VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
In winters when the people in the
plains are shivering due to cold wave, foggy conditions and Sun refusing to
come out, I have one simple advice for them— head for the hills. I have a
suggestion; take the snow trail of Himachal Pradesh, not far off from the State
Capital Shimla.
There could be several other
exciting options but for me, hills give what I need— thrill, adventure, a
feeling that I can relate to the lofty peaks and above all a sense of
belongingness which nothing else can give.
This is what I did to take a
short New Year break, drive besides snow clad mountains and also to figure out
how off-beat travel rejuvenates the body and the mind. You don’t really have to
be adventurous to try this as the weather up in the hills is not only sunny but
also relatively warm in the day. Of course, the evenings there are colder than
say Chandigarh or Delhi
but then, switch on the efficient room heaters, sit on the sofa with whatever
you drink— nimbu paani, Brandy, Rum with warm water, plain warm water or
nothing at all and you will start feeling warm. Think about the snow all around
you, how people of the region enjoy this and how beautiful nature is.
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| The colors of nature |
I started from Chandigarh
on a foggy morning when the visibility was down to around 50 meters . Knowing the hills well
by now, I was sure that the visibility would get better and only better. On the
Himalayan expressway, fog was there and so were huge trucks, meant to
intimidate you. Don’t get intimidated by their size and driving skills of the
drivers.
Make your way up slowly and
steadily on the beautiful drive from the Pijnore crossing to Parwanoo. The
well-crafted road looks like a poet’s dream. Carved out of fragile mountains on
the Shivalik foothills, I am sure if you spend an hour here just gazing out,
poetry would automatically flow from the pen.
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| Snowed forest |
Just after timber trail, the
landmark where the four-lane expressway gives way to a two-lane National
Highway 22, known at one time as the Hindustan-Tibet Road, the weather turned
bright. The Sun which was embarrassed to come out in Chandigarh
due to fog which was there in all its pristine beauty. And believe me, the
feeling of Sun on your body is wonderful in the winters and nothing can beat
this.
There is a symbiotic relationship
between fog and depression. Several studies have linked depression in winters
on fog and lack of sunshine. I realised it again, the moment I drove past
Parwanoo and reached Dharampur, the small town, bustling with activity and
traffic. My depression was gone by now and in the distant, I got a preview of
the visual pleasure in store— this was snow-peaked mountains. I celebrated the
occasion by having a cup of steaming hot tea at Giani da dhaba, the popular
eatery run by a Sikh family for years. It is normally full and one has to wait
for a table but in the morning, it wasn’t difficult to find one.
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| The snowed road to Hatu Peak |
Kumarhatti, Solan, Kanda Ghat,
Shoghi…I was now in the outskirts of Shimla in three and a half hours. Shimla
was never in my mind as I been to this place umpteen times and there was no
point now when the idea was to live besides snow for a short while. On a Friday
afternoon, driving past Shimla was relatively a breeze, bustling as it is all
the time with tourists, taxis and of course the locals on their routine.
Past the Police Headquarters and
the Himachal Government Secretariat, you are on the beautiful drive to Kufri.
Reserve forest areas, greenery all around and more snow peaked mountains add to
the driving pleasure.
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| A walk in snow |
A thick layer of snow greeted us
on the side of the mountains this moment in Kufri and beyond it. Some of the
snow was melting but the entire side of the hill was white, covered as it was
with snow. I have been to this area earlier also but this was unbelievable. The
white carpet of snow was having a magical impact on me.
Driving had become slightly
difficult as there were still a few centimetres of hardened snow on the road
despite being cleared by the PWD. On both sides of the road, the cleared snow
was 1-2 metres
in height and as the hillock was not Sun facing, it would remain there for a
while.
Soon I reached, Himachal
Tourism’s Hotel Apple Blossom in Fagu, 4 kms from Kufri. The driveway to the
Hotel, around 60 metres ,
was all white due to snow but pressing the accelerator firmly I find myself in
the parking of the hotel, surrounded with snow from all sides. I prefer
Government owned hotels as they always have plenty of space and parking and the
staff too is trained and courteous.
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| The landscape |
Finding a room overlooking the
snowed mountain slopes was easy. What added to the delight was a 25 per cent
off-season discount by HPTDC. The spacious concrete lawn of the hotel was full
of snow and so was the slope on which it was perched. You couldn’t have asked
for more. This was the snow trail in true sense.
Next day, it was time to move
ahead to Narkanda, the apple belt of Himachal Pradesh where I had last visited
in the apple season four months ago. You find all the slopes painted white by
nature the moment you move ahead of Fagu towards Theog. The town is small and
busy and nothing remarkable about it but the moment you move ahead, nature is
there in all its pristine beauty. Now you can see the apple trees on the slopes
where it has snowed earlier.
Locals say that the more snow you
have on the roots of the apple tree, the yield would be better and the fruit
would be more crunchy and juicy. In the distance, you can see bright Sun shining
on the snow peaks. At several places, I get down just to absorb what I was
looking at into myself like a sponge absorbs water.
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| An apple orchard |
Less than two hours from Fagu and
driving past a landscape which I had never seen earlier, I find myself at The Hatu, another Government
owned hotel at Narkanda, perched atop a hillock, overlooking a beautiful
valley. It was sunny and despite snow all around, there was no chill in the
air. There was snow on the mountain slopes, rising from the valley below, in
the distant and even in the backyard of the hotel and on its roof. Snow, snow
and snow…This is what I found there.
Trek in the snow, play with snow,
acres of snow for skiing…It was a visual delight. Trying to absorb all this was
an exercise in itself. The only promise which I made to myself was simple— I
will take to this snow trail every winter. (January 12, 2015 )
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