If there is heaven it is here..
Ramgarh, these lines were written for you..
Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast-o(Amir Khusaro)
If there is a paradise on earth,
It is this, it is this, it is this
A quaint place Ramgarh, also known as the Fruit Bowl of India is what we discovered this family trip. Our journey started early in the morning, with each family in their cars as we started from our home. The kids session just got over, and everyone was in a mood for holiday, for Holi, to relax and soak in all the sun. Our journey was pleasant, and at different nooks and corner saw Holi colors being sold. I enjoy such moments. Here is one -
One generally feels hungry while travelling, and the khandan I belong to feels hungry often, so the stop had to be made when we came across a person selling quite delicious looking fruits..
And then we saw them — The mountains as soon as Haldwani came. Its been a while I have made a visit to the mountains, by road. Last year my father took us all to Srinagar, to celebrate his 75th birthday. This year, we took Papa to Ramgarh to celebrate Holi, its been years we were all together and also to celebrate his 76th birthday a bit in advance. As we came closer to our home for next few days — The Ramgarh Bungalows, the air became chillier, pine trees started appearing, and then magic happened.
A whole forest of blooming trees of Rhododendrons came into view. And I couldn’t control my excitement. Its been years I have been wanting to see them, years as in years. And unexpectedly, I came across them. I felt so happy and I am still happy about this. Red was everywhere, the trees so beautiful, took my breath away. As we lowered our car windows melody of birds filled our ears. And if this is not heaven on earth then what is!
The kids perched up on the car, and we stride towards our destination — Ramgarh Bungalows- https://www.neemranahotels.com/the-ramgarh-bungalows-kumaon-hills-nainital/. The narrow but beautiful road led us to our home for next few days. A glass of Rhododendron(Buransh) sherbet welcomed us, it was refreshing and quite delicious.
The staff, took us to our cottage. We had three rooms on three levels at the Rose cottage, which we have booked entirely for our family. The rooms were beautiful. My sister had Rose, mine was Fig, and my parents had the majestic Magnolia(the best room in the entire Nainital). The entrance to my cottage looked like this-
We all settled ourselves, and then moved to the outdoor hi-tea area, where warm cups of sugary tea with pakoras awaited us. If you are a punjabi reading this, you will know that for us heaven is where good food is :)
Thats not just a cup of tea I was holding. I was holding immense happiness I felt, and peace. Surrounded by mountains, drifting clouds, chilled air and chirping of birds. I felt so much joy, well its been a while. We rested, relaxed, soaked in the surroundings, had our dinner and went to a good night sleep. Mumma kept saying, we are in Tuscany. And well I agree with her, that place felt like it. We have never been but you get the gist of it.
The next morning, I, my sister and mumma woke up for an early morning walk. Flowers bloomed every where, and the Great Barbet songs filled the air. It was also Holi that day. It appeared everyone was in festive and colorful mood. The sun shone on our faces, and melody filled the air, and beauty of the flowers were breathtaking. Hear here the symphony of birds-
And the main sound in the above video is of Great Barbet. The following image shows how it looks -
See, I told you every where there were colors. Some of the photos from our morning walk that day.
We saw many trees in flowerings, as there were orchards around us. And many colorful birds, I have never seen them before. One particular bird I liked was Eurasian Jay. It makes a very peculiar sound, and is quite aggressive. I think it is I as a bird. Its quite a beauty. The photo of the bird, we were not able to take, but to keep my memory intact, I found on google and used it here.
After quite a stroll, and a frightening encounter with a street dog(phew!!) we came back to our bungalow, only to find Papa excitedly taking pictures of the various birds surrounding our cottage.
And then followed Holi celebrations. Gol gapps, bhang chutney, bhang pakore, water, colors, thandai uff. Mazzza hi aa gaya. We played and played, danced and sang and ate! It was much fun celebrating holi together I am sure after more than a decade.
How much fun, well this video will tell :D
This much fun, needed a good rest. And thats what we did for next few hours. We then decided to take a stroll around our bungalows and see the other cottages in vicinity. We found one very nice cottage, and made multiple plans to buy it. :) Things mountains make you do. I kept humming to the song, phir le aaya dil majboor… we have been mountain children. Many summer vactions have beens spent in Shimla, where my bua was posted. Those were good days, and it is so said that when mountains call one must go. Here’s the view and the song, I recorded..
And well, then came the night, oh what a beautiful full moon night it was! And the stars, the constellation, and the bright planet jupiter, what an amazing sky it was that night. We also cut Papa’s birthday cake as we all were together. He will be 76 this year. God bless him.
The next afternoon, after a brief visit to Neem Karoli Baba Temple, Papa left to resume his duties as a doctor.
Our routine for next two days was quite simple. Watching birds, eating great food, all the jams — peach, plum, lemon, apple, kiwi you name it we had it. Eggs, breads. Rest, read books, play with kids sleep and repeat. We saw many beautiful birds. Plum parakeets pair, wood pigeons, Verditer fly catcher, thrush, startling, barbet, wood pecker, barn swallows, in total we saw 29 species of birds. Some photos are -
Our complete bird list is — Great Barbet -Russet sparrow -yellow crowned woodpecker -blue whistling thrush -striated swallow -plum parakeet -Eurasian jay -Himalayan bulbul -Black bulbul -common rosefinch -verditer fly catcher -grey-winged blackbird -grey headed canary flycatcher -red billed blue magpie -speckled wood pigeons -oriental turtle dove -spot winged grosbeak -chestnut babbler -grey bushchat -green backed tit -scarlet minivet -little pied flycatcher -oriental white eye -common buzzard (steppe) -black lored tit -chestnut tailed starling -blue fronted redstart -white eared bulbul -drongo -striated laughing thrush -Jungle myna -yellow billed blue magpie! And this was all magic of Ramgarh.
And the most beautiful and unexpected part of the trip was The Rhododendron Forest. I have been wanting to see the tree in bloom for years now. And here God lay for me a whole blooming forest. I took so many pictures of it.
And now, maybe I will be able to finish the book I started at Ramgarh
Ramgarh, you are an ode to beauty. I am in love with you. I left a piece of my soul behind, and or maybe I found a piece of my soul and something just felt right being there in your arms.
I will remember our walks on your roads, when the sun went down, and the clouds came to kiss your peaks.
I will remember the blooms of Apple, Apricort, peaches. The colors, the aroma, the flowers.
I will remember the dance of birds as they sing their heart out in your forests
I will remember the delicious Jams.. of Ramgarh.. finger lickin good :)
I will for sure years remember the sting of Bichho booti(Nettle)! Plant you are one wild, dreadful thing! But well the saag was delicious :P
I will remember our walks, and discoveries and the magic of it.
And the most I will remember the lesson you taught me Ramgarh, that if one is not happy within, it really doesn’t matter if they are surrounded by magic. One won’t feel it. You need to be happy within to soak the happiness outside of you. And it matters whom you travel with. So travel well, chose well, sleep well, eat well, respect the nature, respect the family, feel blessed for the togetherness, for the love, for affection, and stay ever grateful.
I will for eternity remember you Ramgarh, and I will visit again and again..
Travel far enough, you meet yourself….
