Library bazaar, Mussoorie

Library Bazaar, Mussoorie

Library bazaar is one of the prime bus and taxi terminal points to enter the township of Mussoorie. Library bazaar, locally known as Kitaab Ghar, is called so after the 1843 established library which happens to be the hub of the area. The architectural magnificence library building is one fine and well standing reminder of the colonial times when the building housed the famous Savoy Bakery on the ground floor and one of the first few libraries of the country above it. The world famous Savoy Hotel, which earlier served as the Maddock School, was the prime nucleus of the vicinity. The Criterion building next to the library housed the famous Criterion bar the square in front of which has witnessed the romance and gaiety of the British era. The band stand opposite to these buildings hosted a live band which ensured some memorable evenings in the Queen of the Hills.

Later the band stand canopy was shifted to the Camel's Back Road and a new one was erected which was donated by the Maharaja of Kapurthala whose impressive chateau stands on the ridge above the Savoy Hotel. Another historical wonder at the Library square is the iron pole which fetched electricity from the second earliest hydroelectricity unit (Galogi Power House on the Bhatta Fall stream) in the entire country, precisely on 24 may 1905. After independence, the Library square was renamed Gandhi Chowk with a giant gate Gandhi Dwar as its entrance. The square is the junction for the roads leading to the Vincent Hill, to Company Gardens and Kempty Falls and to the Mall Road. The historical Library Still exists and caters to members only while the ground alley is lined up with grocery and general stores, toiletries and cosmetic boutiques, hosiery outlets and some tingling bakery vends. The extension of the Library market leads inside the Mall Road through the erstwhile Vasu theatre and roping in general merchants, coffee and sandwich joints, hotels and restaurants and the much sought after tempting chai-samosa and aromatic milk-jalebi sweet shops. The approximate 500 meters vicinity of the Library bazaar is harmoniously guarded on four corners by the Laxmi Narayan temple, Masjid Amania, Gurudwara Singh Sabha and the Christ Church which happens to be one of the oldest of churches of north India. The eastern end of the Library bazaar leads through the entrance of the Camel's back road which is one secluded route for leisure walks and horse rides on the north face of the Mussoorie ridge that provides a commanding view of the greater Himalayan range and the mystic Jaunpur valley. The historical canopy on the Camel's Back Road is an ideal vantage point which enables a vast panorama of tiny hamlets of Jaunpur dissected by the calmly flowing Aglaar River. The cozy canteen of the Bhardwajs at the canopy ensures a tempting yet lazy hangout right from the lively sunrise through the romantic sunset sights.