subject: Charm of Kalka and Shimla [print this page] Charm of Kalka and Shimla Charm of Kalka and Shimla
Kalka atown in thePanchkula district ofHaryana,India and Shimla a city in the Himachal Pradesh, India are at a small distance form each other.
Kalkais a hill station in India where my father Mr S. Misbah-ul-Haq was posted in railway service from 1930-35. We lived in a beautiful bungalow on the upper side of the town beyond which was a railway line and a forest. As it was a rather lonely place at that time we were looking forward to keep a good dog.
It so happened that an Englishman who was leaving the country wanted somebody to keep his pet dog as carefully as he had done. We opted to keep the dog and were handed over his box with bedding, towel, soap, etc., in it. For some time we took special care and the dog became very friendly with us. However, in a forest close to our house there were several animals one of which was a hyena. One day he came along. It is said that he stared at the dog who became helpless before him. The hyena then attacked and took him away. Obviously we were very sad about our dog.
In the forest there was a lot of natural growth. One of it was called Ratti a brown seed-like small berry which we used to pluck and bring home for decoration. The Kalka railway station became a place to see when the British Viceroy of India would pass from there in his white carriage to Shimla- the summer capital (during the British Rule) a few miles up.
One of my younger sisters was also living with us. All of a sudden she fell sick and a doctor tried to treat her for some time but she could not recover and died. She was about three at that time. I was about five years of age at the time of her death and was extremely disgusted with the doctor.
We often used to visit Shimla which was a beautiful hill station. It had a Mall Road with a magnificent Church in the midst. There were also ponies available on rent which I often used to ride upon. As I loved horse riding I learnt it quickly. A little beyond the Mall there was a small hill known as Jakhu' where hundreds of monkeys lived with complete liberty. Their king and queen lived on the top of the hill as any royal couple should. A monk also lived in his hut nearby. It is said that he knew how to communicate with the monkeys around who were very friendly with him. Visitors also tried to be friendly by giving them something to eat. There are many stories about the war and peace time activities of these monkeys which were even printed in books.
One of my uncles Mr S.Ihsan-ul-Haq lived in a lovely cottage opposite the Government Forest Office in Shimla. I and my paternal grandmother used to live there during my summer vacations. There I read quite a lot of short stories and used to walk about for miles. I also had a chance to live in a scout training camp known as Tara Devi near Shimla.
