Sunday, June 7, 2015

A trip to the lap of Himalayas, literally - Part 2: Shimla, the stairway to Himalayas

We were bound to Shimla by the Shivalik Deluxe Express next day. It meant waking up at wee hours of the morning. I didn't mind it though, it was my birthday and I was just too excited about the journey ahead! Thankfully, the Railway station was just a stone's throw away from our hotel. By the time we reached our platform, the train had already arrived. It had a colonial feel to it, with a rustic looking engine and large, spacious wagons with wide glass windows and comfortable chair cars for seating. The hospitality offered was laudable. Most of us looked like we'd stumbled into the train straight out of bed; And when the railway staff offered us a breakfast of sandwich and a steaming kettle of water for making tea, we gratefully gulped it down.

The five hour journey to Shimla was worth every moment. While the train lugged us away from a sleepy Kalka town into higher altitudes, I watched the valley tardily warm up and come alive as the Sun rose from behind a cloudy veil in the sky. We slowly wound our way through innumerable tunnels and over countless bridges( 102 tunnels and 864 bridges to be precise! The longest tunnel lasted almost 5 minutes!) and I couldn't help but wonder about the remarkable engineering feat that mankind had achieved - overcoming such insurmountable problems to inhabit this little corner of the globe. No surprises that this route recently became part of World Heritage Site, Mountain Railways of India. We could feel the shift in the climate, the icy chill of the mountains creeping into us as the train climbed higher. I felt a little sleep deprived, but the stunning views of the gorging valleys and the sierra of mountains didn't allow me a second of shut-eye, lest I should miss a moment of it.   

Our two day stay at Shimla was filled with exhilaration mostly and disappointment at times(making us wish we'd planned our time there better).  One of the first things we learnt after reaching Shimla:  Google distance yardsticks are of no help here. The entire city is built on steep roads and stairs! ( Try lugging your baggage till the hotel that you so proudly booked because Google said it's right next to the station, you'll know what I mean!). Nonetheless, we were ecstatic when we found out that our hotel room offered a majestic view of the mountains with a slight glint of snow on the other side.

Enticed by it, we soon took off for Kufri, a renowned Snow Point nearby. Snow Skiing, Sledding, Snowman - all those stuff from movies and books( If you're a Calvin buff, you'll know where most of that came from ;) ), now palpable! Gussied up in snowsuit and boots, we went on to attempt skiing. In my dreamy head, I'd imagined that I'd step on snow with the skis and in no time be zooming down those snow-capped mountains, but I couldn't have been more wrong! It takes Herculian strength just to propel yourself forward. And if you don't watch your posture, the skis can get tangled, threatening to send you tumbling on the snow like an out of control torpedo! I gave up after what felt like the hundredth time, kicked off  my skis and relished the rest of the time sliding down the slopes on a tube and chasing R~ with a snowball readily aimed at him ;). 

That night, walking along the famous Mall Road to The Ridge, we soaked in the colonial heritage and charm that the city has managed to retain. Absence of vehicles on these roads, fellow tourists shopping for popular wood-crafts, souvenirs and trinkets, the irresistible aroma of Samosas and Parathas wafting from the eateries: everything redounded to the overwhelming charm of the wintry night. The road further joins the Ridge which is a large open space at the heart of the city, housing Shimla's famous landmark - the Neo-Gothic structure of the Christ Church. A splendid view of the sprawling Shimla town from here, added to the magic of an already enchanted night, with the lights from the city's skyline looking like a cartography of fireflies ( "Or rather, a bevy of candles lit up for my birthday", quipped the dreamy Pisces voice inside my head!;) But I did end up bidding toodles to the best birthday of my life, with the customary cake and candle blowing, thanks to R~ :)).


Our last day at Shimla was a disappointment of sorts. The downside of a flourishing tourism industry is that most of the tourist places these days, are largely commercialized. A half a day tour to supposedly famous places around Shimla took us to Tattapani, a site well-known for its natural hot water springs, now conveniently encroached by "luxury" resorts and marketed as Natural Hot Water Sauna at exorbitant prices,  the oldest and highest Golf Course of India situated at Naldhera, which looks mostly desolate now and a river rafting spot enroute to Tattapani which doomed us to disappointment when we saw that the unamusing river Sutlej looked more like a ruddy stream. All this made us wish we'd stayed back and explored the British Colonial Architecture of the city instead. 
Still, Shimla will remain the beautiful place that gave us surreal images of a charming city, through beautiful songs like "Aaoge Jab Tum O Saajna" from Jab We Met.  And so, when the time came to leave Shimla, we packed our bags with the sinking feeling that accompanies all unwelcome endings.

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