By then, it was time to move on to Dharamshala. We stopped at the majestic Kangra Fort on the way. The Fort was, naturally, huge. I was completely in awe of the place. The Kangra Fort stands on a steep rock in Purana Kangra dominating the surrounding valley. It was strategically built at the confluence of the Banganga and Manjhi (also called Fatal Ganga) streams which serves as a natural moat for the fort. Weather beaten yet stoic among the surrounding hills, Kangra Fort has braved, and survived(to a large extent),many natural onslaughts and destruction by invaders. The history of the Fort is synonymous with the history of the town. Kangra belonged to him who owned the Fort. Today most of it stands in ruins, an existence taken advantage of by creepers and shrubs, but that doesn’t belittle the Fort’s grandeur in any way.

Our next stop was Dharamshala, a journey of 20 short kms from Kangra Fort. I had heard about Dharamshala before, and I knew, to some extent, what to expect. I knew it was a nice little hill-station amidst the Himalayas, and having had been to hill-stations before, I was prepared for a good time. We roamed Dharamshala at our own leisure, and tasted the local delicacies.

We visited Didi Contractor’s place, an American woman who had married a Gujrati and decided that India was to be her home. She specializes in mud architecture, and is firmly against the use of concrete except where it is strictly necessary. Being a semi-environmentalist myself, Istrongly empathized with her opinions and visions. She showed us two buildings she had designed- a house and a clinic- that were homey, functional, beautiful and interesting, all qualities seamlessly woven into one structure. Then we visited a site, where construction work was in progress. Most of us got to make mud bricks and lay them with our own hands!

The same evening we saw a monastery, Norbulingka. There were souvenirs, a doll museum and we got a guided tour of the monastery and everything about it, the traditions etc, by one of our Buddhist classmates. An extremely hectic and tiring day, but a very enlightening one at that!

The next day we were taken to see a pottery studio, very beautiful and the creations were absolutely stunning as well. We were all amazed at the high level of skill and got to know that at that moment they were taking care of an order placed by FabIndia.

We all wanted to see snow, and so were taken to this place where we were to walk for an hour and we’d get to see patches ofsnow. But being restless and not getting tired easily, we walked further and further till we saw a GOOD amount of snow, got to play in it AND had a mini-bonfire to thaw our frozen hands. There WAS a slightly disturbing issue of a few of our classmates disappearing and none of us being able to reach them, but they soon contacted us themselves and since all’s well that ends well, we got to know just in time that it wasn’t too great a cause of worry!

At the last leg of our journey, some of us got tosee McLeodganj as well, which is the home of the Dalai Lama. Although we hardly got to spend an hour and a half there, it was a memorable time. Very commercialized, but extremely charming, McLeodganj is a tiny place bursting at the seams with foreigner tourists and spiritual followers of the Dalai Lama. The shopping was fabulous, and the lucky ones(including me) who had managed to go there laid their hands on some beautiful souvenirs.

Finally, it was time to get back. A week in such a beautiful State had left me speechless. Before leaving Delhi, I had wondered however was I going to survive a week in a land so cold and in, my mind’s eye, so desolate? But when it was time to leave I realized the week had just flown past, and I’d have jumped at the opportunity to spend a few more nights there. Probably just goes to show how we should never jump to conclusions, because this was one trip I’m not sure I’ll be able to forget so easily…