FLORA AND FAUNA

 

The exotic flaora-fauna of Mussoorie is one prime reason for the settlement of the township. The Mansuri ridge was rich in its striking wildlife and hence Captain Frederick Young, the first resident of Mussoorie, along with Sir F.J. Shore built the first hunting and shooting box near the Camel's Back area. Eventually, the Mussoorie ridge, which was a lush forest comprising oak, rhododendron and deodar with its pleasing climate like that of the Irish and Scottish highlands, was chosen as the best location for a healthy sojourn and subsequently, the Landour Sanitarium was established here. The Benog Sanctuary covers the forest of the western ridge of Mussoorie and happens to be the area where the extinct mountain quail was last seen during the 1970s. The thick jungles of Mussoorie inhabits a healthy population of birds along with leopards, Himalayan black bear, barking deer, jungle martens, rabbits, pheasants and wild rodents. The healthy population of avifauna in the forest of Mussoorie makes an ideal place for bird watching. The flora of Mussoorie is gifted with fruits trees that include Chestnut, Quinn and Pear. A haven for botanists, the treasure with medicinal value includes Himrai, Pudina-khar, Gingko Biloba, which is also a rare living fossil, and a number of high grade herbs.

LANDOUR BAZAAR

The Landour area is the oldest settlement in the entire township and still preserves the tranquility of the bygone colonial times. The uphill walk towards Landour begins from the eastern end of the Mall road. The Clock Tower is the point from where the Landour Bazaar exceeds till the Gurudwara Chowk. During the British times the same stretch was known as Parade Lane as the British Army troops marched on it. Later a small business hub evolved here which was named as Shivaji Market. The former Clock Tower had a history of its own the gong of which was audible till Rajpur as claim some elders. The Castle Hill is the estate where Maharani Jinda Kaur of Patiala was kept in exile. Now the estate belongs to the Survey of India. The numerous South Indian cuisines joints opposite to the Castle Hill gate are favorite hang outs amongst youngsters of the town who frequent there for mouth watering Dosa and Idli.

Another land mark in the Landour Bazaar is the Kohinoor Building which has completed more than hundred years of existence. The Survey Chowk is named so after the Survey field which venues numerous sports and cultural activities of the town. The Survey Chowk is lined with shops famous for delicious sweets and Namkeens. The Landour Bazaar is also famous for a number of shops where exclusive Pahaari silver jewelry is made to order. The Survey Chowk leads through Gurudwara Chowk from where an uphill climb provids birds' eye view of the Landour settlement. This narrow alley is lined with small shops of customized handmade leather footwear, antiques and Bhotia eateries and Woolens. The climb culminates at Mullingaar, the first residential building of Mussoorie, thus giving the locality its name after it. Mullingaar is the only Bhotia habitation in the town and the Bhotia elders can be seen playing cards or just basking cozy sun in the wind shelters of slumbering Mullingaar. The route is also frequented by many fair skinned ones as the Woodstock International School and the Language school is the prime nucleus of their settlements. The Mullingaar square is the bifurcation point for the road going to Dhanaulty and the one going further to Chaar-Dukan, Laal Tibba and Sister Bazaar. The tranquil walk towards Chaar-Dukan is thickly dense with oak and rhododendron the very air of which is quite soothing. Reasonably, the area comes under the Landour Cantonment Board and the residents include Padamshree Ruskin Bond, Padamshree Tom Alter, Steve Alter, Victor Banerjee, Pronoy Roy, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Narang and Tenzin Nyima of the Bollywood thriller Kaminey fame. Doma's Inn is the Bifurcation point for one path leading through thick oak while the other through scented pine forest only to unite at Chaar-Dukan. Chaar-dukan is named so after the four (Chaar) shops (Dukan) which stands next to the St. Pauls' or the Kellogs' Church where the parents of legendary Sir Jim Corbett entered into holy matrimony. Chaar-Dukan is a really laidback joint where the USP is hot and tempting cheese omelets, pizzas, pastas and macaronis, noodles, pancakes and juices and aromatic tea and coffee, all under the lazy lukewarm sun and naughty crispy breeze.

KASHMIR CORNER

Established in the year 1951 by late Shri Om Prakash Sethi, the Kashmir Corner is one treasure hub consisting of intricate Kashmiri handwork done with patience on Pashmina and Jamawar. The Kashmir Corner is cosily nestled in 'The Exchange' building where Shri Tilak Raj Sethi, son of late Shri Om Prakash Sethi, would welcome you in his distinctively impressive voice. The warmth inside the showroom generated both by the gesture of the host and the feel of the fabric, would surely unwind your senses. The involved Kashmiri artwork would lead you to confusion as in what to choose out of a vast range but the competent staff of M. Sethi would help you finalise what suites you the best. The fineries comprise of Shawls, stoles and dress materials and the clients include some of the known names around the globe. Notably, the elites of Dehradun are the regular customers of the Kashmir Corner. A mere visit would certainly prove fruitful. 

KULRI BAZAAR

Stretching from the State Bank of India through the erstwhile Picture palace, Kulri bazaar is the biggest and the most happening hub in the town with international brands showrooms and pizza and coffee joints lined up next to each other yet amidst some structures of the British times. The State Bank building itself is an impressive colonial architectural marvel which used to be the Himalayan Hotel that had hosted prominent personalities of the bygone times such as Frederick 'Pahari' Wilson and Sir John Lang. The exchange building is another such masterpiece where a printing press published journals of those times. The Cambridge Book Depot is where Padamshree Ruskin Bond visits every Saturday evening to interact with his fans and admirers. Surrounded by the numerous international coffee and pizza joints stand two restaurants managed by local Tibetan families serving authentic delicious Tibetan, Chinese and Thai cuisines.

