Day 1
 

                       It was four in the morning when we were woken up by our daughter. She was too excited to have slept as we were going to Chakrata for a short vacation. I know Chakrata doesn't sound  terribly familiar , but I was promised that it is heavenly. It would better be, for I am a diehard Ranikhet lover! What, not even heard of  Ranikhet?

 

                        After a quick cup of tea and a sponge bath, as there was that slight nip in the October air, we were off to the station to catch the Shatabdi Express to Dehradun. Our friends joined us at the station and the two families- two sets of parents and three pre teen girls-hoped that Chakrata would be as good as promised by our hosts. Meerut- famous for the Mutiny or the First War of Independence, Roorkee- once home to the Thompson Engineering College which is now an IIT and Haridwar- an important holy town which hosts the Kumbh Mela once every twelve years- flash by as the train rumbles through the country side which is considered the wheat and sugar cane bowl of India. After Haridwar is left behind, the scenery changes from green fields to the greener jungle as one traverses the Rajaji National Park. The Shivaliks appear as dark shadows in the north rising steeply from the ground. Dehradun, now the capital of Uttarakhand, is reached around lunch time.

 

            Lunch had been organized by a friend in the Cantonment. A small gin and a homely meal had us ready for the road by about three o’ clock. The cantonment is clean and green and a drive past the stately Doon School took us out on the Saharanpur –Chakrata Road. It was made by the British in 1873 as a military road. The traffic is chaotic in the city but as the road winds past the FRI, which was set up in 1878 as the Imperial Forest School and College, the cool breeze of the Himalayan foothills lifts one’s spirits. IMA, established in 1932, is just ahead and the GCs can be seen marching smartly in front of the famous Chetwode Hall.

 

            The road, once it escapes the suburbs, traverses the verdant countryside where life appears idyllic. After Vikasnagar, it crosses over the Yamuna at Kalsi, where a military ‘gate’ system permits only one way traffic at intervals of about three hours. The hill road climbs over to Sahiya and thence to Chakrata. As it draws near, more and more trees appear as if out of nowhere. Once we reach Chakrata cantonment, it appears as if we are in a dense forest. The guest house is up a steep fight of stairs and we huff and puff to a refreshing cup of the brew. The nearly 100 km journey from Dehra had taken about three hours.

             How can we describe the view from the guest house? Well, the predominant colours are green -of the forest-and brown -of the distant mountains. In the north, south and the east, there is only a sea of green and in the west- across a valley- lie the brown mountains of Himachal Pradesh. Yes, Himachal appears a stone's throw away-as the crow flies. By now, it has become dark and the air decidedly chilly and we seek refuge in our rooms. And then the lights go off! Some place this is ! 

              As we stand on the terrace, it strikes us that the whole place seems to be lit with a suffused glow. And soon it dawns upon us- poor city folks- that the sky was a dark canopy, peppered, as if it were, with stars of such size and brilliance, as we had never seen. The milky way is pointed helpfully by the hosts and wild guesswork is employed by the rest to identify well known constellations. Sadly, the spectacle-such as is never seen by city slickers- is short lived as the lights are on again and the brilliance of the heavens loses to the sodium vapour lamps! 

               Anyway, it does seem that Chakrata will deliver on the promise of our hosts.