We fondly returned to the Writers Bungalow after an interregnum of 22 years; gulping gallons of fresh mountain air and soaking in the serenity and quietude that first drew Rabindranath Tagore to this resplendent colonial cottage. What a magnificent restoration job Aman Nath and Neemrana have done to the Writers Bungalow which is integral to the Ramgarh Bungalows spread out like nuggets on a hillside necklace. Local lore, as well as a poster in the veranda of the Writers Bungalow has it, that Gurudev commenced work on the Nobel winning Gitanjali here at the Writers Bungalow, while his writing retreat Tagore Top was being built on a nearby hilltop, a heavenly location, if ever there was one. My daughter and I trekked on a narrow winding trail through a verdant dense forest and read a verse from Gitanjali under the Deodar tree where Gurudev had once set up his writing perch. What an utterly divine experience! Made possible and inspired by Anand ,our very genial valet , attendant and guide from the Writers Bungalow. It would be utterly remiss not to mention the sunset viewing spot at the Writers Bungalow, where perhaps Gurudev sat one early twentieth century evening, and penned clouds with altogether a different raisin d’être in his Straybirds, purportedly also written at the Writers Bungalow: “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” We were completely bowled over by the warmth and hospitality extended to us by truly a harmoniously working team at the Ramgarh Bungalows, led by Shalainder, in whose lexicon the word No has no place. We stuck to the Kumaoni Pahari cuisine- finger licking good.
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