I am Daarji

Let me continue with Kasauli…as I a have a few more interesting stories to tell.   I told you earlier that travelling for me is soul reaching of the place which is imbibed from the lives of people who lived there or are still living there at present. My funny curious mind notices the inane and the innocuous, things that many pass by every day, without even a second glance. The     Y-junction of Upper Mall with Lower Mall is about the most happening place to sit and have tea along with the quirky ‘samosa buns’ and watch The Mall slither down into a cobbled winding street of Kasauli Bazaar.  By second day you are accepted as a regular and locals stop to chat with you….or else just flash a warm smile and greeting. Sitting where I was, opposite ‘Kalyan Hotel’ was a statue of a dog…..a black retriever…with nose trifle too long and a trifle upturned.              ...

Some months ago out of the blue, a trip to Kasauli came about. It is quite close to where we live hence it offers a much appreciated getaway for us fairly often. Kasauli is a sleepy little quaint hill town in Himachal. It seems to live in an enchanting time warp that belonged to the century left behind. This town gives an impression of an unchanged aura about it…possibly it is just as it was when the British left, over six decades ago. The town’s ambience which to s ay the least is somewhat that of rural England,   maybe it’s the gabled houses with charming facades and chimneys and neat little gardens with beds of geraniums and hydrangea. The picture is completed by its narrow roads that wander up and down the hillside.  It is quite unspoiled and unlike any other place that I have been to in the hills.  I was told that the entire structure was built at a total cost of Rs 18,000 in 1944, although further Rs 1200 were spent on the stee...

As little boys in school we were part of ‘Boy Scouts’….it was fun going on camps and I remember a song we used to sing…’ A Happy Wanderers Song’ I love to go a-wandering,  Along the mountain track, And as I go, I love to sing, My knapsack on my back It stands so true for me even today . I love making the journey through places at my own pace, it helps me create my own travelogue....along with a deeper perspective  I get to experience that place meeting new people . Regular sightseeing has never been high on my agenda... I am, what you can comfortably say...'a tour guide's nightmare'.    Sometimes I travel with Bebe, but then I travel a lot by myself as well. Some would call that cheerless, but I love my own company, and it gives me the opportunity of meeting new people; locals especially. Talking with them I get to understand their way of life and also get to learn more about places. These places begin to come alive for me…...

For years, I have been contemplating on the fusion of lore and history of the Janam-Sakhis . Janam-Sakhis are the earliest narrative on the life of Guru Nanak and his travels, they weave history, mythology and imaginative fiction so skillfully and intricately that many a child is totally enthralled, and a thinking adult like me are almost equally baffled by the mystique. …..Literally taken a ‘Janam-Sakhis’ means… life story made up of parables on the Guru's life, each consisting of a series of separate incidents or chapters normally in chronological order, entitled sakhis or gosts. The script for the Janam-Sakhis is Gurmukhi, but the language was a composite dialect called ‘Sant Bhasa’ akin to Punjabi. Jail where Babur imprisoned  Guru Nanak The earliest known Janam-Sakhi was written in 1658; 120 years after the death of Guru Nanak Dev…. Hence facts concerning Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s life are diverse and mixed…..with each chronicler adding and altering to the conveni...