Kasauli has been an all weather charmer for long; its sylvan setting, bounties of nature and the feel of being surrounded in silence has been attracting tourists and travelers ever since the British founded the hill station almost two centuries ago.
So when I got a chance in December to visit the area again, I could not let it go. As Kasauli still practically remains a one street town, it has a limited accommodation. The Cantonment Board here ensures that there are no violations in the construction and they remain the way British left them in 1947. So, if you have not booked in advance, forget of getting any accommodation in the weekends and holidays as hordes of people from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi descend here on all sorts of transport.
But this time, the invitation was from 7 Pines, a luxury resort of the Leisure Hotels Group, the massive glass windows of which offer a perfect unhindered view of the snowline of the Dhauladhar ranges and the shining bright Shimla city late in the evening.
From Chandigarh, you cross Panchkula, the toll gate and by-pass the twin towns of Kalka and Parwanoo and take the Himalayan Expressway. The popular Timber Trail in on your right and you keep moving up on the National Highway towards Shimla. The road is being widened to four-lane and construction activity is going on a hectic pace.
A Major District Road branches off just after the restaurants and eateries at Dharampur on the National Highway and 8 kilometers of uphill drive through the famous Lawrence School, Sanawar, takes you to Garkhal, a crowded small market place. The left turn from Garkhal takes you to the main Kasauli town but from here, you have to take a right turn on the narrow roads and head towards Jagjit Nagar. The resort 7 Pines is around 7 kms from Garkhal, situated on a slope, amid forests, on a small sunny hill top with magnificent view of the valleys below.
That is Shimla.” pointed out Pravin Kondal, resort Manager towards a group of houses on top of a hill after we were ushered in with a welcome drink of lime grass water. It was quite refreshing after a circuitous hill journey of a little over two hours. Later, when I saw Shimla in the evenings after the light had been turned on, it was indeed magical. I have been to Shimla on numerous occasions, but this was special—watching its lights in all splendor from a distance was like looking at the Diwali lights in the distance.
The Resort Manager had made an elaborate arrangement for the evening—the wood in the bonfire emanated a dark orange flame, cocktails were in place with attentive servers. The guitarist from Chandigarh played Sufi, Punjabi and popular film music even as the kitchen served all varieties of hot and crispy snacks.
Only two hour drive from Chandigarh and six hour from Delhi and you land in an island of tranquility. Even as the bonfire was lit, I looked at the sky. The half moon greeted us. I thought it was smiling. Tall pine trees stood like guardians above the place where the bonfire was lit. I kept watching. The half moon played hide and seek with clouds. The guitarist sang—“Re Faqeera Maan Jaa, Aaja Tujhko Pukaare Teri Parchhaaiyan, Re Kabira Maan Jaa…. Then Aaj din Chhadeya tere rang vargga… and Aaoge jab tum Saajna, aangna phool khilenge, barsega sawan jhoom jhoom ke… “Afreen Afreen”….and many more. “There couldn’t be a better setting,” I thought.
The British might have left long back but decades later, 7 Pines Resort with its colonial ambience, has resurrected at least the architecture and the settings. Billed as the weekend destination, away from hustle, bustle and pollution of the cities, visitors here are bound to feel that they are in the countryside of England. Most of the rooms have their own veranda and not a balcony and this gives it the feeling of a luxurious home and not that of a hotel. Sit in the Veranda if you are comfortable with the December cold of the hills and keep watching the movement in the trees, hear the chirping of birds and the noise when an occasional monkey jumps from one branch to the other.
Nature walk in the morning was one of the best which the resort and its surroundings could offer. A small hill trek took us a couple of kilometers ahead, even as we overcame the obstacles of a fallen branch, a big stone or the extremely narrow path on occasions. We reached a hill top where there was abundance of sunshine on an otherwise cold morning. “Wow, we have accomplished the obstacles and reached the top of this hill,” said a guest at the resort, satisfied at his achievement. He sounded as if he had climbed Mount Everest. Pravin Kondal had asked one of the staff to accompany our small group of five and the decent from the hill top was safer and through a broader hill path.
