of fire, cherishing delicious revri and groundnuts.
After that we went to our parked vehicle on Library side of the Mall road and came back to the guest house, having achieved our goal to reach the bookshop. At night my father was supposed to stay up all night as he was going to click the star trail. I went with him outside to watch him set his camera and clicked a few photos with him of the stars. I was trying to be his little apprentice. Then I took a torch and waved it around and made shapes. This picture looks like I have a magical wand and since I’m a harry potter addict, I just love it.
Then I went to sleep while dad was awake all night. He took a small snooze here and there but most of the time he was awake. Well, it was worth the mesmerizing picture that he took.
The following morning except my dad and brother, we all again went to the Mall Road. We didn’t buy anything and did absolutely nothing. Doing nothing is actually fun sometimes. We just wandered through the roads under the blaring sun. I didn’t expect Mussoorie to be hot. My cousin sister went on a rickshaw ride with my uncle and she enjoyed it so much that she did it another time. My aunt, my mother and I explored the Tibetan market. Then while returning, we had roadside coffee as my aunt wanted to show me how this type of coffee was made. It was quite interesting. After returning home we had lunch and we finally got our suitcases and bags downstairs. We had packed our stuff before leaving the cottage. We left at about 1:30 pm and reached Dehradun by 3:00pm. There we went to Café Coffee Day where we had an appetizing diet before leaving for the station at 4:00.
We got stuck in traffic on the way and were all tensed about what we would do if we missed the train. Things worked out in a fortuitous way and as soon as we reached the station, we rushed into our carriage and kept our things. After a journey that seemed to take ages, we reached delhi and left for our respective homes after bidding each other goodbye.
It certainly was an amazing trip which made me realize just how much nature has to offer and its austere simplicity can arouse happiness, peacefulness and joy in us. We never seem to respect or understand that.
Once we do, I am sure we will learn to take pleasure even in the smallest of things. And once we have happiness and love, what else do we need!
Khushi Gupta
Khushi is a class 8th student and learnt Basic photography with us. She has beautifully captured her maiden family trip to Mussoorie. You must have made out that she is also fond of writing. Blending passion for writing with photography has created this beautiful travel story.
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