Holiday in the hills, the coolest vacation
reat things are done when men and mountains meet; this is not done by jostling in the street.”-william Blake
As I returned from the department after attending my last working day before the onset of the summer vacation, my husband knew what was coming, something he dreads whenever a long weekend, summer or winter vacation is approaching. He knew the question I would ask: “Which hill station are we visiting this time?”
I have travelled to most parts of India during my childhood. My father never missed opting for his LTC (leave travel concession) as a central government officer. Not only would he take his family to various destinations in India, he would also be willing to take other interested relatives and colleagues along. Everyone in the campus where we lived knew that to convince my father to go on a vacation, one just had to drop a word to his daughters and he would not be able to decline.
Our trips included Char Dham Yatra (the four Hindu pilgrimage sites) and states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha to name a few. Going for a vacation every year, thus, became a habit.
However over the years, I have become more inclined on visiting hill stations. This may be because I went to only one hill station twice during my young age. This fondness has, however, become a problem for my husband. Though, he too, likes the hills but the long distances and bad roads discourage him from venturing out.
Yet he heeds to my demands of going uphill at least thrice a year. Now, this love for hills is not without a rationale. To start with, I find tranquillity and peace in the hills. Their endless beauty rejuvenates me. It is astonishing to watch the exquisite, undulating hills while sipping a cup of tea and reading a book. We prefer going to the not-so-famous hill stations as they are likely to provide us with the solitude we are looking for, away from the hustle-bustle of city life.
The unusual calmness leaves a magical effect on the mind and body. It is exciting to visit nearby villages, interact with local residents (a psychologist would always have an appetite to understand more about human behaviour) and be acquainted with their culture and traditions.
Another fascinating part of such trips is trekking. My son, Devansh, though quite young, loves to trek. So we take him on gentle slopes, reach up to the top and sit and watch the mystic sky-piercing mountains. I am sometimes surprised at the way my son just sits quietly enthralled by the magnificent beauty of the surging hills. It seems as if he is capturing the incredible scenes in his mind so that he can take them back home. I tell my husband that our son has inherited the pahadi genes from him as he is originally from the Kumaon hills.
When the hills have so much to offer, how can one not be eager to visit them? Now it’s time to plan another memorable trip for the summer vacation of 2018.
WE PREFER THE NOTSOFAMOUS HILL STATIONS AS THEY ARE LIKELY TO PROVIDE US WITH THE SOLITUDE