Kumaon - Part 2

Going to Almora – Drive Slowly to Enjoy the Environs!
14 June 2006
Another beautiful morning and we are to go to Almora today. After having eaten a huge breakfast of aloo-paranthas and said our byes to the hotel people, we start for Almora. The road is nice and the drive becomes more and more picturesque as we move away. We stop at Fruitage, a home made products shop, to buy some honey, jams and chutneys. A turn later the ‘Kainchi Mandir’ comes in to view.

The road is choc-a-block full of parked cars, vans and buses. Some sorts of festivities are on as there are lots of sadhus and other devotees. The temple is very colourful and stands out in verdant green surroundings. A large stream curls around the temple with a branch flowing through it. The location is ideal and very soothing despite the crowds. We move on towards Almora along the banks of the stream. The drive is all down hill through lush green forests and dales. At places groves of trees are dense green with moss and ferns hanging down the trunks and small brooks trickling down in to the stream we had been following since the temple. The stream meets River Kosi at Khairna. The drive is enthralling. The river waters beckon us. So I look for a place where the river is closer to the road and a path leading down to water.
As soon as we all see one I park in the lay by and we all go down to the water. Abhi is the keenest and Raghav carries him down. He sits down on a rock with his feet in the water, which is not very cold and says, “Now I know why they call it Kosi (luke-warm in Punjabi).”
Panku treads into the water all ‘ouch and aah’ like typical urban kids. Minna is all ‘gori paniya bharan ko’ in the mid stream. It makes for some great photos. Panku and Raghav throw stones in to the water causing it to splash all over the place. No one is in a mood to get up and go but it is warm and Almora is still far. So very reluctantly we all get up and walk laden footed to the car.
We zigzag through some more beautiful scenarios and pine forests till a road sign that declares we are in “lap of serenity” which I suppose is the local name for Almora .

Almora is perched at the top of a hill so we had climbed steadily from Kakri Ghat for about 23 kms to reach. It starts raining suddenly and turns nice and nippy. The MES Inspection Bungalow is an absolutely heart stopping sight and the view from the veranda is both pleasing and enchanting. The garden is a delight with lots of begonias, fuchsias, geraniums, dahlias and hydrangeas. We go down to the market to fetch lunch as it is late for the bungalow cook to prepare it for us. The food is bad but all of us are hungry so it is eaten. There are a lot of birds here. I come across grey backed tits, yellow vented bulbuls, chimney thrushes, large black crows, night jars and an owl. The evening is resplendent in bird song and a beautiful sunset. Dumb charades, tipi-tipi-tap and fooling around are the order of the evening. Then the lights came on and the entire hillsides and valleys came a twinkle as if the stars have descended. The night air is clean and smells of pine.

15 June 2006
Wake up at 5 am to see the legendary sun rise but the rain and clouds mar the effects, the sun rises in a not so spectacular fashion but the whole place is resounding with bird song- most of the calls unknown but very sonorous. The walk in the garden, fresh air and breath taking views charge the mind and body for today’s sojourn in the town especially the gold bazaar. After breakfast every one suddenly reaches a decision that we go to Kausani and come back in the evening. So off we go to Kausani. Green forests and lovely hamlets are scattered all along the route. Villagers are hard at work planting rice or hoeing their maize patches. The drive up to Someshwar is along lazy streams and is lovely. The climb starts after Someshwar and is fairly steep as Kausani is at the top of the mountain and at an altitude of about 8000 feet. But Kausani of magical views and chilly winds is a disappointing place. The clouds and haze prevent any Himalayan views. So much so we cannot even get a glimpse of River Gomti!

We rush back to Almora and as soon as we reach the IB it starts raining. The whole day we had baked in the sun and as soon as we reach- the rain starts falling! We have to go to the old bazaar, so we walk off after borrowing two umbrellas from the care taker. The bazaar is a revelation -old hill town charm with shops on the ground floor and residences on the first. The windows and balconies are exquisitely carved and gaily painted in blue (most common colour), green and yellow. The temples are ubiquitous. This bazaar is known as Thana Bazaar. It has all sorts of daily need shops but in one part are concentrated the jeweller shops. Small shops with goldsmiths hunched over small butane lamps with blow tubes in their mouths shaping exquisite ornaments in silver and gold. Minna’s heart stops beating when some ethnic Kumouni jewellery is shown to her. After checking out at more than one place, she comes back to Kumaon Jewellers to buy a silver wrist band and a neck piece. A necklace called ‘champakali’ and gold ‘paunchis’ are the next buy. They are beautiful. Tomorrow we are leaving for Nainital.

A Note on Almora:
Almora is one of the few hill stations that was not built by the British. It is the earstwhile capital of Chand Rajas of Kumaon. It was built sometimes in 12th century when due to a prediction of a priest the capital was shifted from Bhageswar in the valley to Almora at the hill top! The 900 year old town is famous for its gold jewellery and the old bazaar. The British added the cantonment to Almora and a large part is still occupied by the Indian Army housed in colonial bungalows. And Almora is not bereft of its haunted houses and ghost stories!!