Ramgarh Sole To Soul

Sloth, walking shoes and the wisdom to alternate between the two are the three essentials one must take along to this Himalayan hideaway, recommends Deepika Belapurkar.

View from Mukteshwar All Pics: Deepika Belapurkar

Sightseeing is merely incidental and you might defeat the purpose of your visit if you take along too much enthusiasm for the same to this wonderful retreat tucked away in the Kumaon Hills of Uttaranchal. Ramgarh, despite its very 'filmi' allusion (recollect the small town in Sholay?) is a small and lesser-known destination blessed with the bounties of nature, perfect for a 'far from the madding crowd' holiday.

We arrived at a time when a potent smell of bark and flowers thickly laced the summery air, when the sun lightly flavoured the hillsides and offered balmy respite after cooling off in the shade for a while and when luscious produce from India’s ‘basket of fruits’ was ripe for the picking. And on that very first night surrounded by dark hills suffused with watchful stars we were lucky to see a shooting star. Our wish; to stay there forever.

Ramgarh huddles sleepily in the green creases of the lower Kumaon Hills, which lie in the northeastern parts of Uttaranchal, or more precisely in the western-central Himalayan region. These hills have the ability to convert an extrovert into a recluse, a Peach hater into its lover and even a part time scribe into a poet. Even the sun is partisan, deliciously warm in the day with a lingering presence over the orchards at dusk. The libertarian silence is even louder than the erratic summer rain or the barefooted, prattling village children who knowingly smile, for they've seen many a literary figure holed up to add permanent character to these accommodating hills. Rabindranath Tagore, it is said, almost built Shanti Niketan here. Eventually, he was content to write his masterpiece Gitanjali high upon a ridge that's now called Tagore Point, (Tiger Point being quite an innocent aberration by some well-intentioned villagers hoping to impress visitors with tiger statistics - a throwback to the Jim Corbett times). The joy of rambling up and down these mountainsides is untainted because of the absence of over-exuberant tourists (surprisingly, only the quite ones had come). The height of enchantment comes from encountering locals at night, on a quite unlit street, who wouldn't know how to bamboozle for anything. As is their wont, most hill folk are blasé and keep their respectful distance.

Temple at Mukteshwar	The friendly kids of Ramgarh
Ramgarh Village	Picturesque setting of Ramgarh Bungalows
Peach temptation	Nainital
Valley view around Ramgarh	Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali was penned here

Relaxing On The property

The heritage properties of Neemrana Group of Hotels, The Old Bungalow (1830) and Writer's Bungalow (1860) collectively called the Ramgarh Bungalows is the best address to repose in comfort and tuck into the delectable 'pahari' fare. Were it not for the property's aesthetics, restorative down to the minutest detailing, I would be embellishing its virtues by referring to it as therapeutic. The property, incorporates what a mountain retreat ought to: naturally landscaped surrounds and chic, earthy furnishings to soothe strung nerves. The rooms are evocatively titled, Lemon, Iris, Fuschia, Bird Suite, Butterfly Suite, Kashmir, etc., and accordingly done up in pleasing colours.

The idea is to offer service that will make everyone happy. Be it room service in the verandahs endowed with comfortable loungers or by way of amenities. Although, a television set is hard to come by in the rooms, there is one in the library languishing by itself with hardly any takers. Among the clientele Neemrana attracts, there are the occasional detractors, we are told, who seek other delights aside from nature.

To me Ramgarh appeared un-spoilt, beautiful; when sudden daytime showers swept in on horseback to soften the surrounds with felt and vex the resident avian community. Within earshot of the softly falling raindrops and out of their reach, we lazed most late afternoons contentedly on the verandah sipping Earl Grey and nibbling on English butter cookies made in house. Ramgarh is considered to be India’s fruit-bearing basket; with peaches being the undisputed leader at the top of this delectable pile of apples, pears, plums, and apricots. Everyone raided the peach tree near our room. The poor tree, it resisted until the day it succumbed to a deluge of overeager city children without a clue on how to climb trees. That was not the end however, with a hotel attendant in tow we sampled the produce from neighbouring orchards, how positively embarrassing, to be caught red-handed with rivulets of sticky liquid dribbling down our chins. (The Ramgarh peaches are the size of melons, though much fleshier and the juiciest by far.)

