LANSDOWNE, beyond the ordinary

“I don’t know about others but I am tired of this weekly schedule and Friday night outs won’t work any longer,” I shuddered at the thought of yet another hectic week ahead. Sitting in front of my laptop, I aimlessly typed ‘unconventional travel destinations around Delhi’ and that’s when we, nine college freaks who were exasperated with the city life, decided to ditch the city for a weekend getaway. What followed was beyond words. – A quick synopsis from all of us as we reminisce our wonderful sojourn.

The gang from left to right-sanjana, mohak, I, niti, kashish, harshit, lipica, abhiruchi and bhavika

Whacky in our own ways, Abhiruchi had started working, Mohak and Sanjana were from MBA, Harshit from animation, Kashish, Niti, Lipica, Bhavika and I from journalism, but our love for a whackier getaway was no different. We didn’t need much brainstorming; we were sure it would be the mystical Lansdowne. It had to be a road trip though, we were confirmed.

So, on the much awaited Friday morning, we squeezed ourselves in two cars and commenced our journey. In less than six hours, we were in the qualms of the heavenly land, a drive through the well maintained meandering roads, passing by the little bungalows at small intervals, everything through the journey set our hearts just right.

En route Lansdowne

Niti interrupted, “Hey, not so easy. On every trip, in every group, there is one that has motion sickness; this person will indulge in every head shaking song that you play in the car, shout on top of their voices but will also make sure you halt the vehicle every two hours to let them puke their madness out. Following this, the washroom mongers are no less. These people will drink ounces of water and their pee bombs will annoy your shooting speedometer right out.” (We all laughed, recalling those moments while our gaze shifted towards the culprits!)

Being one of the above people, Lipica went on, “We got there by noon, checked-in to a decent hotel and some rest was all we needed. Refresh and alive in the laps of Lansdowne, we went ahead for a stroll in the market that evening. The local and military markets are nice ones for buying souvenirs but not for shoplifting or even acting like you picked up stuff you weren’t supposed to.”

Some wine back in our room to throw the whine away

To this Kashish retorted, “You guys remember how we took oblivious paths, ran on the hills like a herd let loose, behaved like goons and had fun with the locals before returning to the place of stay and when the night was full and dark, we went ahead for a midnightwalk.”

As true as it can be, every inch I walked, I was witnessing magic. Every step I took under the sky was a step into nothingness and for the first time ‘nothing’ felt mesmerizing.

Endless strolls in this boulevard of leafless trees

“I had seen much more beautiful valleys before but the solitude that Lansdowne brought was incomparable,” recalled Bhavika. “I can’t agree more, for two days we walked there, without an AC, without phones and without internet but nothing beat the night when all of us lied under the starry stash which personally, enthralled me because I was lying there, admiring nature in its most pristine form.”

Mohak jumped in to say, “Yeah, yeah, and the next day it only got much more difficult for me to get all you midnight’s children for a morning stroll.”

“Oh please, I certainly didn’t give you any pain, was already excited about the churches,” argued Sanjana. “We visited two of them. St. James was a beautiful catholic church where we spotted a few monarchs flapping their wings in the church garden and admired the reflecting sun rays on the wall. I remember how we all sat in an empty open school silently calling for the students to taste education”, said Abhiruchi.

Harshit recollected, “When we returned at night, the place was a host of stars. And the next morning when we were leaving, it rained and it turned this land into a place we never came to and roads we never walked on.” To be honest, life in Lansdowne is mundane. There is nothing extra-ordinary about this place and that’s why, it is special. Lansdowne is yet to taste it share of extravagance that other hills boast of. It’s pure. It’s silent. It’s ethereal and it’s sublime. “Niti, what were the words you muttered back there?” She answered, “Wake up butterfly, it’s time; we’ve got miles to go together.”

60km from Lansdowne, this was Pauri

We were far away…far from the reach of the city lights, lying on the roads under the twinkling dust and the beckoning silence of the unknown. In less than a day, we were away from the crowd of the capital and reached the majestic land that Lansdowne is.

Although the best time to go is between May and October, and even though we went during off season, it captivated us no less.