The long pine trees looked elegant and gigantic while I looked around the hilly region of Ranikhet, a place on the foothills of Himalayas, in the Almora district of Uttaranchal!
Nature truly appears to be at its best here, the place known as the queen of hills. It had been a favorite place of the Britishers during summers, when they ruled India .Fortunately the name of the town didn’t change and it is still know as Ranikhet,sounded sweet and melodious as a beautiful song of the spring!
April 1991 :
This was my first visit to this scenic location which gave the longest view of the Himalayan range.
It was late evening by the time I reached and even in the month of April when the whole of India starts getting scorched by the sun, it was chilling and cold there.
Following day started with a glimpse of the most exhilarating view of the mountain Trishul which stands in the shape of a Trishul, an emblazon weapon carried by Lord Shiva.
The early dawn reflected on the peaks trident and they looked gorgeously golden.
PHOTOCREDIT:www.nainitalyatra.com
Never had I seen such a pictures queue sight!
Later during the day a walk through the Mall road of the town ,I could feel the warmth of the local people which I experienced during the visit to the local market . Every pedestrian had a smile on his face irrespective of being strangers. The girls had pink crimson cheeks which got more red when they smiled.
There was only a single road which had shops on both sides and which ran for around a kilometer. That was all the place had to offer in its commercial aspect.
Small shops of woolens, grocery, daily needs, cosmetics, a few stationary shops and few vegetable vendors. This was all in the local market besides the handloom outlets which sold the local handmade woolens.
There was a single photostudio, which had the facility of getting clicked, but the developing and printing part was done hundreds of kilometers away down the hills in another city in the plains.
Wonder in which world I lived, it felt like an old version of a filmy town situated in hills but the most beautiful I had ever seen.
My heart instantly had fallen in love with this enchanting place amidst the pine and fir trees.
The carved fir cones looked magnificent on the branches and were a piece of delight when fallen and collected by anyone.
PHOTOCREDIT:travel2tourist.wordpress.com
The air I breathed had a pure smell and was fragrant with resins secreted by the fir trees, which was used to make turpentine oil! There were conical shaped tins attached to most of the trees to collect the falling gum from the slits made on the trunk. The scattered fir leaves formed a golden carpet on the slopes which was actually very slippery when I tried walking on it.
To be contd….
soumyav 
Wow! Scenic view and majestic tall trees. I never knew the sun could also get that hot in india. And when you said ‘scorched
,’ I understood it completely. I look forward to this more of mouthwatering adventure.
Uzo,India has got a varied landscape which ranges from deserts ,to hilly regions and from dense forests to long exotic beaches. It offers a beauty amalgamated in every landscape along the vast stretches . And so does its climate has variations where someplace has lots of snowfall and the rest is burning with heat .
OH SOUMYAV, JUST BEAUTIFUL, and your wonderful commentary was such a delight to read.
Iam amazed and surprised …very happy to see you here aftre so long! Still great that you loved the narration.
Wow Soumya! beautifully written….you reminded me of my hometown which IS also known as Queen Of Hills….and the beauty you describe about Ranikhet is just the same as of my Hometown SHIMLA. Beauty of hills is such that you can never forget and cherish all your life….waiting to read more from you…
Tk Cr
Lots of Love
Very true Rachna! Yes Shimla too is famous for its snow cladded peaks and the tall pine tress and there is always a mall road in every hill station. 🙂 The scenic aura of such places is very hard to forget and is an experience of lifetime.
I loved your post..as Ranikhet is the place where I was born. I spent the initial 4 years of my life there. And the year you went there for the first time was the year I was born…:) I don’t remember much except those pine trees, a road called the thandi sadak (was that mall road itself?), and the snowfalls. I miss Ranikhet, I wish to visit the place someday again.
Thank you for this post. We both are somehow very specially connected to this place. 🙂
True Mona ,we are really connected with the ties of Ranikhet. That was nice to know that I went the year you were born,if only I knew you then 🙂 I would have visited 😉
I still adore the place and the raw beauty of there.
Nainital is one of the places I look fward to visit and stay fr a while. Imagining myself waking up with tea, admiring the scenery, reading a book and writing poem. Hope it will come true some day:)
Yes Vishal ,Nainital is one of the most beautiful places where you can enjoy the scenic beauty as well have the fun of taking a walk around the lake and to few hilltops. The place does emanate freshness in air and the atmosphere.
Yes Vishal ,Nainital is one of the most beautiful places where you can enjoy the scenic beauty as well have the fun of taking a walk around the lake and to few hilltops. The place does emanate freshness in air and the atmosphere.
I have a beautiful not-so-short story that will be published shortly. Surprise! Hold ur breath:)
THts great to hear! 🙂
new post is here and ull find some music to the ears:)
some problem with WP on my end,not able to post comments on other blogs nor edit mine..getting crazy of this since last two days.
shit! WP goes crazy sometimes and hope it can get fixed.
Am going frustrated over this,no post opens of any blog,I can only see in the reader.
hmm! I understand that it gets to us since we can’t survive wo writing. try mailing WP.
fabulous shots, fantastic narrative!
Ya ! the great cherishes memories.