What better time than now to escape the muggy predicament of our metros. We suggest you head Northward Mussorie to be exact. Author Ganesh Saili's nostalgic travelogue will make you fall in love with this quaint, colourful hill station
What better time than now to escape the muggy predicament of our metros. We suggest you head Northward Mussorie to be exact. Author Ganesh Saili's nostalgic travelogue will make you fall in love with this quaint, colourful hill station
Travelogue
For a town named after the Mansur shrub (Coroiana nepalensis) that grows in these areas, Mussorie has come a long way. Mussorie enjoys the advantage of being on an outside spur of the lesser Himalayas, from where it looks down upon the plains, as one would upon an expansive map.
Rich with Raj nostalgia, we would've been happier with sharper, vibrant photographs. But that shouldn't deter you from exploring interesting vignettes, gup and gossip, and experiences of an era gone by.
Mussorie's famous sons
Sir George Everest (1790-1866): India's first Surveyor General conducted the Survey of India. The world's highest peak, Mount Everest, is named after him. His biggest achievement remains the measurement of the meridional arc of India from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas.
Frederick E Wilson (1816-83): This English freebooter and entrepreneur was largely responsible for transforming the economy of the area. He is regarded as one of Mussorie's founding fathers. Shunned by his own countrymen for marrying an Indian, he was adored by the mountain folk and soon acquired the imperial title of Raja Pahari Wilson, when he minted his own coins!
General Frederick Young (1786-1874): Landour's founder came to the area as a 15 year-old cadet and was in service, without a break for 44 years. He left as the General. Apart, from his many contributions, he was instrumental in introducing potato farming in and around Mullingar, from Ireland.
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| Christ Church, the oldest Himalayan church |
John Lang (1816-1864): This Australian born author and barrister spent his last years in Landour. A gifted maverick, he defended the Rani of Jhansi in her litigation with the East India Company and was suitably rewarded with 1,000 guineas, ornaments, dresses and ornaments. In fact, author Ruskin Bond rediscovered Lang's grave in the Camel's Back Cemetery, in the 1970s.
Chatter Singh Negi: This Mussorie resident arrived at the Savoy Hotel as a ten year-old ball boy on its tennis courts and stayed on for 70 years to become its manager.
Love Thy Landmarks
Savoy Hotel: Built on a 21-acre complex, this colonial hotel was launched in 1902. It is steeped in history and is a perfect example of Edwardian and Victorian architecture. Presently under renovation, it has hosted famous personalities including the Princess of Wales, the Dalai Lama, the Gandhi family, Pearl S Buck, Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene and Jim Corbett.
Christ Church: This church in Mussorie was consecrated in April 1839 and is the oldest functioning church in the Himalayas. The chancel and transepts were added 17 years later and the bell was presented by LD Hearsey, son of Hyder Jung Hearsey. A rare portrait of the Prince of Wales adorns the Masonic Lodge as a memory of his visit in 1908.
Woodstock School: This school's origins date back to 1854, when four ladies from the London Society for Promoting Female Education in the East landed in Calcutta and proceeded to Mussorie to set up a school in the Horse-Shoe Valley overlooking Doon Valley. Spread over 26 acres, the school has been providing education to students from 30 countries.
Townu00a0Gupshup
Beer bottling boomed in Mussorie in the 1830s. Messrs Murch and Dyer set up the Crown Brewery. Up until the 1970s, the ruins were still there.
Actor Victor Banerjee's home in Landour, at Parsonage, has a board outside that warns trespassers: 'Beware Rabid Thespian.'
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| Ruskin Bond at fellow author John Lang's grave in the Camel Back's Cemetery |
Some of Landour's popular residents include Ruskin Bond, Prannoy and Radhika Roy (NDTV).
The first car reached Mussorie in 1920, when Colonel EW Bell drove a T-model Ford across the Mall to Clarence House where Fitch & Co. had a shop.
During the "cool", swinging Mussorie of the 1920s, ballroom dancing was a rage. At the Stiffles and Hakman's Grand Hotel, special nights were so popular that tables overflowed on to the pavements.
German descent dance teachers Mr and Mrs Roberts were the most popular dance gurus at the time.
Mussorie Medley-Tales of Yesteryear, Ganesh Saili, Rs 695, Niyogi Books. Available at leading bookstores
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