Dr. Anil Kumar Agarwal

Nainital is a famous hill station. Even it is called queen of hills; this shows itself that it is really very charming place and worth to go there in summer season. If you enjoy winter you can go there at the end of winter. This time there is no crowd and enjoyment will be of different type. I have been there twice and once just crossed near Nainital when I went to Jageshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

First time I went to Nainital when Sambhav was only 8-9 months old; even he walked his first step there so this trip is more memorable than others. Vaibhav was about three years old. Whenever we went to the bazaar he demanded some thing from every shop. His mom asked him to decide what he actually needed. After that he didn’t demand anything as if he had understood his mom’s advice. He was fond of shooting at balloons so on every such shop he played the game. His style of shooting at the balloon and standing at the time of act looked quite attractive so we also enjoyed his actions.

In the middle of Nainital there is a lake; actually the name of this lake is Naini and on its name the area is called Nainital. There are seven lakes in that hill; they are called by the name of different Tal like Bheemtal etc…

On the first day there I bought six bananas in the evening while we were going back to his hotel. In the late night I demanded the hotel to serve me a glass of milk for Sambhav. The waiter served milk in my room but the ratio of water was quite high in the milk but we had no other choice except to accept it. This water mixed milk was digested earlier than the required time so Sambhav got up at midnight and began to cry. The bananas had helped him to satisfy his hunger.

One day we went for boat riding in the lake. Sambhav was in a mood to put his extremities in to the water but he was so small that we couldn’t leave him alone in the boat. In the end I told the boat man to take the boat at the bank of the lake. Sambhav kept his one hand into the water till we left the boat.

Second time when we went to Nainital we got different experience. This time Sambhav was in such age that he could go to nearby market alone. Our hotel was at Mall Road; the road is not very long so even a guy can walk on foot from one end to another. Talital and Malital are the name of the ends respectively. Sambhav had enjoyed a lot by going alone from one end to another two-three times every day till we were there.

One day we went to see the zoo. Inside the zoo, there was lion cage where a lion was walking continuously. We felt a different type of experience by watching him. While we were returning from the zoo, on the way a herd of monkeys crossed the road by jumping from trees to trees. A leg of one monkey touched Vaibhav’s head but he didn’t show any panicky.

For going to Nainital; a train goes from Delhi to Kathgodam which is the nearest railway station for Nainital. Taxis and buses are available to go from Kathgodam to Nainital. The distance is about forty kilometers.

In the month of February, 1984, I married Mira. The very next day my friends asked me where you were going for honeymoon. I said, ‘Why did you not advise me for that some days ago? ’ They told me that every thing could be arranged easily even that day too and my part was just to pack my bag. Within an hour, the two train tickets of Moussorrie Express were in my hand. To get the train ticket on the same day was quite difficult in those days though the condition is more or less the same even today. Getting the tickets I was glad.

I told Mira that we were going to Moussori on that day so she should kindly pack her bag. She asked me to pack my bag too. I advised her to just pack her bag only and I would manage my bag myself. She felt some difficulty in doing so as there were a lot of guests at home at that time. I tried to tell her some thing but she got slightly annoyed with my behaviour as it might not be according to her emotional comfort level. Today I may understand her annoyance at that time only up to some extent but not completely.

Any how we were ready to go to Mussorie and my as well her family members were happy on our decision. They finished all the rituals by evening and still we had sufficient time to board the train. So we thought to take rest and lay down but we went in to deep sleep as we couldn’t sleep the previous night, that was the wedding night and all the wedding ceremonies were performed on that night. My sister alerted me to get up. Getting up I saw my watch and found that we were short of time. Hurriedly we took up our bags and went to the railway station. When we reached the platform I found that the train was there. I felt as if the train was waiting for me.

Next day we were in the Mussorie and we chose a beautiful room in one hotel. The name of the hotel is not in my memory at the moment. We enjoyed three four days there. Every day we went to some new spot like Kempty-fall, Lal-Tiba, and the company-garden etc. Mussorie is a small hill station but beautiful. It is quite near Delhi so that it is famous among residents of Delhi.

A friend of mine was posted there. He came to see me on the day I reached Mussorie as I had phoned him. He invited me to come to his house on dinner. I accepted his invitation so he came again in the evening to take us to his house where his wife welcomed us. We had dinner there that was very delicious as his wife was quite expert in cooking.

One day I got annoyed with Mira in Mussorie now I feel that it might be my immaturity. We came back home after spending three-four days. Still some sweet memories are in my mind that is beyond my capability to explain in words.