As The Hills Came Calling!

Just as we had started climbing the foothills at Ranibagh we got a call from The Ramgarh Bunglows verifying what time we would arrive. After some discussion we were told that our room would be ready by 2pm. This helped us decide to visit the Mahadevi Verma Bunglow before we checked in.

Ramgarh already started casting it’s spell on us as we entered the beautiful town or shall I call it a village for after a while we reached a stretch with a cluster of eight to ten shops in a row which we later learnt to be the “only” market place there! The taxi and the bus stand stood barren there squeezed across the road. This was the so-called “bazaar” of Ramgarh with one or two general stores-cum-sweet shops with tempting “pahadi mithai”, adjacent to which were a couple of small economical restaurants and a relatively bigger clothes and shoes store right opposite them. This made me wonder about the secret of economy and livelihood of the people living there.

There was something interesting I noticed about these owners of two different general stores who partly quenched my inquisitiveness and worry. It was not just their countenances that resembled but also their contentment with life. Perhaps they were happy and satisfied with what they had! After this contemplation, my husband took directions about the Mahadevi Verma library and bungalow and the Neemrana non-Hotels. We had to take a reverse and drive a few minutes to reach the Mahadevi Verma memorial.

We parked our car at the local “chakki” which was at the base of the library-cum-bungalow property. We climbed ahead with excitement and Voila! There was no human there to tell us stories! We had to decipher and derive our own stories relying completely on our observations and deductions. But thank goodness that the library was open! After all we had come all the way to see it.

However, Shall I call it negligence or rather blame the cold for the absence of the supposed people on duty or rather take it in good humor and conclude by complimenting ourselves in a way that perhaps they expected only refined and trustworthy visitors like us who could be relied upon and thus needed no vigilance!

We examined the place and navigated our way to the Mahadevi Verma Bungalow relying solely on common sense. There stood the brown stone statue of the great writer with iron spectacles nicely screwed at her temples. If I may get a little frivolous with my humor, the spectacles perhaps were the only thing that they thought could go missing and thus were tightly fixed into the stone sculpture. Everything else was left to chance!

Day 2-

We were through with our sunny, outdoor, open air breakfast. The azure January sky seemed to promise a good day.After a short discussion and complete agreement, we decided to travel further up. So we merrily froze the sudden plan to drive all the way up to Mukteshwar which was some 25km ahead of Ramgarh. The hill slopes at Ramgarh as if showed the zoomed out version of nature that we were zooming in to view. As we ascended ahead for about half an hour or so, huge shiny silvery patches of the last snowfall of the last year gone by welcomed us.

I was numb not out of cold but out of awe or rather shall I say I felt more alive than ever!What a blissful sight it was! Though I suspected chill outside I shrugged off the idea of being intimidated by it and boldly stepped out of my heated car. As I stood on the grey road it felt out-of-the world! As if I was out on a fairy land. After inhaling enough of the magically refreshing oxygen and quenching my appetite for photography, my husband and I moved ahead.

Somewhere around the midpoint i.e. some 12kms ahead of Ramgarh our eyes fell on a neatly constructed structure. As we went closer we saw a board which read The North Café. The place looked appealing. We were not yet hungry as the lavish buffet at Ashok Vatika was yet to be digested but the idea of enjoying some grub in that beautiful ambience on our way back struck both our minds simultaneously. So it was pre-decided that we would halt at this place as we would descend back to Ramgarh.

After this mutual confirmation we drove further up and crossed many ornate food joints but somehow none could erase the impression of The North Café!

Though I have been born and brought up largely in Uttarakhand still I could not confidently call myself a good guide. Providentially the person we asked for basic directions turned out to be a local guide. My husband and I, we both looked at each other and understood each other’s expressions of consent. It was then when I spoke in unaccented Kumaoni (for trust me to speak the authentic Kumaoni you need to speak it from your gut and not just your tongue!)and hired the local person at a lower charge proving that we were Uttarakhandis too!

So under the guidance of Arya ji we took a short walk through the forest just behind the famous Mukteshwar temple. We were told a story and relevance of a rock with a round hole on its edge that was said to bless those childless mothers who crawled over the rock to reach that hollow which was almost at the edge of the cliff. The guide insisted that the miraculous blessings of a child were received only when the crawling happened on Shivratri! If you ask me I was horrified with the idea and wondered how could women manage that feat because it seemed no child’s play to reach that hole on the edge!

Moving ahead on the walking path we found a few food stalls beyond which was the forest stretch leading us to a bright and shining snow-covered slope. With golden sunshine to add sparkle to the thick carpet of snow it felt like an entry into higher heavens! We carefully walked on the hardened snow and felt one with nature! We captured the wonderful scene into our camera and visited the temple thereafter.

So after doing justice to our visit to Mukteshwar we came back to this mid-point cafe to live up to the promise we made to ourselves.

As we headed towards the first entrance up the slope the pillar read 77 Chipa. I would like to introduce it as “77 Found” rather than 77 Chipa (If I could take the liberty to pronounce it in Hindi as “chipa” meaning hidden!)!

The thick sheet of yet not melted snow seemed to invite the caption of an obedient wild as it became the perfect backdrop for photography and real experience too.

We walked down the slope admiring the beauty when suddenly I was alerted by a café person that I must be cautious moving ahead. The entire set-up and its surroundings had enticed me so much that I forgot to watch my steps walking down the slope. So you can well imagine what an experience it was!

The grey building with a rust coloured roof and white railings seemed to be waiting for us. Soon we entered the nicely heated warm café zone as soft country music from the marshall speakers built the mood for us. I chose the blue upholstered sofa against the wall. Towards my right was the focus light for the painters to use.

My husband and I were both really impressed. We were discussing that going by the standards this café could have been anywhere in the world. Though we did not see them but we were told that there were also two rooms for people to stay.

After doing some recce in different states Shohaib Bhai had chosen this excellent site in Uttarakhand to raise his baby called “The North”! With each piece of construction fixed under the supervision of the dreamer the completed construction work seems to be a piece of art in the rugged terrain

After ordering some coffee along with some pasta and cheese sandwiches(which I ordered twice for they were yummy) we left the place appreciating the confidence and the enterprising spirit of young Shohaib who has given shape to his dream so well. The café is only two months old but its a place that guarantees an experience of its kind. So all I can say is “The north” was worth it!

After a comforting break at “The North” we got back to our car and mused over the fun we had.