People of this hill station are eagerly awaiting the four-day gala Winterline Carnival which will open here two days after Christmas.
The carnival, which is expected to attract a large number of tourists from India and abroad, will give a much needed fillip to the hill town’s economy as winter tourism in the last few years has been rather slow here. The ambitious carnival will bring together artistes from various spheres and various parts of the country to create a colourful show of talent in music, dance, theatre,literature besides fashion, biking, photography and adventurous activities like rock climbing and a car rally.
There was a time when this hill station was popular for its various events like beauty contests , ballroom dances, skating contests ,Christmas fairs and carnivals and cultural functions. But due to the growing interest in technology and it various manifestations, people began losing interest in such events which brought together people from various parts of the country and gave them an opportunity to mingle.
But things have a way of returning and that too on a larger scale . In 190 long years of its existence, this hill town has seen many ups and downs but remains one of the most popular tourist destination in the country, attracting people from all parts of the world too. Once known as the queen of resorts and the resort of Kings,a hill station where time once stood still and people experienced a rare tranquility.
The IMA Band will be playing one the first day of the carnival. Bands used to be a part of Mussoorie’s cultural . Even till twenty five years ago, Mussoorie retained its fashionable trends of live bands. An extremely cheerful atmosphere prevailed and tourists stayed for longer periods. The Band Stand, a historic landmark of this popular hill station, which had been lying in neglect for several decades , was brought back magically to life last year by jawans of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) who played a chain of charming melodies at this once-famous spot of the town .
The Band Stand is located in the “library Bazaar”, in fact at the library Chowk ,also known as Gandhi Chowk .Till the late 1960s,performances at the band Stand by military bands and several jazz groups were quite frequent. The 1970s and 80s were the heydays of the hill station with movies, fashion shows, beauty contests and live bands extremely popular .Morning shows at the various cinema halls were a great hit with every one and so were the late night shows..
lakhs of tourists have come and stayed here down the decades ,looking at Mussoorie as a hill station where they can enjoy a salubrious climate during the summers and can get away from the routine of their city life. But very few of them can ever get an idea of the many historic events and personalities that are associated with Mussoorie.
The fascinating story of the origin of the town is little known. A short hunting trip for an Irish Army Officer became a giant leap for history. In the early 19th century,lt. Young came to these hills for the sole purpose of bagging some game, peculiar to the hills. He was so enamoured of the surroundings that he decided to build a hunting lodge (shooting box) for his convenience.
The shooting box had been set up in 1823 by Young and F.J. Shore, who was the Joint Magistrate of Doon, on the Camel’s Back Road.. lt.Young then suggested to his superiors in the army and civil establishment to build a convalescent home for the tired and sick army personnel in the salubrious environment of these hills.
In 1827 , the Company’s Government established a convalescent depot for British soldiers at landour. After that, Young built his residence in landour and named it “Mullingar” after the city of this name in his native Ireland. It still exists. Building after building, roads joining other roads, one civic facility following the other came to be installed in what must just be a couple of villages initially, but later on came to be called by the name of Mussoorie .
Mussoorie became the first home of the Dalai lama in India in the summer of 1959 .It was here that Nehru ji held several meetings with the Tibetan spiritual leader. It was here that Nehru ji ,as a young man, spent summer vacations with his father. There are several other important events that took place here . These should be highlighted and displayed conspicuously at a museum in the town.
It is hoped that the Winterline carnival will bring back the erstwhile atmosphere of celebration to Mussoorie.