subject: My Dear Dalhousie [print this page] My Dear Dalhousie My Dear Dalhousie
Dalhousie, Punjab, India is one of the places in India which I loved to see and lived in. I visited Dalhousie a long time back (1951). I found it was a clean and cheap city with hardly any disease or crime. Police stations and hospitals hardly received any people for action against crime or disease.
There were many spots worth visiting. A spot near a stream had a few stones on which numberless tourists and visitors had inscribed their feelings that the sight was so beautiful and attractive that they had never seen before. Many said they got such a peace of mind which was not available anywhere else. I agree with these sentiments fully. I used to visit the place regularly so much so that I wanted to live in Dalhousie for good.
There was a calm and quiet restaurant which I liked and used to go there often. Apart from taking any tea or meals I found a copy of an English novel placed on the table which people like me would read of and on. There used to be just one book there that people shared and put back after reading on the spot.
There was an old English tennis club since the British days and which I visited once as in addition to tennis there were certain amenities in the club like a small library. An English couple was looking after the club which remained almost closed as there was hardly any activity. As I was fond of tennis and books I asked the gentleman there who was the secretary of the club if I could avail of these two activities. In response he refused to oblige me by saying that according to rules the club and its activities were meant only for British army officers. When I asked him why a person like me could not avail of the facilities as the British officers had left long ago, he said the rules provided that the club could only be used by them and nobody else. I argued in vain that club was quiet vacant and a person like me was interested in playing tennis and reading books but the reaction of the secretary remained the same and his wife kept quiet throughout. So I left the club for good.
One day I was walking in a beautiful valley and saw a European gentleman sitting on a bench enjoying the surrounding view. I asked him if I could sit by his side and after he agreed I sat by his side. In a light conversation I told him I could asses which part of Europe he came from. When I told him it was central Europe he was very much surprised and excited. It appeared we had made good friends even though for a few minutes.
Dalhousie had some good and clean social welfare institutions like a hospital, a convent and a commercial college where a small number of patients or students remained for business.
For shopping all the good necessities were available on reasonable price. House rents were also quite reasonable. We paid Rs (Rupee-Indian currency) 50 per season for a house called Balmoral' owned by a Sikh gentleman-Contractor Sardar Makhan Singh.