Other magnets in the Kulri bazaar includes antiques and souvenir shops, drapers, Kashmiri garment showrooms, international fashion and sports brands showrooms, tattoo, body piercing studios and cyber cafes, chocolate-muffin-softies-brownies cafes, coffee-south Indian Cuisine, paani puri-tikki chat outlets, delicious hams and sausages, mouth watering non-vegetarian tandoory and rolls, two liquor and wine vends and two bars out of which one is famous for its tempting sizzlers and live music. The night in Kulri Bazaar is not complete without the choice of cigar, aromatic paan or hot gulab jamun or cold ras malai which can be savoured at the square where one path leads to The Rink. The Rink was and still is one of the most peculiar wooden floors roller skating Rinks in the entire country. The fever of skating in India got ignited from the Rink only which used to be the biggest skating Rink of those times. The Rink hosted the venue of numerous national and international skating championship both pre and post Independence. The Picture Palace, which was called the Electric Picture Palace pre-Independence, was the first ever Picture there of the country which was run with electricity. The theatres were usually run with petromax those days. Just beneath the Picture Palace was the Jubilee Cinema and together both the theatres were the crowd puller during the 1970s and 1980s. Another theatre, La-Anjuman, stood right next to the Roxy building near The Rink. The route which leads through Picture palace till Landour bazaar is lined with shops belonging to the Bhotia community of Mussoorie who sell woollens, garments and silver jewellery.

JHULAGHAR MARKET

As the name rightly suggests, Jhulaghar is the centre for fun and merry with a manually operated giant wheel and the cable car as the prime attraction. The acrobatic stunts performed by young lads spinning the giant wheel are awe inspiring. Jhulaghar is the true Chaupati of Mussoorie where tongue tingling Bhel-puri , sev-puri, tikki-chat, idli-dosa, chhole-bhature, rajma-chawal, kadi-chawal and coffee-cold drinks can be savoured. Jhulaghar is the terminal point, underneath the gorgeous Weeping Willow tree, for the cycle rickshaw coming from the Library bazaar. A bifurcation of roads leads through the upper and lower slopes of the ridge only to unite again near the State Bank of India. The lower slope is lined with stalls selling eatables and garments, the cable car station, the tourist information office, ready to order school uniform shops, railway out agency and general merchants.

The Allahabad bank premise on the lower slope is gardened with exotic flowering plants including the fragrant Magnolia. The upper catchment of Jhulaghar is flanked with shops of woollens, woodwork, antiques, tours and travel services, temptingly large samosa and gulab jamun, video games and a multi-racial version of the Tibetan market. The telephone exchange and the century old Grand Post Office demark the Jhulaghar market. Sadly though, the Jhulaghar hub has witnessed the mass killing of innocent locals by the Uttar Pradesh policemen on 2nd September 1994 during a protest for the demand of a separate Uttarakhand state. The area has been named as Shaheed Sthal (martyr ground) where a memorial stands.

GARHWAL TERRACE LANE

A few meters ahead of the Tibetan market on the Mall Road lays the tiny market flanked with very few shops on either side of the road selling fashion garments, woollens, kashmiri garments, leather goods, paintings, pashmina, rugs and semi precious stones. The cosy little market is one preferred destination among the locals and the tourists alike for steamy coffee and Maggie, flavoured ice cream softies and authentic Tibetan and Chinese cuisines. The shop owners and the workers coexist harmoniously yet belonging to Kashmir, Garhwal, Kumoun, Jaunpur, Punjab, Gujrat, and Bihar. This beautiful stretch of the market is guarded on both ends by the Jakranda trees which bear gorgeous purple flowers during summer. The hill side of this area is a visual delight during monsoon with plenty of multicolour Daheliya flowers in bloom. The valley side on the other hand is an awe inspiring sight in itself with the glittering enormous Doon valley in the night and the phenomenal Winterline during winter.

The vast Garhwal Terrace, which is the Property of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Hotel, is the vantage point for the valley sight where tourists get themselves photographed. The eastern end of the Garhwal Terrace lane leads to a cluster of a few more shops and a revolving restaurant. Further ahead are the judiciary and the Police Station which are located next to the aquariums where both fresh water and marine fishes are the attraction. The historical Hakman's Hotel opposite the aquariums has witnessed grand Ball and Cabaret evenings of the colonial times. The same point leads to the Gun Hill and the walk for Avalon top through the Christ Church.

TIBETAN MARKET

After the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the year 1959, the Tibetans migrated to the hills of north India. His Holiness the Dalai Lama along with a number of his natives was received at the Monastery at the Katesar Castle premises who later got settled in the Happy Valley area. The Central government of India opened a school in Happy Valley itself for the children of the Tibetan folks. Gradually the Tibetan Homes Foundation was established and the Tibetan Homes School was also founded nearby. Most of the Tibetans are business people ever since the Silk route trade times. To date the Tibetan business community excel as woollen and hosiery marketers an d the Nagar Paalika Parishad has provided them lanes where their stalls are lined up. The Christ Church lane is one Tibetan market while the other is a few meters ahead on a lane beside the Mall Road near the Garhwal Terrace Lane.

The Tibetan market is one sure place for good bargain where the jolly natured Tibetans can be seen sipping tea or munching delicious Samosa and momos which are supplied by special Tibetan market vendors. A quick bite while strolling in the market would be an experience.