1 post tagged “himalayas”
Interesting architecture...views to die for...and time enough to waste it as I liked....My diwali gift to myself. This Diwali, since we are not celebrating, we decided to head out of town to Kothgarh. A friend has houses and orchards there. It is truly the back of beyond and the edge of existance!
I took time to play my fill of scrabble thanks to the new internet pluggie. Irfan, Amit & Saaz played cards to their hearts content. Everyday, we would get up arond 10. Make interesting breakfasts...pancakes, paranthas and gorge on them sitting in the sun! And everyday I got one more more treat...the chance to explore a couple of hill houses. I always thought they were charming...but never really knew how charming!
We found one perched at the edge of a cliff...on Saazid's land. My favourite. It was made in 1926! The fire stains on the cieling, the remains of a fire out front and the texture of the wooden beams...all had stories to tell. If you sat down and opened your ears. We did! We had a great time eating oranges by the dozen..soaking in the evening sun and talking about the ghost who haunts the house since the time the owner had an affair with someone else! The entire structure was made of wood and it seemed like the sun, the rain and all the elements have had their way with it. AND we could feel that there was a story linked to it. Untold. Unheard!
Then there was this charming little guest house that we found, which had a garden overlooking eternity. Next to a man made lake...A tiny little garden with a white picket fence. And views that imprint themselves on your mind and your heart!
One day we had lunch at Haatu...a huge hotel (by kotgarh standards) and really the only place to eat out where you can find a decent meal in that side of the hills. But the sun was shining...and trees were blooming and we had nothing better to do!
Then there was this new house getting made...Saazid's masi's house...Balconies that looked out into the valleys below. Rooms that had picture windows the size of my house and a garden to die for! But then I liked the old house better which had a porch overlooking the valley but was compact and cosy inside. And their son had a bedroom in the attic which truly looked out into the sky!
I have left the best for last. Saazid's own house! The house that we stay in and have stayed in ever since we started going to kothgarh in the 90s. It is a beautiful 3 story stone stucture which opens out into flat land on ever floor (like most hill houses do). So the ground floor has accss to the front courtyard...the first floor where most of the activity happens has a back porch nestled against the side of a mountain and the 2nd floor which has all the cosy bedrooms opens out into the level just below the servant huts. The view from every floor is beyond awesome. And the house itself is airy and light filled without compromising the cosiness of it. Books littered everywhere from bookcases to beds to floors to tables..and little reading corners in every corner of the house. I especially love my perch in the balcony overlooking the valley and the sitting room window which again overlooks the valley below.
I forgot the mention the many many unknown houses which I saw silouhetted agianst the sky on my walks through kothgarh market (a collection of 5 shops that sell vegetables and general stuff). Interesting shapes, sizes, people, hills. A varied eclectic collection each more delightful than the last one. I love the hills. And my promise to myself is that I will get one to retire in, whenever I do retire!
