The chirping of birds was louder than before. There was a comfortable winter chill in the weather with a scent of the woods infused with a tinge of petrichor. And I stood there relishing every bit of it, smelling and sipping the coffee in my hand. No morning was complete without it. The wind swaying through my hair and gently impelling the swing chair beside me. I noticed how this whole balcony was full of creepers all around, moving in every nook and corner I could see. Glowing with the morning dew, the plants seemed to defy ageing. Nevertheless, what pleased me the most was right in front of me. The radiance of the rising sun topped by these ginormous mountains, being intruded constantly by overcast. It looked as if it would rain the entire day that was about to come. Still, these behemoth creations of the land looked spectacular and I could not stop appreciating the beauty they emanated.
There's this song that was going all in my head at that moment - "Creep by Radiohead". Or rather a reprised version of it that I had heard somewhere.
I'm a Creep, I'm a weirdo,What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here.
Unquestionably for these mountains, I was a weirdo. But did I belong here?
That cup of coffee was much needed at that time, as I was feeling a bit worn out due to the long night drive that my friends (Ananya and Sameer) and I had to this enchanting place. We decided to visit Shimla a couple of days back. We did not intend to prepare any itinerary as we wanted to first reach here, and then visit the places that the locals suggested. And as it goes with unplanned trips, our timing of arrival was at extremely odd hours. Not only that, but we also did not take into account the unpredictable weather that hill stations typically have.
Our road trip started from Delhi on Friday just after our office hours. And as expected, it was full of energy and glee. The carousel of songs played was unending, just like our drive. Ananya was adamant on having dinner at Karnal Haveli, but Google Maps ditched us with the location, and we ended up having our dinner at Sagar Ratna. We resumed our drive till we reached Chandigarh at roughly past 12, where we took a halt for a Chai. By the way, there's never a bad time for a Chai.
The ride from Chandigarh to Mandi was quite uneventful. Sunken into our own world full of tunes, the highway stood no chance in front of Sameer's remarkable driving skills. It was when we reached near Mandi, we noticed that Sameer had gone peculiarly quiet. We asked him about it, and he replied - "I need to pee so badly".
At roughly 3 AM, somewhere nearby Mandi where no soul was to be seen and everything slammed shut, it became our quest to hunt for a functional washroom as there were none to be seen around. After almost 45 minutes of rigorous searching and covering another 10 Kilometres, we ultimately found a washroom at Mandi Bus Station. While Sameer attended to his business, Ananya and I left no chance making fun of Sameer's situation and clicking some wild photographs on top of the buses left in a standstill.
We shortly resumed our journey to the finish line. Gradually, the air grew thin and chilly. With the tunes of "Safar" by Bhuvan Bam, playing in the backdrop, accompanying us in our ride and jolly moods, all we could do was notice the silhouettes of the hills shining through the moonlit sky. The tops canopied with tiny lights from the houses made it look like a pool of infinite stars had just come down to greet us on the earth, to welcome us to the paradise named Shimla.
It was close to dawn when we reached Shimla. It had started pouring heavily. We decided to stay a couple of kilometres out of the main town to avoid the rush hour crowds, because as beautiful this place is, in the rush hour, the masses can go insane. We entered the hotel premises to find nobody there. Our check-in time was 11 AM, and yet, we stood outside the gates in the pouring rain at 5 AM. As expected, we could not check-in early. So we decided to leave for the Mall Road to find some accommodation for a few hours because we were really tired and sleepy after a full all-nighter.
As it turns out, Shimla and the neighbouring areas can get eerily still at night. We parked our car at a nearby parking spot and wandered all over the place to find any accommodation. Infinite alleyways, stairs and narrow passages that we had to traverse through reminisced the very colonial and archaic style of architecture that this town dons. It was after a 40-minute long walk up and down the hill, that we finally found the only 24 Hour cafe in Shimla - Eighteen71
Festooned with fairy lights, sequenced pots of Ficuses and Rhododendrons, and a row of globe lights, this place felt like an oasis on an empty silent street. Sky coloured in early dawn blue along with chilly breeze and wet asphalt complimented this magical place. I wanted to stand there, and keep looking at how marvellous this cafe looked. As beautiful it looked from outside, it was equally if not more, cosy on the inside. This cosiness along with melodious indie beats was enough to soothe my senses. We rested for a couple of hours there. The manager was kind enough to help us with accommodation for a few hours, not far away from this place.
As we entered this old and dingy property, a sense of tranquillity came upon us. Even though we had rented the place for a few hours, it felt like home. All of us were so tired that as soon as we entered our bedrooms, we all dozed off. After almost an hour of sleep, I woke up. I tried to go back to oblivion, but couldn't. The passageway adjacent to my room led towards a balcony, which was full of creepers, meandering through every wall, every corner. And a white swing chair set in motion due to the winds. I ordered myself a cup of coffee. I stood there, watching the sun come up and hide behind the overcast. There was only this song going in my head -
I'm a Creep, I'm a weirdo,What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here.
I asked myself again, Do I belong here? I needed to find the answer to this question.
And then, it started raining and I had to rush inside.
To be Continued...
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