In The Valley of Gods: A Personal Journey

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

Dost ji sounds like you had loads of fun. I have been only to Shimla few times and to Kufri once in summer. It is very beautiful region and people are very nice too.

so did you try the Ghotta too? Should have.

dost:

very enjoyable...keep up...we need more...:)

rgds,

t

We do have smaller version of Shimla in Pakistan - Murree. Murree Hills have same character as you described about Shimla. Two quick points.

Why do people in our part of the world go to higher altitudes for honeymoon? The air is thin and one gets tired more quickly just as water starts boiling at lower temperatures - incomplete cooking. second is the proliferation of temples. It means Himachal Pardesh is going to remain backward state for longer time than others.

Very nice. . .thank you for sharing, mittar-jee!

Dost ji, my friend tells me that the presence of too many honeymooners in the hills is very misleading. According to him many of them are lovers, classmates, neighbours and cousins eloping for few days away from the prying eyes of their families and neighbours down in the plains. This is a very kanjar type friend so I believe he might be correct in this case.:)

Miter ji,

Very nice write up. Brought back some nice memories of Shimla and its famous Chuchu train. You did not drive there so you must have missed the famous Mogal Garderns of Pinjor. They are right at the foot hills, on the road to Shimla.

`I was curious to know how the place got its name. I was told by a “reliable source” (my driver) that during the British period, the Maharaja of Patiala......,`

To add to the story, this was the infamous Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupender Singh, the one with 365 ranis. There are lot of stories attributed to him, each more scandulous than the other. Also after the incident that you mention, he was forbade by the British government, from setting foot in Shimla, so he build a palace at chail which if I remember it right is about 20 miles from there.

I guess you did not go to Kashmir, which is a shame. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there. The place I liked most was pehalgaum and yes there was a punjabi dhaba and hotel there. I can still taste those `aloo de pranthe` and huge glasses of lassi.

[Himachal (Him+Aanchal) literally means a dupatta or cover of snow, alluding to the snow-capped mountains of this state.]

Why use the word `aanchal` when `achal` (immovable) means `mountain` and `himachal` directly translates to `snow covered mountain`?

Ajeet, I read some where that the white woman in the said scandal was daughter of some high level British official and she willfully ran away with him. The guy was a sex maniac..what did he do with 365 women(I heard it was 360 but hey throwing another 5 won`t hurt the guy...panj hoar naal oh mar nai challeya)? [question is rhetorical I don`t even want to think about it...makes me feel dizzy..not enough blood to circulate in my vains.:-)]

The Pinjor garden is beautiful too. I don`t know about now but it used to be very well maintained when I visited few times in 80`s.

#3 by sameerJB on April 29, 2003 12:41pm PT

``It means Himachal Pardesh is going to remain backward state for longer time than others. ``

Yeah ..but still much better than mullah Pakistan..the whole of which is full of madrasas and its religious fanatics.
you jealous sameer??

#9 by dullabhatti

I think you may be right. He probably over awed her by his wealth. As far as the number 365, I remember people said he had a wife for every day of the year. In fact he wanted every pretty face that he laid his eyes and if every thing else failed he offered to marry them and make them his queens. Usually the infatuation lasted a few days and he would set them up in a house(palace??) with some income and would never see them again.

I haven`t been to that part of the country for long time. I visited Pinjore and Shimla when I was a nutty teenager, along with an equally nutty cousin on a two wheeler scooter.

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

really enjoyable writing.you must go to kashmir.pehalguam is really worth seeing.in srignar,we went there for honeymoonin in 1975.the night inthe house boat with ``kawal`` floating inthe water,with sceni beauty all around.its is still in my mind.i dont know what had happen by now.
i wish i would go there again.

Dost-mitter

I like the way you bring out India`s colours, culture, history and geography interwoven into an enjoyable text.

Hill stations, cantonements, Malls, railway stations (with easy chairs where the hands further fold out), Dak Bungalows and the Company Baghs which the British left have the same flavour in Pakistan.

But in Pakistan, we have done considerable damage by destroying the statues of the British Nobilities and renaming the old historical names.

I wish we go back to the old names and restore the old buildings as they were. My guess is that India has done better in this regard.

Thanks again for taking me through a joyful trip through India.

Ref 12-Head #12

[North is still Hindi /urdu]

Nope. Pakistan is Urdu. North is Hindi, as in something like `smoke-spewing cart` for `train`.

[Hima= Snow
Aanchal = dupatta as in Chor do aanchal zamana kya kahega]

That would make it `Himanchal` not `Himachal`. Note that there is a new state called `Uttaranchal` so use your `aanchal` there.

[Now go watch Tamil movie of Simran ,Soundarya and Shakeela all fake names borrowed from NORTH]

Simran herself is borrowed from Punjab, not just her name. Shakeela, one would think, is borrowed from one of the -stans.

dost-mittarji:
Chalo...since I have not been to these places, at least umdaa jhalak tau mil gayee... hope to visit Dharamshala soon though...

Aur haan...don`t tell me Mumbai is not worth a piece :)

Regards,
Farzana