Belonwala

Its Ethreal..although they have uprooted all mango treess lining the road to make way for Highway to Mussorie..still its most beautiful place, matching aesthtical sense of best managed peoperties in anywhere i have seen in Gurgaon or Delhi.
Its worth settling and which i intend to do in few years, people poke fun at me when i invest in land there, they think rather i should be buying in NCR ....anyways.

I still remeber summer of 1982 , it was a trip made with Alok my Fauzi cousin( He's Colonel already).. Nanajee was still there..nani was most active women(she passed away last year..nanajee went to god in 1991) ..we were there for a week .

Mornings in rural doon in highsummers still are very cool.. and over hot glasses(we did not have bone china) of tea the millet cakes(Mandua roti) of last night sprinkled with paste of different herbs was eaten with relish, than it was time to take out cattle for grazing ,weekly our household had one turn and to upkeep the cattle was a collective village effort.

After leaving cattle in pasture , it was time to visit the stream down the passage Alok you have mentioned..the stream is big monsoon river called SWARNA a bath in same (I remember it had a small GHRAAT ..water chakki!! wherin villagers brought grains for grinding and paid in kind)and than we were hungary as only kids can be.Waft of freshley grounded lentils made of TOR(Tuar) and real ..real and mind you the real doon basmati rice came from afar...alongwith freshest buttermilk we slurped our Lunch.

Village had a big seista time..we totally differed and it was time to take round of forest nearby ..thickly poulated with Sorrhea robusta (SAL for you) and BEL trees..it was so dense that afternoon sun had to sneak in through leaves to make its presence felt..rest of afternoon was spent in tasting wild BER, raw mangoes and ADDOO.

(..to be contd)