You feel much hungrier in the hills, perhaps due to the weather, perhaps due to better digestion, perhaps due to an idle mind…may be a combination of all three and other factors. Breakfast was arranged in the dining hall, which resembled more like the one in your own house and the chef had everything to offer, including locally made jam of various local fruits which became an instant hit.
After a sumptuous breakfast, it was time to head to Kasauli—a little over half an hour drive from here. I was now being driven on the circuitous, narrow roads through villages and people were lazing around in the afternoon soon. I saw the landmark TV tower of Kasauli in the parallel hills along with houses and other constructions at the small Cantonment town.
We stopped at the Christ Church, an imposing Gothic style construction, used commonly for building Churches, which the British had constructed a century and half ago. Introspect, pray, think; let your mind and imagination run wild in the Church complex or any other place of solitude you have discovered by now. Then when free from this wonderful exercise of self discovery, take a walk on the Mall Road to explore the little market which Kasauli offers.
You will find a photo studio at the beginning of the Mall—Sharma and Bros—which has Black and White pictures of all film stars who visited the hill station and also those famous personalities who studied in the public schools around the town. Khushwant Singh’s photo, finds a place of pride here as the author-journalist spent his summer months in Kasauli, writing books. I wondered about the fate of the photo studio as no one now steps inside except perhaps the locals for a passport size photo with the ever increasing Megapixels of Mobile phones fulfilling all the photography requirements of tourists.
After walking for a couple of hours in Kasauli, I saw Gajar Ka Halwa being relished by a few tourists at the Heritage Market. I was immediately tempted. “Can you serve it hot?” I asked the owner who doubled as the waiter. “Of course, we only serve it hot,” he said, handing over paper plate with Halwa after two minutes. It was different from the ones which I had in the recent years and instead of the taste of Khoya (boiled milk which turns into a solid cake), the taste of carrot dominated. “It was indeed good,” I told the owner. He smiled, acknowledging my compliment.
We were back in the resort late in the afternoon and the chef had cooked simple but delicious food. From my previous experience, I knew that it was typical Himachali food less in spices and oil and simplicity being the norm.
In the evening, as we strolled on the hill again, we found four dogs—all pets of the resort staff. They were beautiful healthy dogs with names of vegetables in Hindi. One of them was named Aloo, another Bhindi, the third was called Tori and the last one was lauki. Has anyone heard such names for pets? At least I hadn’t heard about such an innovation. “Aloo”, our attendant shouted, and the huge white dog with big furs, came with his tail wagging and showing friendly gesture towards all of us.
It was then time for another round of bonfire, cocktails and dinner. I was overeating now, putting almost anything which was being presented in my mouth. I wanted to relish and enjoy every moment and of course food is one part of this exercise. Night sleep was sound and I woke up in the morning without any break in the cozy room with oil heater doing what it is supposed to do.
I had an excellent morning walk a day before and the first thing which I did after drinking two glasses of warm water was head for the hill trek.
There are very few occasions when you can have your morning walks in such a serene surrounding. Stunning silence and a little fog welcomes you as you move on the mountain trail. This was a broken trial and I was told that sometime back, there was a cloud burst which had obliterated it and then this was rebuilt. A further ahead, I saw a young man, deeply immersed in meditation, a little below the walking track on the hill. He was sitting in perfect silence, in a perfect setting. I clicked his picture. I too wanted to feel the silence by sitting in meditation here but then I postponed it for the next visit. What was common to the two morning walks was the sheer magic woven in the woods, flowers blooming in the wild and magnificent views of the valley. Your day is made as at several locations all you could hear was your heartbeat or the wind caressing the leaves and the trees and the birds trying to distract you with their antics.
As the Resort Manager and others waived a goodbye in the afternoon, it was like bidding a farewell to a dream and heading for the worldly realities back home.
