locals and tourists in the Doon valley love to visit Kalsi, known as the “gateway” to the pristine hill station of Chakrata in Dehradun district. It lies midway between Dehradun and Chakrata. located in the Shivalik Hills, about 50 kilometres from the Doon valley, it is home to the 14th Ashokan Edict.
In the rainy season, the entire landscape wears a washed and fresh look and there seems to be a new life breathing in the bustling market areas of Selaqui, Herbertpur and Vikasnagar that one passes through while heading towards the soothing green environs of western Doon which is home not only to Kalsi but also to other pleasant destinations like the well-known Assan Barrage, Dak Pathhar and Katta Pathhar.
There is the wide bright and scenic Yamuna Bridge which takes the traveler to Kalsi through Haripur. In the 3rd century BC, Kalsi marked one of the furthest limits of the dominion of King Ashoka amongst the Himalayan foothills. Today this tiny hamlet is known for the presence of Ashoka’s rock edict, a historic lineage it shoulders easily and simply.
History lies thickly spread around in several layers in the Yamuna valley and historical sites from various eras abound. Paonta Sahib, the Gurudwara situated about thirty kilometres from Kalsi is the best known. Paonta, in Himachal Pradesh, is where Guru Gobind Singh stayed as a young man. Enchanted by the beauty of the place, he founded the town in 1685 A.D. and lived there for four years. He named the town “Paonta” (from “pav”, the foot hold of his horse). The word is also to describe a carpet spread for welcoming guests into a house. Paonta is the only town whose foundation was laid by the sacred hands of Guru Gobind Singh. He had a fort built on the banks of the Yamuna and also set up a cantonment for his army. Soon, the desolate area began to hum with life and Sikhs from far and wide started flocking to Paonta. The years spent here were the most creative for the young Guru during which he completed some of his major literary works. Kalsi and Paonta fall on the same tourist circuit.
Situated as it is in the cleft of the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Kalsi, at a height of 3484 feet, is also the perfect base for forays into the Chakrata and Mussoorie hills From the Kalsi Bazaar. A sloping cobbled path will take you down to the campus where the Ashokan rock edict is housed. An amazingly green and neat place this is, maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Surrounded by large expanses of open space, the ancient edict has been ensconsed in a red, domed building since 1912. An awe-inspiring view of the Yamuna valley behind the campus adds greatly to its beauty.
The edict lies behind a locked wooden gate. On the right side is the carving of an elephant (Gajottam or the best among elephants ). The word Gajottam is inscribed in Brahmi script. The rock is about 10 feet tall, ten feet wide and about eight feet broad at the base. The writings on the rock are in Prakrit language and Brahmi script. It generally speaks of the leading principles of Buddhism.
The Chinese Ambassador,Hiuen-Tsang is said to have visited this place. Close by, in the lawns, the ASI has placed ,on marble plaques, introductions to the Ashokan Edict, both in English and Hindi. Sitting with a cup of tea on a bench near the dome shaped building, I quietly enjoy the greenery and silence. The tourists, mostly families from Dehra Dun and Yamunanagar, seem to be savouring the unique beauty of this historic site on the banks of the Yamuna. Children from the village climb the huge mango tree near the edict, eager to pluck the big, green mangoes that adorn it. There are several hues of green around.The green of the mangoes is different from that of the tree and of the little manicured lawns around the edict. And the green of the Yamuna valley is of an entirely different shade.
I leave Kalsi with the thought that I would like to soon return to this quiet corner of the Yamuna valley which is so idyllic that anyone would love to spend some time here, alone with oneself, breathing in the fresh and clean air and enjoying the woody scents, marveling at the sylvan splendour.