This hidden gem in picturesque Landour is the perfect place to relax, put your feet up and witness the beauty of nature

◊ By Dr Supriya Mahajan Sardana, MD

Dedicated to Mati, who raised me.

“Who goes to the Hills, goes to his Mother.” – Rudyard Kipling (in his novel Kim).

I’ve always felt drawn to places or people that value trees, forests and mountains. But nothing else describes my feelings more aptly than the above anonymous Hindu saying (also quoted in Kim), especially after my most beloved grandmother, who raised me since infancy, left her physical form to become one with her source. My favourite author Ruskin Bond would agree, I’m sure.

LANDOUR, MY LOVE

Four years ago, we made our first trip to Landour Cantonment, Mussoorie, hoping to meet Bond. It was love at first sight—not with the author of course, although he was warm and humble—but with this tiny hill hamlet brimming with flora and fauna. Ever since, not a year has gone by that I have not returned to experience it all over again. Every visit feels like a homecoming and the old, sturdy oaks and the dependable deodars feel like long lost, close family members, whose one touch or hug is enough to lift my spirits. The maples, the horse chestnuts, the walnuts and the rhododendrons, all add to the sense of belonging much in the same way as loved ones do.

A typical day in Landour is anything but predictable. I have witnessed a shy drizzle metamorph into a torrential downpour, a fleeting hill breeze transform into bone-chilling, bellowing winds, and thick valley mist dissipate into crystal clear blue skies without a trace of a cloud—all within the span of one glorious day!

In the unfaltering company of God’s own trees, the deodars. Photo courtesy of Dr Supriya Mahajan Sardana, MD

In Landour, where the road isn’t just a path to tread upon. It rises to meet you as your constant companion at every bend. Photo courtesy of Dr Supriya Mahajan Sardana, MD

A typical day in Landour is anything but predictable. A shy drizzle can metamorph into a torrential downpour, a fleeting hill breeze can transform into bone-chilling, bellowing winds, and thick valley mist can dissipate into crystal clear blue skies without a trace of a cloud — all within the span of one glorious day! Photo source: TripAdvisor/Aman B

When in Landour, I do what the locals do, which is walking in its crisp, naturally scented, clear mountain air, with trees as my constant companions. These trees implore one to hark the sounds of the forest and the winds blowing through it. There is a sense of serenity interspersed only with birdsong or the occasional toot of a horn.

By March, the sloping hillsides are dotted with vibrant splashes of red of the rhododendron blooms. Wild flowers and varieties of mosses, ferns, as well as, the local bamboo, Ringal, add to the affluent diversity of this God’s abode. When the rain catches you unawares you rush to take shelter under the nearest awning or into an eatery to feed the appetite whetted on your walk.

What a waste of fuel, money and effort it would be to come to such a place with a priceless AQI (air quality index), varying only from good to moderate, and yet drive to Sister’s Bazaar, Char Dukan or even Mullingar in a car! All such people should save their (vehicular) emissions and horns for the city. For it is only as one reluctantly walks away from the wafting aromas of Landour Bakehouse and ambles further along that road, that one comes face to face with the breathtaking vista of the upper Himalayas and the glorious mountain peaks of Nanda Devi, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri.

A LITTLE BIT OF LUCK & A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE

Although home to a few prominent boarding schools, there aren’t many Landour hotels around. The few that I had stayed at earlier were not truly eco-friendly. Proximity to the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) campus has ensured an effective halt on any further civil construction. So, the area is neither overly inhabited nor ridden with traffic except from the day trippers visiting Mussoorie.

So, on one of my annual jaunts, I was pleasantly surprised when I came upon a little signboard on the road pointing to a pathway down the slope. The flower-straddled path led to a quaint green-roofed cottage embedded within the landscape, and nestled in a grove of tall, majestic deodars and oaks. This charming homestay is called La Villa Bethany (LBV), and is run by ex-hotelier husband-wife duo, Sunita and Amarjeet Kudle.

The ex-hotelier husband-wife duo, Sunita and Amarjeet Kudle, run La Villa Bethany. Photo source: TripAdvisor/Bharatwd

A flower-straddled path leads down to the quaint green-roofed cottage embedded within the landscape, nestled in a grove of tall, majestic deodars and oaks

The beautiful observatory on the upper floor. Photo source: TripAdvisor/Anuj G

Here, it is easy to slacken to a leisurely pace—waft into a reverie or indulge in elaborate flights of fancy—unfathomable notions when caught in the daily rigmarole of city life. Photo source: TripAdvisor/Surbhi S

A battery-operated cart is available for luggage and for the elderly. Photo courtesy of Dr Supriya Mahajan Sardana, MD

So far, human interaction with the environment has been to exploit, but given our present ecological crisis, now it ought to be to replenish and enhance. This young couple from Maharashtra personifies this shift.

On a fateful trip to Landour, this city-weary couple came across this otherwise happily perched building in a run-down condition, being used only occasionally by a Christian mission as a hostel. Call it divine inspiration or a stroke of luck, the Kudles were informed that the house was going to be put up for sale soon. The events which followed can only be described as destiny. Consequently, they were able to take the house on lease for 40 years from the mission.

In 2009, the couple pooled in all its resources and started the restoration project. Amarjeet stayed on site throughout the entire renovation process in make-shift arrangements for a year and a half. Although a few walls had to be knocked down, the rubble generated was reused in remodelling of the building, while also ensuring that the footprint of the place remained the same. No trees were felled and Burma teak flooring of one of the first-floor rooms was dismantled and used piecemeal to make the ceiling of the restored ground floor.

