When we look at Dehradun today, it appears to be a fairly large city and “developed” enough to be the interim capital of the state of Uttarakhand. It is trying to raise itself to the standards set by big cities. It has several malls, PVRs and multi-storeyed buildings. It has showrooms of all well-known brands and restaurants that are part of multinational chains. It has all the “works” required from a capital city.
But, till not many years ago (in fact, just about 13 years ago), this was not the Dehradun we knew. It was very much the little sleepy town at the foothills of the Himalayas where retired people would settle down. That is why it was called the “town of grey heads and green hedges.”
Schoolchildren, retired people and some serving officers of the Army and the Civil Services were the main population. Once the students passed school, the majority of them went away from this town to bigger cities to pursue higher studies. Even today, the good students prefer to leave the town after school. However, a large number of students from other States come to this town now for higher education! And thus, the young population of the town had grown immensely.
When we were in school, we could only see children, IMA cadets and old people moving around the town and used to wonder where all the youth had vanished! Only when we left Doon after school to study in Delhi did we understand this demographic status of the town.
When people from Delhi or Mumbai used to come to visit the town for a holiday, they would complain after a couple of days that there was nothing to do and they could not tolerate the stillness of the place any more. They wanted some action, some excitement and fun which Dehradun, in that particular sense, did not provide at all. And they would go up to Mussoorie which gave them some reasons for happiness. They would go back, pronouncing that we all living here were cursed and would have to live our lives in a stagnant, sleepy place. I feel that they were perhaps a bit envious of the serenity of this place and since they could not have it forever, they might as well say that the silence would kill them!
We were very proud of our little town, sleepy or not. We all knew each other and met each other almost everyday. The same faces passed you on the streets everyday, perhaps more than once a day. But you still greeted them and they you. There were no traffic signals, no traffic islands or policemen leave alone traffic lights! All this because there was very little vehicular traffic. The population was small, cars were few. Most people used cycles and tongas to reach their destinations.Walking was everyone’s favourite activity. It came naturally to all Doonites. Just walking about town, running errands, posting your letters, paying your bills and then walking back home, chatting with a friend or neighbour whom you met on the way.When the first traffic light was put up, it was quite an event!
The college students those days used to complain that they could not meet anywhere in the town without some uncle or auntie bumping into them and then letting their parents know that they were dating! In fact, many a time, they would meet their parents while on a date. The town was like an extended family. But these kind of things were not so important and the joys of being part of the little sleepy Doon far outweighed such disadvantages .
Now, we look out for the wild, open spaces that have been eaten up by this capital city, we long for the echoing silences in the valley, we hear (in our dreams) the bells and the sound of the horses of the tongas running on our little roads, we wish that some of the sleep would come back to our now sleepless, restless city. The leisure, the long walks, the cosy evenings spent in tea shops, the familiar uncles and aunties, the grey heads, the abundant trees, the azure blue skies, the comfortable summers, the friendly neighbours, the forest areas, the huge bungalows with their exquisite gardens, the joy, the personal touch, the warmth of affection, the close friendships — all have either faded or will soon fade. Things are changing too fast. Doon is sleepy no more.And neither is it little!