Writer's Bungalow	Winding roads around Ramgarh

In Search of Treks

The Kumaon region offers easy treks in the Himalayan foothills in Nainital district that includes Ramgarh, strenuous ones in Ranikhet, Almora, Chaukori, etc. and the toughest in the glacier area. The conifers, the hollyhocks and the chrysanthemums on the one hand with cloud formations to take the heat of the back, you are set for interesting gambols in Ramgarh's surrounds. Nature's miracles are the perfect foil to these arduous treks: from watching swollen dewdrops that mirror in their hearts the days first light to industrious spiders laying their silvery traps at dawn to orchard trees voluntarily shedding their rotten fruit. Tagore too, first, unwound in these emerald hills, then reaped literary acclaim after picking a grassy grove sheltered by lofty deodars to ideate in. Reflecting the spirit of the care accorded to anything ancient (read heritage) in India, under an open canopy his stone house has been left to the vicissitudes. Whilst nearby the quaint former residence of Mahadevi Verma, now converted into a museum is in ship-shape, aspiring to inspire the most jaded writer.

Sunsets predictably heighten an artist's fantasy, but the effect created amongst Ramgarh's hills is the sight to cherish. Do climb the Writer's Bungalow Hill for a sun-filled arousal as the orange ball sets into the mountainous womb in a blaze of glory. A magical moment when everything around you turns a rich gold, including the reflection in your eyes. Long afterwards, you leave once the crickets have begun their deafening chorus.

Sightseeing Amidst The Languor

On the fourth day, we paused in our daydreaming to consider the hullabaloo around us. Day trips were being finalised with the resort manager, to Naini Tal, Ranikhet, and Almora, popular muses amongst the regulars. Even the British idolised the Naini Tal (lake) in the 19th century and relished many a cookie-n-scone outing on its banks. But then, they retired and the builders took over and now aside from the tal there's little else with which to immortalise your visit. Unless, all it takes to make you happy are kitschy ensemble, duplicated in almost all the shops, an aimless populace predictably all hanging out at the tal and a few partly memorable sights like the Snow View Peak and the Observatory.

Although Ramgarh often enough reveals itself to outsiders quite by accident, it is hard to shrug off its memory easily. The history lessons too for instance: the 900-year-old sun temple in Almora created by the Katyuri kings and the 164 temple complex in Jageshwar built by the Chand rulers are worth the winding journey, chorused a family that heads there almost every time they visit the Kumaon hills. Himalayan views are India's next best trump card, after the vanishing tigers; Chaukori, Kausani and Ranikhet offer the best ones, especially of the Nanda Devi peak. We had a glimpse of snow peaks at Mukteshwar, also revered for its Shiva temple. The Jim Corbett National Park, India's foremost wildlife haven in the Himalayan foothills never fails to deliver a satisfactory gasp value.

The great outdoors, of course, lie just next door on the various tals that infuse the Ramgarh hills with fables. Unlike the Naini Lake, Naukuchiatal, Bhimtal, Saat Tal, etc. are environmentally unexploited as yet. The congenial oarsmen's tales are believable as one's boat gently glides around the lakes' perimeter. If you are fortunate, your tourist brethren would still not have grasped the full extent of enjoying the simple things of life, and you would have all this solitude to yourself. With the crowd, the food stall owners get into top gear and then it's a losing battle to re-establishing silence.

Ramgarh could have once been the abode of the gods. Like the gods who partook in both work and pleasure, visitors can indulge in infinite sensual indulgence that salubrious Ramgarh offers as well as walk that extra mile to see a fabulous vista.