Today is the 96th birth anniversary of our late prime minister, Indira Gandhi. People of this hill town remember her special love for Mussoorie and the countless times she visited the town.
The relationship between the Nehru family and Mussoorie began with Motilal Nehru's visits to the hill station, mainly for recuperating from illness. His wife, Swaroop Rani, and their daughter Vijay lakshmi Pandit all had a great attachment to this hill station and visited it all through their lives.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his wife spent many summers in Mussoorie. Mrs. Wanchoo, Indira's maternal aunt, lived for years in a house located on Gandhi Chowk (library). Says Gopal Bhardwaj, chronicler and old resident of Mussoorie, "Personal and political matters brought Indiraji again and again to these hills and she had many good friends here like Sitaji, the princess of Kapurthala".
He says that Indira Gandhi was extremely fond of staying at 'Ekant', the guest house of the Haryana Government. "It was here she lived for some days in 1981. She also lived many a time at the Wanchoo's place."
Residents of the hill station garland the statue of Indira Gandhi which is intsalled near the Jhoolaghar on her birth anniversary every year.
Bharadwaj says he remembered clearly the function at which Mrs Gandhi rechristened the IAS academy as the lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in October 1974. "She had also addressed a public meeting in the Happy Valley Ground," he says. Radha Bhavan and Savoy Hotel were also Indiraji's favourite places to stay at while in Mussoorie.
He says residents of Mussoorie and Doon valley could never thank her enough as it was due to her love for the hill station that she took it up personally to ensure that its barrenness was removed and the limestone quarrying was stopped.
"Her initiative led the SC to give a judgement against the mining and the region was rejuvenated thereafter," he said. 'Kamla Castle' and 'Craig Top' were two of the other resorts which they stayed at often.
In the Doon valley, where she came with her father when he was the prime minister, she often stayed at the Circuit House (now Raj Bhavan) which was extremely dear to Nehruji.
When her son, Rajiv, was at Welham Boys' Prep School and later at Doon School (which he joined in 1955), she would come to the school to visit him, to drop him or to take him to Delhi. Old timers recall that she used to take both her sons, Rajiv as well as Sanjay, to Kwality Restaurant which was the most prestigious place to eat at in Doon those days.
There is no denying the fact that the entire family had a soft spot for Doonand Mussoorie and missed no opportunity to come to these environs and meet their friends and relatives living in the two towns. No wonder that the birth anniversary of Indiraji is such a special occasion here.