Tomichan Matheikal's blog

Nothing ennobles human beings more than the company of their beloved ones in an environment suffused with the splendour of nature.  My latest such experience occurred last summer when Maggie and I visited Shimla.  The verdurous hillsides that rise majestically all around cling to your soul with an unearthly tenacity.  They bewitch you so much that you feel oppressed and liberated simultaneously.  You become the questing knight of  Keats’s La Belle Dame Sans Merci .  You are drowned in transcendental beauty.  You are intoxicated with it. Having spent the day visiting various places of tourist interest, we were dropped back by our driver at the Old Bus Stand from where we wished to walk up the fairly steep ascent to the Mall Road.  The narrow lane is lined on both sides with goods of all sorts ranging from exotic trinkets to day-to-day grocery items.  The mundane and the sublime coexist in an edifying spirit of camaraderie in the markets of hill stations.  A view from the Ma

One of the best places to spend the evening in Shimla is the Mall road.  Vehicles are not allowed on the road.  You can approach it by any vehicle (shared taxis or private vehicles) or walk up the narrow alleys flanked by shops of all kinds.  We chose to do bit of trekking and walked up.  If you are healthy person, it will take only about 15 minutes to reach the Mall from the old bus stand. The views from the Mall are delightful and grand.  Below are some pictures.  Way to the Mall Another view on the way The ascent lands you right in front of the Town Hall The antique and the contemporary coexist symbiotically In fact, the Tommy Hilfiger showroom is on the ground floor which did not attract me since it looked like any of today's showrooms anywhere.   Inside the Christ Church Stained glass windows of the Church Earlier the Christ church had on its walls elegant frescoes designed by J Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling and principal of Mumb

One of the many tourist attractions in Shimla is supposed to be the Scandal Point where the Maharajah of Patiala is supposed to have misbehaved with the daughter of Lord Kitchener, British Commander-in-Chief. The British government in India banished the Maharajah, of course.  He went and built a palace in Chail.   The historical fact seems to be that Bhupinder Singh who built the palace in Chail was just one year old when the scandal broke out.  Well, were the Singhs so potent that their one year-old royal offspring could proffer an amorous kiss on the lips of a young woman?  Better still, elope with her (as one of the gossips - I mean, tourist guides, explains!) History is not any better than this, most of the time.  And I'm speaking about the history of just a century ago.   I went to the Scandal Point in Shimla and got the picture below. Perhaps, history haunts the place even today!  This can happen only in India :) Scandal Point It looks like a haunted house.  And

Kufri lies at about 20 km from Shimla on the way to Chail.  In winter tourists enjoy skiing and other snow-related activities.  The place won’t disappoint you in summer too.  There’s the Fun World which can offer you much entertainment.  There are various adventure activities and yak riding on offer.  You can view the distant snow-capped mountain ranges with the help of the telescopes placed in a row.  You reach the Fun World of Kufri riding a pony from the main road where your vehicle will have to park itself.  It’s a 15 minute-ride on a terribly rugged path that slopes ominously in some places.  Your guide will tell you when to bend your body forward or backward so that the pony won’t think you too idiotic.  Below are some pictures from Kufri.  Ponies carry you to the hub of activities Fun World Nag Mandir - Tourism and Religion go hand in hand in Himachal Pradesh A view from Nag Mandir Most yaks in Kufri are paired as black and white Brown Bea

Maggie and I returned home yesterday after a brief journey in Shimla and nearby places of tourist interest.  A full day has passed after the visit and I am not able to write anything worthwhile about the visit.  It was not at all inspiring in any way.  Except for the mountains and their natural beauty.  But nature alone cannot satisfy any tourist.  The people matter. Child in Chail   And here is one person who caught our interest.  Our driver had stopped the car on the way back from Chail to Shimla in his own village market to talk to his people.  Maggie and I continued to sit in the car.  We saw this little girl sitting all alone on the veranda of a nearly-dilapidated building.  She was eating a tiny piece of watermelon.  Maggie called her and smiled at her.  She didn’t care two hoots for smiles.  In fact, she looked more indifferent than scared.  Maggie went out of the car and approached her.  She asked some questions and eventually managed to extract a smile from