Memory III: Nainital returns

If you are planning a visit to naini and are not the kind to be happy just walkng back and forth on the mall, here are some guidelines to enjoy it at its best.
1. One of my personal favorites is the hanging rock that you get to on taking the little mud road behind Aurobindo Ashram. About a 5 minute walk from the usually noisy Ashram hostel is the most serene place to sit and read a book. I don't know why that road is there at all - I refuse to accept that it has been built solely for the "No Trespassers, private Property" gate that you find once you walk till the end. It seems so unfair that such a pretty road has been built for such a selfish giant who doesn't even let you sit on his hill!

So this rock hangs (literally) on the cliff and on a clear day (which are plenty in the month of August and October) you can see the entire valley till Khurpatal - the old old graveyard with its tiny white grey graves, the winding road that goes on forever, the little patches of green and ofcourse the big green mountains on your left. If you look high enough you can often see the hanging rock on tiffin top far far away and I swear you can even see people standing there, looking like tiny stick figures. Right below you is the horse stand, a steep fall & you can sometiems catch snatches of conversations honeymoooners have while sitting on their horsies! Try it, it's fun. I have spent a whole morning and afternoon just sititng there, soaking up the sun, the ambience and flipping through my Amitav ghosh!

2. Hanging rock II: I guess I am fascinated by the whole concept of hanging your feet over a cliff and looking down at the valley and beyond. My second spot is on the narrow road that runs from Naini Retreat to the Mall. The hanging rock is more man made than the first one near teh Ashram but from this one you get a great view of the lake and the mall. On a bright sunny day I can just sit here for hours with my Ipod, singing to myself and counting the boats on the lake. One thing I 've wanted to try out but never did was to sit here on Diwali night when people set afloat their dias on the lake - I am sure it must make a really pretty site - the flickering lights in the hills and the lake. If you get a chance - do write to me!

3. This is hard to describe but definitely one of my top spots - the first bend that takes you into the pine forests near Cheena peak. If you start hiking up from behind Polytechnic School, after about half an hour steep climb up is where the real woody woods start - right after the two huts with a hand pump and a dog! The bend is just like any other bend just that it gives a great view of the lake, the hills and my house! If you look hard enough you can even see the Ashram and the little road that takes you to my spot no. 1. I always run out of breath by the time I reach this spot and sit here to celebrate my "semi- top-of- the-world" feeling! A little ahead of this place is where we (P&I) encountered the wild beast!

About 10 years back, on our first hike to Cheena peak, P & I heard this roar - I ofcourse assumed its a panther but it turned out to be as bad! It was a mad bull which came charging at us right when we taking that trun and the only options were to either fall of the cliff, climb up a tree or get gored to death! Although neither of us knew how to climb, P did a remarkably good imitation - she clung on to a tree trunk and whimpered "help help"! I would have NEVER imagined someone would actually say "help help" when facing death - a scream or pissing in pants seemed more realistic(BTW I was not much better and bleating brave "shoo shoos" at it )! Thankfully a "local" boy turned up and saved the day by hitting the "mad" bull's behind with his stick.