Queen and the Soldiers

Starting at 5:30 in the morning from Meerut we were passing by Dehradun at about 11. Before we are enchanted by the hills around and the smell of newly born litchies a sudden uphill route and a cold breeze sway our eyes to a board reading 'Welcome to the Queen of Hills'. The valley going deeper with every minute makes one wonder if he is heading for the heavens. The thought becomes louder when I see the clouds crossing me .The car stops and the driver proclaims that we are at the Mall Road of Mussourie. Shops of hats, sunglasses, handicrafts run across one side of the road with other being decorated by metallic gothic lamps kept for sight viewing of the valley below. Though the place is also called 'the honeymoon capital of North India',some school buses can be seen with teachers trying to que up their students for the 'educational trip'. Being far from the scorching summers of Delhi and the relentless sun the kids do not waste a single minute in learning discipline and the dazzling soap bubbles are seen all over the place. A ropeway (gondola) takes you to the top of the hill,called Gunhill, where you realize that the thoughts about heaven were correct. The vast Himalayas across with Gangotri glacier in your view can never justify the name of the place. Telescopes are fixed at gunhill to view the snow peaks and places like the famous St. Georges' School and a Nagdevta temple. They were looking just like tiny marks in the hills before but now became alive with students playing basketball at one and a red flag waiving for the spiritual peace at the other mark. After 2 hours with no mood to snatch our eyes from the peaks we headed for our next destination called Kempty falls.
We were moving downwards and the serpentine roads met us again. Within in half an hour we were near the falls. The falls as hoped were surrounded by lush green mountain trees .We bathed in the cold water and after an hour left for the doon.
We stayed at a hotel 'Drona' and left early the next day for the trip ahead. Sahastra Dhara as the name claims ,comprises of hundreds of streams and waterfalls coming out from the mountain with no sign of origination.Guchchu pani (also called Robbers' Cave was about a km long cave with knee deep cold water running inside. I came outside and got the call from my best friend to visit his institution famously known as Indian Military Academy.
As we reached IMA we were feeling hot as the day was matured and the Gentleman Cadets were training to become the officers of Indian Army. The Academy has four entrance gates of mainly four batallions comprising of 3-4 company each. My friend,the ACA (Academy Cadet Adjutant),head of the cadets, belonged to the Thimayya batallion and Miektila coy. The tricolour waving at its very front the academy has a motto "Valor and Wisdom" and is equiped with every facility one can think of, Hundreds of horses for riding, vast open space for shooting practices and a magnificient library . Though all the buildings had a unique architecture, the building that stands out the most is the Chetwode Building, named after Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, the founder of the Academy. Cadets ride bicycles(bikes,as they call it) and sometime the bikes ride them for their weight exercise cum punishments.The discipline can be noticed at the very sight of Cadets wearing full shirts,pants and ties with well polished shoes as their "casual" attire.
The articles reading recent courageous sacrifices of the officers in the other valley were filling the boards all across the corridors. Pride and courage is always in the air where the young officers are being born. The day was by now dying down and we were required to leave IMA before 4pm. Bidding adieu to my friend I promised to come back for the passing out parade in mid-June.
After the Academy we visited Buddha temple in Clementown .It felt there was no better way to end such a trip filled with so many experiences and beauty.Finally we reached home at 11 in the night and in no time started watching the pics of the journey behind.