LANDOUR middle

3rd March 2011

Last night we prepared a yummy meal.

After reaching Kilmarnock we realised we forgot to get dal.Pretty smart eh.Bina didi came to the rescue.Bina didi is the caretaker of the Kilmarnock cottage and our fire-maker.We are hopeless at setting them logs ablaze.We borrowed some dal from her and went about preparing the meal while she made the fire for us.The temperature was dropping fast and the rain did not stop.It steadily dripped from the clouds.

We ended up having dessert before the meal because Bina didi had very sweetly had made some laddoos for us.After she left,we were so busy cooking and eating that we forgot to feed logs to the fire.After almost an hour and more of frantic efforts,the logs were as stubborn as ever.It sighed and glowered at us.We even tried burning an entire magazine(blasphemous, yes) to nudge the damp logs to combustion but after a point even the magazine would not burn.Sandhya even tried a certain fluttering of the arms which vaguely resembled a Red Indian fire dance.All that came out of these efforts was a lot of smoke(who said there is no smoke without fire!) and Sandhya and myself blinking away with watery eyes ; while Arvind sat on the couch,looking down upon us and making clicking noises.

To make matters worse,one phase of the electricity poofed.We were not able to charge the camera batteries or even empty memory card contents into the laptop.Even the heater could not be plugged in! We reluctantly woke Mijan bhai, Bina didi's husband.He checked and told us that it can only be fixed in the morning!

So we put on more layers of clothes and retired for the day.I rolled into foetal position under the icy quilt.The cold had reached my bones and the dreams-to-come shuddered.

We woke up at around six thirty and trotted off to Char Dukan to shoot the shops opening.There was some charge left in Arvind's handy cam so we were able to shoot the morning's proceedings.We had breakfast and went back to Kilmarnock to recharge.It is almost a twenty minute walk from Char Dukan to Kilmarnock.Mijan bhai had a 'bijliwala' fix the electricity problem.But a few minutes later there was a power cut in Landour.Bina didi made us a crackling lifesaver fire.Once the electricity was back(2 hours later),we charged all the equipment and set out again.

After Sister's Bazaar,there are two paths one can take to reach Char Dukan.This time we decided to take the other one.It was beautiful too.The slopes were decked with the stately deodars.What a sight it was! There are a lot of little cottages scattered here and there in Landour.Mostly summer homes of celebrities.The owners also seem to be very wary of trespassers.The kind of boards to keep them away were interesting.One of them said 'panthers on patrol,beware'.We of course did not believe that,It was a ploy to keep away the vandals.We quickened our pace nevertheless,we were in a hurry to reach CharDukan.We were behind schedule today.

The rain has slowly stopped but it was still cold.A lot of families on their way to Lal Tibba are stopping by CharDukan today for a bit of snacking.Its also slowly filling up with students from Woodstock.We headed back to Kilmarnock to recharge once more.We took the path again,which we now named the 'Panther Path' and the heart skipped many beats.

The Panther path welcomed us with a beautiful sight.A mist was slowly forming after the rains.Past the deodars,the clouds had slipped from the sky and were falling headlong down the hills.They waltzed around the deodars who stood like prudes but I could see that they were enjoying it.They swivelled and swirled lazily down the slopes to a music which mortals could not hear.

We got back to Char Dukan just in time for the shops closing.Got fairly good shots,but have to take more tomorrow.Anilji's shop was the only one with food to offer.We quickly ate up and decided to get back.The mist was thickening and the visibility was decreasing slowly.

The mist had descended upon Landour with much aplomb.It had smudged the light and I could see it spilling smokily out of the streetlamps.I felt as if I am looking through a layer of gauze.We sighed and drunk with beauty,floated cottage-wards.

Talking of streetlamps,there was a rogue streetlamp which kept going off each time we walked across it.This had been happening for the past few days too.We deduced that it has something to do with the pressure and air movement when three frightened people walk past.Today we were slowly reaching the spot as two men walked past the same street lamp.It stood still.We lightened up and strutted confidently towards it.But it went off,throwing a patch of confused darkness on us as we ran.

4th March 2011

Planning to go to the bazaar today and shoot.Hopefully it does not rain.We have stopped to eat at CharDukan,this time at Himgiri and not Anilji's cafe for a change.Sandhya wanted to mail some postcards and she discovered that the post-lady had some really nice stamps with pictures of Meena Kumari,Nutan and Madhubala.We excitedly bought some.

On the way here,we saw a broken branch of a tree frilled with rows of mushrooms.I was tempted to run my fingers over it and make it go trrrrrup.The wind was not at all terse today.It sounded like a lot of rugs falling constantly from a cupboard.The deodars were not really letting the wind pass without chatting up a bit.A deep blue bird swooped in and out of the proceedings.I also heard a bird which sounded like a twig run over an abacus.

The walk downhill to the bazaar was as usual beautiful.We shot a lot till the batteries died down.The last shot of the afternoon was the 'glittering tree'.We had stopped over at the Clock Tower Cafe and ordered some more of the delicious cakes.I suddenly saw the large deodar shimmering.Little droplets of rainwater had caught some sunlight.

We walked uphill again,past a few men playing caroms by the street, stopped at Sabri's to get a better look at the books,bought a few.We hitchhiked back to Char Dukan.A breath-taking sunset awaited us.Sandhya wanted to stay back in Char Dukan for some coffee.Arvind and myself walked back to Kilmarnock to recharge the batteries and transfer the footage.This was around six or so.We took the Panther Path.The skies were rid of clouds today and round the last bend staring at us were the Himalayan peaks!Chunks of stately ice.

On the way back to CharDukan,the hills and the night sky had made a silent exchange while we weren't looking.The clouds had come down and the hills gave its pinpricks of light to the sky.