A short break to rest and recoup….many issues to be
considered… short enough drive, through the right kinds of road(s), some quick
highways, some meandering country
roads……an interesting place to stay in, comfortable, not too expensive and then
not tacky either……good food, some local cuisine too…. and the possibility of
long, quiet walks. Good weather, this being the month of May, and the chance to
gaze at the Himalayas, an added bonus.
Palampur it was then, all the boxes checked. We landed up in
Darang Tea Estate, quite by accident. A mix up with booking through a travel
portal, followed by personal, gentlemanly concern from the owners of Nagri
resort, who undertook to arrange an alternative accommodation.
The drive was a delight. The highway to Ambala is not
complete but still very quick. We bypassed Chandigarh, turning off at Shambhu
barrier. The highway from Ambala to Una was not bad … sunflower fields on
either side of the road, and a fast moving road. The Una to Amb stretch was
however a not so great, with potholed roads and bumps galore.
The Dhauladhars came into view a little before Kangra and
from then on the view became a constant companion, catching your breath every
now and then. The rise so sudden, the peaks glistening white, the steep slope
sometime brown and then violet. I remember seeing the colours in Nicolas
Roerich’s paintings of the Dhauladhars
many years ago and wondering at the violet and purple mountains… and here they were. Sometime later in the holiday
we had to spend time in a motor garage in Pallampur. The men there worked on
our car, oblivious to the view, while I sat absolutely mesmerized by the
majesty of the mountains. My husband had to divide his attention between the
two, the car and the majestic mountains!
The Darang tea estate owned by the Bhandari family, is a
functioning tea estate that lies between Kangra and Palampur, and also doubles
as a homestay. The family were warm and gracious hosts, and when we left at the
end of our break it was as if we had spent time with old friends, not people we
had met for the first time three days ago. Tea ( Kangra, of course) in the
veranda of the old family cottage, two labradors and a pug waiting for you to
pet them, tables laden with goodies, especially the home made jams made by Mrs.
Bhandari and companionable conversation.
We stayed at the Pecan cottage, a delightful set of rooms
with two seating areas, two bedrooms and a perfectly wonderful bath with slate
walls and floor.
 |
| Pecan Cottage, by night |
The Himachalis, at least the ones living in Kangra, seem to
have worked out how to co exist with nature. Man’s intervention is on a small
scale, unobstrusive. We made two excursions, one a walk in the village and the
other , a trip to Andretta. The wheat crop in the village was ready for harvest
and so a softly rustling sea of gold
when we walked through. Slim brooks and clumps of trees meant a lot of birds, but
we had unfortunately carried neither our binoculars, nor the “bird book” in
this visit.
The potter couple, Manisimran and Mary Singh run a pottery
studio at Andretta. We visited their studio, were shown around by Mary and
Jugal Kishore, the manager of the studio. I have always found their hand made,
glazed terracotta pottery very attractive and we picked up some jugs and bowls.
I gather that Andretta was once a thriving artists colony but now only the
Singh couple live there full time.
Google Maps has allowed us to be a little adventurous when going on road
trips. This time too, we decided to drive on state highways, district and
village roads. Nadaun, Bangana and many such unheard of hamlets, an unexpected
winding hilly patch, got us to Una, and then back to the sunflower fields of
Punjab. A ten hour drive got us home on a Sunday evening.
The Monday blues were less so, next morning.
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