Rishikesh, Known for its spirituality and yoga Rishikesh, in Uttarakhand has now made it onto the international map for offering adventure sport in the form of white water rafting.  With monsoon, making its presence felt in the hill-state, colourful kayaks and rafts have all but vanished from the Ganges with the seasons rafting taking a three month break.

From early September to June, just before the Great Indian Monsoon drenches the hill-state lakhs of visitors from home and abroad have thronged to these rapids for that ultimate thrill and adventure, especially the 16 kilometer stretch from Shivpuri to Laxman Jhula, adjudged by many, as  the best rafting course.

Come monsoon and for the next three months, the rapids which go upto to grade 5 in Rishikesh, all together vanish under the mighty Ganges in spate only to emerge, when rains abate and the monsoon retreats. Recently, Dinesh Bhatt, President of the Rafting Association said, “There have been records tourists this season. Rafting here will continue for another week and then coming July we will shut shop until the rapids reappear in September, welcoming all for the next season.”

Rishikesh offers tremendous whitewater adventure down a 35 kms stretch from Kaudiyala – Rishikesh on the magnificent Ganga. Over the years, a hundred rafting camps have come up in this stretch bringing in revenue and fame which the sport has to offer.

From mild to wild and everything in between, the rapids on the Ganga offer it all with a picture postcard setting to take you through, making this the perfect playground for amateur as well as experienced rafters and kayakers as they snake down the grade five rapids.

For now most of the rafting camps have either shut shop or are in the process of wrapping up and moving elsewhere, leaving the river and its scenic banks bereft of dotted campy colonies, rafts and kayaks which add colour to the town and the emerald green river as well.

Mussoorie, Eight year old Vihaan Singh, is rather excited to see the beautiful place i.e. Hotel Cecil where his great grandparents got married. That said, he is still upset and asks his father, Harshendra Kumar, “Why wasn’t I invited for their wedding?,” with childlike innocence.

The Singh family breaks into a laughter. It is this and many such fun family moments that the family collects every summer as they congregate in Mussoorie from various parts of the country and world.

What better way to celebrate a 112 year old property than have three generation of owners under one roof?

The story dates back to 1924. It was a summer trip to Mussoorie when Raja Bahadur Harihar Prasad Narayan Singh of Amawan Estate, Bihar fell in love with the majestic property and bought it on the 19^th of June, 1924.

Built by legendary engineer C M Gregory (who built a number of bridges in India and also the famous Aswan Dam in Egypt on the river Nile), Cecil as the property was christened, opened its doors to the public in the year 1907 as a lavish Hotel.

In 1924 when Raja Bahadur Harihar Prasad Narayan Singh, bought it, he added his royal touch to the Hotel.

In fact even when it came to a decision on the destination for his son Rajkumar Raghavendra Prasad Narayan Singh’s, marriage to Princess Raj Rajeshwari Devi of Jaintpur estate, way back in 1936, Cecil was thought to be the perfect spot. And why not? Situated on a spur towards the library end of town, it offered sweeping views of the Doon valley and the Majestic Himalayan Range. The wedding was attended by Royalty and British officials. Begum Akhtar and many other well known artists performed at the wedding gala.

Years after,the family gets together every year to build memories and renew bonds. Harshendra Kumar, Chairman, Automobile Dealers Association, Bihar, who, like most of his family is on a holiday in Mussoorie tells Newspost, “Decisions defines destiny. That stroke of genius, when my great grandfather decided to invest in Mussoorie and buy this beautiful property has resulted in many happy family memories. We are grateful to him that he has created this heritage that our children are also enjoying.”

Talking about the history of the hotel and its legendary owner, Historian Gopal Bharadwaj says, “Raja Bahadur Harihar Prasad Narayan Singh of Amawan Estate was a true lover of Mussoorie. He was often seeing riding his horse quietly on the Camel’s back road. In fact he was also very close to Pandit Nehru and Raja Bahadur Harihar Prasad Narayan Singh’s death was mourned by the nation.”

Mussoorie, How many of us can boast of having seen the precise landing site of Apollo Mission or the exact location where Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon set foot? Well, over two thousand visitors who visited the world’s first mini-observatory setup in Mussoorie, can.

Just fifteen days old, and Mussoorie’s first-private observatory set up at Garhwal Terrace, by Delhi based Company Anantah Deep Space Labs,  by IITian Amit Kaushik, is quenching space curiosity of young and old minds alike.

One look through the three powerful telescopes set on a makeshift platform, you get a glimpse of Jupiter with it’s four moons, Saturn with its ring. Ultra high definition view of the earth ‘s moon, galaxies and star clusters on a star-lit night.

“The celestial delight leaves everyone spell bound. Saturn with its rings is most beautiful planet to watch. One can see billions of year old craters, mountains, dry-ocean, besides the vibrating, pulsating surface of Sun & its black spots with filters during day-time,” Amit tells us.

Why did they choose Mussoorie for their first ever mini-observatory, I ask? “Easy to access, natural footfall!” pat comes the reply.

Starting with an initial staff of six people, the Observatory is open day long from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight charging rupees 200/- to rupees 300/- per person, per observation, with clear nights being the perfect time to observe various, stars, planets and galaxies.

We meet a tourist who tells us, “I have been to Houston, Washington, NASA but the image here is much clearer,” while another adds, “I am speechless, the craters on the Moon are so clear.”

With the stage set. A mile up in the sky, Mussoorie’s out-door Observatory is certainly a visual delight which brings out the inquisitive astronomer hidden in all of us.

Mussoorie, 17^th June. Images of inebriated tourists being beaten by irate Municipal employees for entering the Mall without paying the stipulated entry fee went viral within minutes. It has done more damage to Mussoorie’s already floundering season.

For the past few weeks, hoteliers and shopkeepers have been busy venting their ire on social media for the lack of tourists, empty rooms and a deserted Mall. This  recent incident is like the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. It highlights the fall-out between police and the municipal employees.

Mussoorie Chairman, Anuj Gupta opine:   “Unfortunate what happened. Perhaps it was the heat of the moment and I am doing my level best to resolve these issues.”

Sadly enough, unfortunate incidents like these sometimes happen due to bruised egos. Road rage is not just restricted to drivers and does afflict the whole town. Maybe it is high time to take a second look at the tourism paradigm.

Local resident Alok Melhotra, speaks for all, when he says, “Populism is no the solution. No one has the right to take law into their own hands. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Law is equal for everybody. Mob lynching can sometimes turn fatal as seen elsewhere in the recent past.”

Refuting claims in some sections of the media, that the SHO Mussoorie Bhawna Kaithola was being sent on forced leave following the incident, SSP Dehradun, Nivedita Kukreti updates us: “Bhawna is very much there. She is undertaking an investigation. There is no leave or anything along those lines.” She added that whatever action was taken by her was well within the purview of law.

Speaking about the fallout between the Municipality and local police about the handling of the issue, Sandeep Sawhney, President Uttarakhand Hotel Association says: “Its unfortunate that there has been a fallout between the Police and Nagar Palika over the issue. They compliment one another, so there has to be a system of working together of the two sides of the same coin for the betterment of our town and its tourism.”

Unfortunately, in this season of discontent, Mussoorie is the only looser.