So I had stashed away the pictures of my visit to Landour (11 November, 2022) to make into a separate post, as I had fallen in love with the place.

Landour is a small town, just a few kilometres away from Mussourie, with a very distinct colonial flavour stamped all over it. Right from its fabled Bakehouse, its quaint cafes, hallowed churches, its clean, cobbled streets, to its unhurried pace of life and its tourist-friendly people, Landour can safely claim to be the heart of the beautiful state of Uttarakhand. And adding to its vintage charm is the fact that it is home to our most beloved Bond – the literary legend, Mr Ruskin Bond.

As I climbed up the flight of red brick stairs leading to Mr Bond’s house, my heart fluttered and I drew deep breaths. Unfortunately, the literary doyen no longer met random visitors in the post-Covid days, his loving grand child replied. Understandable.

After an entire day of hectic sight-seeing, as I headed out of the town with a heavy heart, the words of Ruskin Bond haunted me with their signature candour:
“People come and go, the mountains remain. Mountains are permanent things. They are stubborn, they refuse to move.”