VALLEY OF COLOURS - Mukteshwar

What happens when a saint decides to take samadhi at an altitude of 2286 mtrs which is precisely 7500 feet, amidst 16 mile x 14 mile wide deodar forests in the lap of Nanda Devi which gives a breath taking view of virginal 22 snow peaks?

A habitat takes birth after his name.

Its the same place which the famous Jim Corbett made known with his extensive stays during his hunt for the man eater tigers and gave its due acknowledgment in his book “ The Man Eaters of Kumaon “

Mukteshwar Dham which is a 350 year old shrine to Mahesvara Shiva and Saint Shri Mukteshwar Maharaj jee together gave this wildly sleepy town its signature - “ MUKTESHWAR "

The samadhi of Saint Shri Mukteshwar Maharaj jee is now a Tapovan where you can connect with yourself with the wind’s sweet nothings blowing through the Deodar forests as your companion in solitude.

Here you would feel as if you are on top of the world in literal sense with the lavish spread of the flora, fauna, birds and the bees. As if all brewing together a magic to make you feel one with life. Such is the spell of this place that one’s blood wouldn’t curl observing some bloodshed not far from here. “ Chauli ki Jaali” is the place where huge ill shaped rock juts out at a freakish angle from the hill’s front side where, eagles and the other scavengers dive down for their kills.

Mukteshwar is also the hill campus for Indian Veterinary Research Institute which was originally Imperial Bacteriological Laboratory which got shifted from Pune in 1893. IVRI maintains a museum which has a microscope used by noted nobel winner scientist Robert Koch along with other relevant things.

Mukteshwar’s rich hilly topography ensures good potato crops and amazing peach and apple orchards on terraces cut into the hillsides with the snow peaks as the backdrop. It would be unfair not to mention one of our afternoon delectable session here at one of the hill side terraces on the top. We were so badly looking forward to it that some even avoided their breakfast that day. The family staying up there offered to serve us chicken curry and rice. It was no doubt one of the best lunches that I've had. The chicken curry never tasted so good, maybe it had something to do with the mesmerizing Nanda Devi peaks that seemed were just a stone's throw away. After a couple of hours it was a steaming cup of herbal tea along with some scrumptious aloo (organic potatoes fresh from the fields) and saag pakoras in these orchards. We even got the chance to pick a few fresh peaches from the tree. What better way to view the sunset!!!

Small easy treks, long walks along the winding roads, rainfall in pockets and the Flowers!!! It was like a cherry on the cake, wherever the eyes travelled there were flowers, a structure of any kind, be it home, hotel or shops there were just flowers of various kinds every were. And they were grown in anything to everything, I never saw them in proper pots. Big, bright and in clusters.

It is the VALLEY OF COLOURS!!!

Mukteshwar as seen through my eyes....