Far from the madding crowd

Unlike Simla, which is so crowded, Chail is quiet, serene place with a small little market and no noisy crowds, syas Niladri Paul.

I spend six months travelling and the rest in the city, painting. Last year in June, I was just itching to go somewhere. Some friends told me about this nice, quiet place in the Himachal Pradesh called Chail and even before I knew it, I had decided to check it out. With my wife and son in tow, I set off on an early Saturday morning, driving first to Chandigarh, where we stopped for a break, and then proceeded to Chail. It took us nearly eight hours to reach. I prefer to take small breaks, not just to eat but to take in the natural beauty around.

We had already booked into a small hotel which is close to the Chail Palace. It wasn’t a great place but decent and homely enough to spend a day.

Unfortunately, the food wasn’t anything great, they had just regular stuff like dal makhni, rajma chawal. Now, I am a foodie and also love cooking. So I decided to cook the evening meal from whatever was available. So Saturday evening we had a ‘grand’ candlelit dinner consisting of fried rice, grilled paneer with honey and lemon topping, steamed vegetables and salad. It turned out a great affair as the hotel staff also joined in and enjoyed the food.

Unlike Simla, which is so crowded, Chail is quiet, serene place with a small little market and no noisy crowds. Mighty oak trees line up some lovely walks. Chail has an amazing jogging track. I spent a lot of time going for long walks, visit Kali ka tibba from where you can see the entire Chail and also Kasauli. Given a chance I would like to spend more days here, so that I can paint in peace.

Nature is a great inspiration for me. This time as I had less time, I ended up doing a few sketches. Hopefully next time will be more exciting.

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FACT FILE How to get there: By Road: It’s a seven  and a half hour drive from Delhi. Regular buses ply from ISBT and Himachal Tourism office. By Train: Take the Kalka Mail to Kalka and then drive up to Chail. By Air: The nearest airports are at Simla and Chandigarh. What To Do: Fish for some Himalayan mahaseer, go for long walks, play cricket or go jogging.

As told to Meenakshi Kumar