Excursions during
Summer Vacations – Part –II
Author : Dr.K.S.Kang
During one summer vacation when I
along with my parents, wife and kids were in Punjab my parents were too
reluctant to go anywhere outside Punjab. While on the other hand my kids, my
wife and me were interested in some outing during the holidays. Our tenants
were also busy in their jobs and our leaves and their leaves often did not
coincide. So we decided to visit
Chandigarh and Shimla using mostly public transport. So we proceeded from Moga
on a State Roadways Bus to Chandigarh- the city that had a unique status of
being a Union Territory, and capital of Punjab and Haryana. We reached
Chandigarh by the time the darkness of evening has descended. Since my wife had
stayed at Chandigarh for an year during his studies in PG. Diploma in Computer
Applications from a reputed institute BCI, so she was well acquainted with the
city. We took accommodation in Kisan Bhawan which was centrally situated near
the Central bus stop. Though it was Summer season at the peak but our room had
air cooler and adequate supply of water ensured our pleasant stay for the
night. Next day I and my wife went for early morning to walk to get the first
glimpse of the town that was renowned as the most planned city of the country.
It was aesthetically and systematically planned by the famous French architect
Le Corbusier and that’s why this town did not had Sector No. 13 as it was
considered inauspicious according to the belief and faith of Le Corbusier.
During the walk we also had the first glimpse of the famous Sukhna Lake that
was the crown of the town. After wash and change we took an auto and moved around the town to visit
its famous tourist sites. First of all we visited Sukhna Lake and enjoyed
boating in this pond along with my wife and kids in a small paddle boat that
was meant to accommodate four people. After Sukhna Lake we went to see the
famous Rock Garden, that had been created aesthetically from the recycled and
waste material by Mr. Nek Chand, who was an engineer by profession. His name
has nearly become synonymous with Rock Garden and Chandigarh. In the evening we
visited Rose Garden though that was not appropriate time to visit this place as
it was not prime season for Roses but Garden had a number of varieties in it.
We enjoyed ice cream cones made by famous Verka Dairy of Punjab ensuing high
quality of its products. Next day in the morning we boarded the bus to the
famous hill station of the country Shimla. It was again the endless serpentine
roads of the mountains that took us to Shimla after four hours of bus journey
after passing through Kalka, Solan and other towns. Along with the road the
rails of famous toy train was also running crossing the road at several places.
At Shimla as soon as we got down from the bus we were surrounded by coolies who
were more than ready to carry our luggage and show us the accommodation. We
took accommodation in a reasonably good hotel that was quite near the famous
Mall Road of the town. As the room had TV set so my kids were engrossed in
seeing their popular TV Cartoon shows. I and my wife had to convince them that
we have come here to see the place and they can see TV anytime. So we came to
the Mall Road which was so clean and systematic that I had not see such a clean
and systematic street in my whole life till then. For some time it appeared to
me as if I am not in India but in some foreign country, as the level of
cleanliness in some of the foreign countries is higher than in India atleast at
that time. Next day we hired a taxi with the help of hotel people that took us
to some of the tourist spots around the town. They had several packages but the
package that we selected was Kufri, Chahil. First of all taxi driver took us to
Kufri where there was a Potato Research Institute. My wife and kids took round
of the farm on ponies as I was allergic
to horses so I did not go anywhere I just took a short walk surveying the
nearby valleys and surroundings. After Kufri taxi took us to Chail which was
the capital of Patiala state. A story goes regarding Chail that once Maharaja
of Patiala Bhupinder Singh antagonized Lord Kitchner, Viceroy of India. After that Viceroy banned
the entry of Maharaja of Patiala into Shimla as a punishment. So Maharaja took
his capital to the nearby town Chal and built an imposing palace at Chail as
his summer capital. Later on after independence he donated the building to
Chail Military School and other Government departments. Chail had the highest
helipad in the entire country which was situated atop a plateau that divided
Chail from Shimla. After that we took hurried lunch and got into bus to come back to Chandigarh. On the way we
got down at Pinjore to see the famous Pinjore Garden that was built by Patiala
royalty. My elder son got sick due to winding roads but he got relief as soon
as he got down from the bus and immersed his feet and face in the cool water of
the channels of Pinjore Garden. After viewing the garden thoroughly we boarded
the bus from Chandigarh back to Moga.
No comments:
Post a Comment