thinking aloud...: Solo Sojourn

The Perfect End

Landour is a place set up by the British and today it is owned mostly by the army. Therefore buying and and getting new random construction done is not easy. The restrictions have increased the liveability of the place. It is not crowded. There are no touristy shopping areas, unlike places in Mussoorie or any other tourist site.

In the name of shopping, there are Chaar Dukaan (four shops which have now increased to five) and the Sisters’ Bazaar with mere three shops (which I gave the details of earlier).

Although there is a Landour market, it is the local market selling the utility stuff for the residents of the area.

What makes Landour worth visiting is its serene scenic beauty or a chance meeting with the author Ruskin Bond, albeit meeting him is next to impossible, if you lack information and are not prepared accordingly. Bond visits Cambridge Book Store every Saturday and sits there for a couple of hours. If you are lucky to be in Landour on a Saturday and you have the knowledge of him being at the shop, and you have his book, you can get his autograph.

We were there on Monday and Tuesday. So, we already lost this chance. However, being persuasive we decided to see his house, at least. For us, even that was a privilege, which made us stand apart others who have not seen the humble abode of this great writer.

The day’s agenda was fixed.

Luckily we were staying at a place which was just above his house. Walking down a few steps and we were standing in front of his house on the second floor! We spoke to the lady living on the first floor and admired or rather envied her luck to have been living at such advantageous location.

Looking up, trying to steal a glimpse and idea struck us. We left the place and went to Chaar Dukaan for our breakfast. Whom we meet there? Our friend from the army, whom we had met the previous evening! We exchanged pleasantries and chatted for a while before it was time for him to get ready for office and for us to fill our appetite.

We decided to hog at the Tip Top Tea Stall – running from 1826 and famous for its pancakes. Today it is the fifth generation of Agarwal family from Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) that is running the shop. This is also the place visited by Sachin Tendulkar whenever he visits Landour for a leisure time at his builder friend from Mumbai, Sanjay Narang’s property.

The pancakes stood by their reputation. We ordered two but on seeing the first one requested the young lady cooking it, to cancel the order for the other.

Now was the time to execute the idea that had struck while staring at Ruskin Bond’s house. We bought two copies of one of his books, which is a compilation of information on green (forests) by various writers, from the tea stall. Yes, the tea stall is only a name which is going for over a century. The cafe houses books, other knick-knacks besides being a full-fledged cafe.

We were ready to tap our luck. As it is said a positive mind can do wonders. We were sure that we would succeed in our endeavour and our trip would be fruitful. With bright eyes, happy faces and a positive mind we started walking back to Mr Bond’s house.

We reached the house – painted in white with red window arches and a small roof top garden. About ten narrow steps were leading to his house and our destination. We looked at each other. It seems we both were getting strength from one another. A child-like enthusiasm had gripped us as we had decided that we would not leave the town without getting our mission accomplished.

Our hearts were beating fast when we rang the bell. There was no sound from inside. It appeared that the owner of the house had missed the bell. We waited looking anxiously at each other – keeping quiet though. It was the same scare that we may have felt years ago in our childhood, on being spotted by our most strict teacher.

But, now our age gave us enough courage to ring the bell again. And this time, the door opened!

We saw him standing there holding each door in his each hand, calling Bina – “Bina, look who is at the door – Ruskin is not home!”

For a second our hearts sank. We melted hearing him speak but froze thinking we may have annoyed him by ringing the bell twice. There was an uncomfortable silence until Bina came down.

A nice lady with a beautiful face and a gentle smile was standing in front of us. She looked confused. Her eyes were transparent. She was thinking why these two women have come here when everyone knows that Mr Bond doesn’t meet anyone!

Before she could ask us to leave, I held her hand and told her our intention and inclination. I told her that we just wanted to get our books autographed and we had no intention of troubling Mr Bond. We were not interested in selfies with the writer and we also didn’t intend to disturb his peace. We were just keen to have those books which we bought from the Tea Stall, autographed.

Bina went in. We waited with baited breath. Looking at each other weighing whether he would or he wouldn’t. I was though confident that Mr Bond would oblige us. This confidence had emerged from our genuineness. Meanwhile, Bina returned. Her humble face confirmed that she has succeeded in making our day.

We opened the books and jumped with joy seeing our name written in Mr Bond’s hand. We were on cloud nine. We thanked Bina from the core of our heart. She was the Lady Luck for us that day.

Now, was the time for a selfie! A well deserved selfie! Standing on those narrow steps we clicked a couple with our prized possession in our hands! We were giggling, holding each other’s hands. We couldn’t stop smiling. We had made it! That was the perfect end to our trip to Landour!

We walked 3 km down to Mussoorie taxi stand in the bright sun. But, the happiness inside kept us cool. It was the most amazing, gratifying and rejuvenating getaway that I had ever made.

We didn’t mind paying for the full taxi. We didn’t mind when the taxi driver detoured from the usual road. We thought it helped us see a different route to Dehradun. Exhilarated, we finished the wine leftover from the previous night. We did in two days what sometimes we are unable to do in even twenty days!