impromptu v go...

The cold has always been my preferred companion… i was never one for the deserts...
The pristine views of snow-clad hilltops…the chilling vigour of the unsullied mountainous air have long held me in their rapturous embrace. But hailing from the southern end of the Indian peninsula, all these unseen visions appeared clad in ‘miragic’ hues until recently.
Out of the blue- it seemed – as Coelho puts it, the entire universe conspired to draw me into Shimla’s quaint locales just as the first month of this year drew to a close.
Literally chiselled into the rugged terrains, this picturesque capital-city of Himachal Pradesh lies in its precarious perch, nuzzling the clouds while playing peek-a-boo with the elusive sun-rays in winter.
Staying in the guest room at an Indian Army base, all of Shimla was rendered just a touch away…one simply cannot help reaching out to touch those shimmering droplets of snow encrusted on the distant roof-tops. Gazing at the panoramic vision the city offers to a starved eye longing to splurge on unseen geographic splendours, the long-winding roads uncurl their sinuous beauty, ensconced in the sheer contours of the town that has surprisingly retained its old-world charm all through the 67 years of independence.
Little wonder that the former British masters of this vast Indian colonial expanse preferred to have Shimla as their winter capital...
Long stretches of roadways where all vehicles - without exception – were strictly banned from plying seemed almost ‘anachronic’ to a city-dweller like moi…yet one could not help but succumb to the soothing aftermath of the complete absence of the din and drone of vehicular traffic, offering a new high to the satiated soul seeking a companionable silence from the rest of the world.
In passin’, the heritage toy trains plying on the Kalki-Shimla rail route – one must make a special mention of the Shivalik Deluxe here – herald the start of a journey that encapsulates a visual treat in itself for lowlanders from down below.
oh boy…oh boy…
…jeez…
body shakes in a feverish tizzy…
no hope for succour…
the travel-bug reigns supreme…
so will it be the desert now…
i changed muh mind…
can’t help give in to nomadic passions
that heat up the core…
human after all…
you comin’?