Over steaming hot cups of ginger honey lemon, Sunita reminisces about the arduous journey as she proudly shares, “Jo seekha, jo kamaya, sab laga diya,” meaning, “Whatever we learnt, whatever we earned, we invested it all.”

To complement the cottage, the Kudles have added a fairytale-esque pine and cedar wood log cabin to the property. Photo source: TripAdvisor/Amol2013

Although setting up a house is an ongoing journey rather than a destination, La Villa Bethany was finally ready to welcome guests in 2011. The house is decorated with upcycled containers as planters and beautiful objets d’art, most of which are handcrafted by Amarjeet, a talented pyrographer. To complement the house, the Kudles added a fairytale-esque pine and cedar wood log cabin to the property in 2013.

LA VILLA BETHANY, LA VILLA GREEN

As one walks down the pucca incline, one can see beautifully painted or inscribed, heart-warming phrases and adages on the surrounding trees and stone wall. There is also an option to use a battery-operated cart for luggage and for the elderly. The Kudles have made adequate provisions for rainwater harvesting in order to catch the precious rains every monsoon, which is then stored in tanks at different levels. About 100,000 litres of rainwater is harvested annually by La Villa Bethany and it lasts the entire summer.

Dinner à la La Villa Bethany. Photo source: TripAdvisor/Stephen C

Heart-warming and spirit-elevating phrases and adages are scattered across the property. Photo courtesy of Dr Supriya Mahajan Sardana, MD

My love for trees found expression in Amarjeet’s handiwork and Joyce Kilmer’s words. Photo courtesy of Dr Supriya Mahajan Sardana, MD

The Landour homestay faces south and southwest, and hence, receives ample ambient daylight, which is efficiently harnessed by way of a solar cooker and solar water heating. Connected to the solar water heater is a frequently replenished tank of 1,000-litre capacity. For kitchen appliances and lighting purposes LBV draws power from the grid.

The Kudles urge guests to take bucket baths to conserve water. The organic, eco-friendly shampoo bars and soaps provided are free of synthetic detergents and the creams are made with natural ingredients. Use of paper napkins is discouraged, another pro-environment measure. The most memorable asset of the tastefully furnished rooms are the hygge-inspiring warm and cosy yak wool blankets, which have been especially commissioned to support local craft and trade.

Milk, groceries, fruits and vegetables are consciously sourced from local farmers at fair rates. Photo source: TripAdvisor/Curtis W

La Villa Bethany houses a well-stocked library with a section dedicated to Landour-based authors

Milk, groceries, fruits and vegetables are consciously sourced from local farmers at fair rates or from organisations like SOS Organics, which are known for natural products. The Kudles have now set their hearts on providing guests with organic supplies from their own natural farm. At dinner, regional cuisines of different regions (Garhwali, Punjabi, Maharashtrian, south Indian) are served.

While in Landour, it is easy to slacken to a leisurely pace—waft into a reverie or indulge in elaborate flights of fancy—unfathomable notions when caught in the daily rigmarole of city life. As a tribute to Landour, La Villa Bethany has a section of its well-stocked library dedicated to Landour-based authors. Although Sunita refers to Landour as ‘The Beverly Hills of the North’ owing to its soaring real estate prices and sprawling estates, there is no outlandish display of wealth. Generously endowed by nature, people here do not take their blessings for granted.

LANDOUR-SWITZERLAND SIMILARITY

Founded in 1993 by Woodstock School’s staff, along with a few locals, CLEAN, a movement to clean up Landour’s hillsides, later became KEEN, ‘Keeping the Environment Ecologically Natural’. KEEN has completed 26 years and is majorly responsible for Landour’s untarnished beauty.

LVB supports KEEN (Keeping the Environment Ecologically Natural), a 26-year-old movement, which is majorly responsible for Landour’s untarnished beauty. Photo courtesy of Dr Supriya Mahajan Sardana, MD

Although wet waste in the hills is traditionally composted or fed to cattle, for lack of awareness or want of better options, the people of Landour would earlier throw their plastic waste in the Khud (garbage dump) or burn it. Gradually, all that has changed with the consequence that presently, the excess wet waste is sent to Dehradun for composting and the collected dry waste is taken to recyclers in Haldwani.

Out of 13, 9 wards of the Mussoorie Nagar Palika (municipal council) are committed to waste segregation and door-to-door garbage collection. It was on her way to one such meeting with the local municipal body that Sunita bid us adieu.

I am deeply impressed with Landour’s dynamism. While it offers all the comforts and conveniences of the modern world, Mother Nature still takes centrestage at its every turn, its every bend. Even the strategically placed sleek dustbins proclaim the residents’ deep love for nature. The only other place where I have experienced the same magic is Switzerland, with which, Landour incidentally also shares a similar natural phenomenon called the winterline, of which La Villa Bethany offers the best view.

As I write this account, I am filled with a sense of foreboding for the future of Landour because with passing years, I have witnessed the increasing burden of noisy day revellers from Mussoorie, increased traffic on the road, and more littered plastic waste on the hillsides.

But I also have faith in the Kudles and their tribe, that they will do everything possible within their means to preserve the sanctity of this corner of Earth, which has become a second home to me.

CONTACT DETAILS

La Villa Bethany
Near Kellogg Memorial Church
Landour Cantt Mussoorie – 248 179, Uttarakhand, India
Mobile: +91 9910049644
Landline No: +91 135 2630054
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: www.lavillabethany.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author is a dermatologist in Delhi NCR and she’s a proponent of natural living.