My last review on the movie “1942 - A love story” prompted me to dig out some details about the place where the whole movie was shot. And what else could be the best source of information about it, but a visit to the place itself. I started looking out for opportunities to see this small hill station nestled in lap of Majestic Himalayas. I didn’t have to wait for long, and soon I packed my bags and left for Dalhousie in cold month of December. But to my surprise, instead of a chilly weather, I got a bright sunny welcome at this beautiful hill town.
Dalhousie is a small hill station located in higher reaches of Dhauladhar range of grand Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh. The British established it as a summer retreat for their troops. The town was named after Lord Dalhousie, who was the British Viceroy in India of that period. Dalhousie is well connected by road to Pathankot, which is the nearest railway station.
We were booked in a small resort located at top of a hill – Alps resorts. At the time of booking they had claimed that they get best sunshine in Dalhousie. And they were right. We decided to relax for sometime before planning our visits to Khajjiar and Chamba.
Khajjiar was named after Khaji Nag. There is a temple devoted to Khaji Nag in Khajjiar. Khajjiar is sometimes called “Mini Switzerland of India”. Main attraction of Khajjiar is a big saucer shaped natural grassland surrounded by tall Deodar trees. Right in the center of the grassland is a small glacial lake, which is full of water during peak season, i.e. summer time. A quiet walk on the well-trodden path around the lush green meadow is an experience that I will always remember. I could hear faint humming in my ears – “Dholo na Dholo na” (Of course I was imagining, but it all was so realistic…). Then we got into a little adventurous mood and left the normal track and ventured into thick conifer forest. We were not equipped for trekking so after few minutes of walk we gave up when the region became too risky to handle. So anybody out there looking for adventure can pack trekking gear and catch next train to Dalhousie. It is full of such small, scenic treks.
I was really taken in by the beauty of the place and with a great effort I moved onto my next destination for the day – Chamba.
In sharp contrast to Khajjiar, Chamba was located in a valley, on banks of river Ravi. Chamba is like any other small sleepy town of hills, but it has got glorious history attached to it. Chamba’s existence dates back to 6 A.D. and it was the capital of Chamba state till 1947. The impressive past of Chamba can be seen in Bhure Singh Museum which has some old artifacts and few contemporary and old paintings of Kangra style. Main theme of the paintings revolved round Lord Krishna. Chamba is also famous for its Dussehra celebrations. Unfortunately we were not there at the right time of the year to enjoy the festivities.
We then moved on to a small place (not a tourist spot) near river Ravi. A hot cup of tea on banks of the river, a walk on the pebbles, sound of river rushing by, array of various shades of lights painted by the sun playing hide seek with the surrounding hills…Need I say anything else?
Next stop (sigh!!) was Dam view. A dam for generating power has been built on river Ravi. It is called Chamera dam. When we reached Dam view, the sun was setting and we were lucky to catch the crimson shades in the western skies - our very own Indian Aurora Borealis.
Next day was less planned one and we went for a small trek near Shahid Ajit Singh’s Samadhi. There is a 2.4 Km long trail which starts from this point and meets at Khajjiar road.
On our last day in Dalhousie I wanted to visit last of the places for the movie shoot, for it was the main reason which instigated me into coming to Dalhousie. Kala Top was the name of the place where maximum scenes were shot. Kala top is a reserved forest area and boasts of some rare flora of Himachal. Best time to visit is summers when the flowers bloom and colour the whole landscape. First thing that I noticed when I reached the place, was the small cottage which was used as freedom fighter’s hideout in the movie and then I could imagine Manisha Koirala on swing and notes of “Ek ladki ko dekha…” in background. Hmmmm, it seems I got a little carried away :- )
Then we went to Daayan Kund(strange name…), which is the highest point in Dalhousie. And believe me, it was one of the most exhilarating experience. I could get an unobstructed view of snow-capped mountains in all the directions. The wind was blowing strong and it was making some strange hissing sounds, which added a touch of mysticism to the atmosphere. Alas, my time was up and I retraced my steps back to my hired car and then back to the hotel to pack my bags and leave for Delhi.
I wish I had some more days in Dalhousie, so that I could explore it a little more. May be some other time because it’s a place worth visiting again and again, and given a chance I will.