 Exotic Vacations In India E-mail: info@caravantraveltalk.com Ranikhet, quietly ensconced amidst pine trees with a charming background of the snow clad Himalaya, has a breathtaking scenic beauty. Blessed with a healthy climate, its magnetic charm attracts tourists all the year round. It is a haven for bird watchers and visitors who wish to spend their holidays in solitude. Ranikhet is a place which has preserved its virginity and pristine charm. The sweep of Himalayan range visible from here is arguably the largest available from any place. It is a pure heaven 6000 feet above the sea level, away from the bustling lifestyle of city life. In Ranikhet, nature’s beauty overwhelms with its sheer abundance. Majestic snow peaks glisten in the sun. Wind whistle through the pine and towering deodar trees, rustling leaves in their trail. Pathways lead you to a panoramic view of the mighty Himalayas that spell wonderment. |
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The peace, tranquility and cleanliness
almost slams my senses as soon as we cross the green and yellow gateway of the Kumaon
Regiment Centre (KRC) into Ranikhet. The ethereal beauty with a majestic deodhar (perhaps
the first on the 9 hour drive from Delhi) to our left welcomes us in. Since the time the
Britishers discovered this celestial piece of earth to the outside world, the ambience of
the place seems almost unchanged. Norman Troupe, who built his homestead, Holm Farm, here,
would probably agree, a 130 years later. His estate, now converted into a heritage hotel,
maintaining its olde worlde charm, still stands atop a hill surrounded by coniferous
forests.
My eyes rove through pines ringing verdant meadows (to
later discover that it is a golf course), wooded slopes of stately
deodhars standing sentinel to the winding mountain road. As the car negotiates a bend, a
silver streak hits the sky. With a sharp intake of breath I slowly brake, bringing the
vehicle to a smooth stop, almost guilty for the noise the engine was making.
The sun, slowly turning orange, slips from behind the clouds down towards the
last leg of its journey for the day, saying goodbye with a splash of colors across the
sky. As the seconds pass (or stand still?) the emotions of the Sun through the day are
reflected on the white and blue canvas - silver, orange, grey - slipping in and between
tufts of clouds, its rays streaking through the pine trees, calling to the birds to return
home. Timelessness and creativity, new meanings are reborn; myriad emotions, changing,
expressed and reflected with each passing moment – the pines, deodhars, oaks, tiny
mountain flowers, the jungle babbler, the undulating hills, the tree line, soothing
breezes, all juxtaposed perfectly. I realize, my furiously beating heart has settled to a
trance at this discovery (setting suns have become a
‘discovery’ in the new millennium).
Next day, I wake up to a misty morning
and the views through the bay windows enthrall me.
The romance of Ranikhet keeps unfolding. We stop to
admire an old church only to discover that it is now a factory, with the
war widows of the KRC operating looms to knit Australian Merino wool into shawls with
ethnic patterns. At another place, a winding path into the forest brings us to
‘Carpentree’, a workshop where Kumaoni youth are engaged in making designer
furniture, of legally felled pines, deodhars, surai. Employed are contemporary design and
traditional techniques of solid wood craftsmanship and also the likhai craft –
decorative wood carving that goes into ornate doors, beams and pillars.
