I have always been attracted to Hill Stations, and have been to many - Shimla, Nainital, Dalhousie, Ooty and Kodaikanal; but, Mussoorie is different. No wonder, it is aptly called the Queen of the Hills. Even her name is spelt in an awkward way - Mussoorie. Phonetically it should be ’Masuri’ or ’Masyuri’. Perhaps the new Uttaranchal Government might think of this.
Mussorie is situated at an altitude of 200 metres and is 34 km beyond Dehradun. It was discovered in 1823 by Captain Young. There are over 100 Hotels in the Doon Valley to accommodate the tourists coming from the plains in the hot season.
I have been to Mussoorie many times. The Institute for Instruction on Community Development (IICD), established by the Ministry of Community Development, Government of India, was at Rajpur, which comes on the Dehradun – Mussoorie winding road. I used to come to IICD for training. During the weekends we used to visit the Queen. Even one could climb up as my training mate L. P. Gupta used to do. He used to boast saying that L in his name stands for ‘Light’ and P for ‘Power’. So he was Light Power Gupta. The able and affectionate Principal of IICD, U. C. Ghildyal, himself a Pahadi is no more. We used to eat a lot of Leechis during the summer season.
Mussoorie was the seat of the National Institute of Community Development (NICD), situated at Radha Bhavan, and as a nodal institution and think tank, it used to organise a series of Seminars and Workshops on different aspects of Community Development. It has been shifted to Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad, under a new name – National Institute of Rural Development ( NIRD).
The Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration at Mussoorie organises the Basic Course for Civil Service Officers and the Main Course for the IAS Officers. I have come here many times as a Guest Faculty and have enjoyed the hospitality of the Academy.
The Mussoorie Express coming from Delhi to Dehradun is a misnomer. It terminates at Dehradun. Not very far from Mussoorie is Chakratha, where a unique tribal community called Janswar Bawra live. They practise polyandry, meaning one wife for several husbands, like the Pandavas of the great epic Ramayana.
Mussoorie means many things to many people, but to me, it is a world of happy memories.