A Walk Through Wilderness !

A hill station is a perfect place to unwind as it provides ample solace, quietude and takes you closer to nature. Out there, the stars appear closer and the moon remains happily perched over your shoulders. Dawn breaks and somewhere in the hills, an orange ball begins to rise. Imagine walking slowly on a beaten track over the slopes, covered with shrubs and dried leaves. The whistling wind clears your path, blows little spec of dust on your shoes and the dead leaves whisper loudly. Thick yellow rays pass through the branches and lit your path. In the next moment, the sun plays hide and seek with the trees.

You slowly wade through the misty clouds, serene, salubrious weather, and pollution free atmosphere. Almost every hill station boasts of quaint shops, gabled houses embellished with wooden decors and brightly coloured sloping roofs with dish antennas. Once in a while you come across charming facades, immaculately painted picket fences surrounding dark colonial stone structures overlooking courtyards, neat little orchards with cleverly laid driveway made from broken bricks, pebbles and gravel.

You stroll further and end up at a turn that offers a breathtaking view. The joy of watching the ground below and the splendid panorama in front is simply unbelievable. You feel rejuvenated and for a moment forget the regular grind of drudged city life. Every object in distance appears smaller and several waterfalls become visible. Somewhere near the horizon, you see a shinning river becoming wider, zigzagging across valleys and intersecting the lush green plains. Suddenly the plains look more attractive and alluring.

People often share their experiences of visiting various hill stations but seldom do we enjoy the beauty of foothills and the nearby plains.

Last week it was fun traveling everyday between Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. Little did I realize that the place where I was headed to would be so picturesque!

Watching the resplendent blue -green Shivalik hills from Baddi situated in the Solon district of Himachal Pradesh was an amazing experience. Almost every pharmaceutical company whether large or small have built a factory here. With tax incentives schemes and plethora of benefits offered to investors this place seems to be cropping up with reputed Indian and foreign FMCG companies.

I was lucky to spend my time in a place called HIMUDA Educational hub, Barotiwala (20 minutes away from Baddi) located at the foothills of Kasauli hill station. This place promises to become educational hub in Himachal Pradesh with several prominent Universities coming up in the area. It already has Chitkara University, one of the leading educational institutions in North India. With state of the art infrastructure and over 700 students pursuing various courses in engineering, general studies and management, the entire area seems to be a perfect place for emerging and growing companies in HP, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi to attract talent.

The 90 minutes drive from Chandigarh takes you through Haryana via Panchkula and the famous Mogul gardens in Pinjore. The road is surrounded by lush green meadows, maize and wheat fields. The vehicle stops and with it also the clock, making way for the cattle to majestically cross the street. You can see the hand pumps fixed near the plastered brick water tanks. You see men toiling in the fields behind, women carrying water and children sometimes waving and running on the street. Small garages and shops on the road display various wares. The biggest shop in every village is liquor and wine theka (shop) and these shops are well decorated. There are separate shops for country (Tharra – local brew) and Angreji (foreign or branded) liquor. There are tiny Dhaba’s (food joint) with enviable parking space.

Throughout the journey, you see magnificent contours of Shivalik hills, HMT colony and various villages. Several brick kilns greet you as soon as you enter Boratiwala. The tall chimneys remind you of Qutab Minar. Every chimney indicates the religion of the owner as it displays Hindu and Sikh religious symbols with pride. I was glad to find the end product i.e. the bricks similar. The place is abuzz with excavation and construction activities.

The Shivalik hills are also known as sub- Himalayas or foothills and are created due to the rise in Himalayas. The hills run from southwest Kashmir, to North India, into North East in Sikkim and finally end up in Southern Nepal. Their altitude varies between 900 to 2300 meters. These hills are the source of the rivers like Saraswati, Ghaggar, Tangri and Markanda. The hills cover some parts of Haryana viz; Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts. The hills consist of layered rocks with beautiful Chir pine, Sal and oak forests. The entire topography has a shallow erodable soil; unsuitable for agriculture however irrigation makes it easier to cultivate paddy.

Lord Indra was extremely benevolent last week. It rained heavily, the hills were no longer visible and a thick fog engulfed everything. After 3 days of incessant rains, the sun came back from its Hammam break (Turkish bath). The meadows glossed in greenery reminding you of golf courses in Ireland. Somewhere up on the ridges, a lone white cloud happily tangoed with the wind. The atmosphere suddenly changed and everything looked pristine.

From the foothills you could clearly see the famous tall imposing Television Tower at Kasauli (6400 feet) and further up, a faint silhouette of the ropeway cable became visible. The rains made the houses in Kasauli look fresh, white washed and inviting. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to identify the famous Lawrence school at Kasauli or perhaps it lies on the other side of the hill.

Kasauli was hardly 35-40 kms away from my work place. From the foothills, it is easier to gauge that Kasauli promises to offer unspoilt natural beauty, lots of options for nature trails, and a refreshing climate. Kasauli is a good detour between Shimla and Kalka, and is often called lesser Shimla. My driver tells me that tourist generally prefer the bustling Shimla which is 3 hours away over this sleepy hill station but Kasauli is fast becoming one of the favorite weekend getaway.

Late afternoon, a leisurely walk around the foothills takes you through stunning flora and fauna. Don’t be surprised if a weird thought of discovering a shortest route to Kasauli crosses your mind. You enter the woods. The birds are mellifluously singing. You come across a dry river bed, and walk in the direction of the hills. Few moments later you begin to enjoy the sound of silence. A cool breeze caresses your face and your hair gently jives in rhythm. The pine–scent gets thicker and everything around you appears brown, dark brown, green and dark green.

You discover a small stream rapidly moving towards the river bed. The clear water forcefully hits the stones, producing greater turbulence and a wonderful symphony. Like a child, you are tempted to pick up the colorful pebbles lying around. Soon you stumble upon an area mushrooming with small weeds, shrubs, plants, wild flowers and carefully avoid trampling it.

The river bends and a ravine begins to unfold. You muster some courage and enter this ravine. Near the sloping edges, you could distinctly see several dusty paths in various directions. Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken” begins to play in your mind.

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;…”

Suddenly you hear a voice followed with a loud echo. Someone from the group reminds you, “The sun is about to set.” The twilight hue makes the sky dusky, brownish –orange, scattered with light blue pigments. The chirping gets louder and flocks of bird head towards the hills. You halt.

Next moment, you turn around, look in the direction of ravine, your eyes move faster following one of the beaten tracks that quickly disappears in the woods and hopefully leads atop. Slowly and reluctantly you return to the familiar construction site where a car is waiting to take you on that dreadful highway to Chandigarh. The car gathers some speed and the hills move further and further away. It gets dark, the lullaby wind blows, and you quickly fall asleep only to wake up with a sudden jolt. You again shut your eyes; smile because next morning, the Shivaliks would again beckon you.

The road from Chandigarh to Baddi goes through Panchkula, Pinjore and extensively cuts across the state of Haryana. The entire stretch is full of potholes, ditches and craters bigger than those found on the moon. Don’t be surprised if you experience therapeutic manipulations in the car.

Everyday almost hundreds of vehicles ply on this road and yet no one seems to be bothered to repair the road. This is the shortest road to the industrial belt in HP. According to locals, Haryana government does not receive any economic benefit and therefore is least interested to mend this road. I don’t think the locals would object if Haryana government levies and collects toll to maintain the road.

Having said that, the road from Kalka is long and little better. Let’s hopes this road and the spectacular topography of the plains do not detiorate quickly! … But then don’t all economic development, construction, towns and cities sprung and flourish near the foothills!...