OFF BEAT AND LOST PARADISE-SITLAKHET, Uttarakhand, India

(View from Sitlakhet)

KMVN Rest House Sitlakhet in the night

A path in the woods in Sitlakhet

“Therefore am I still...... 
A lover of the meadows and the woods,
And mountains; and of all that we behold
From this green earth; of all the mighty world
Of eye, and ear -- both what they half create,
And what perceive; well pleased to recognise
In nature and the language of the sense,
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my moral being.”-Tintern Abbey

Part 1

Ranjit, my driver had been a bit uncomfortable.
Eight o'clock in a winter mornings every day was probably too much for him! I could see he was tired and tense. So I decided to leave Ranikhet next morning at 10 AM. He was visibly happy. I told Sharma family accordingly who had accompanied me from Nanital . There was a sign of relief on every body's face .
I felt sad as we were to leave Ranikhet where we had spent couple of days. We were awe-struck by the beauty of the place,, a trekking delight for adventure tourists, the great history of Rani (queen) Padmini to British who later on developed Ranikhet as their troops cantonment. We loved to stroll Ranikhet's sylvan surroundings, the view of the great Himalayan peaks, especially from "Upat kalka" 4kms from Ranikhet where there was a fine golf course surrounded by pine forests
Our stay at Ranikhet was in a 3 star hotel "West View" amidst all the natural beauty and surrounded by pine forests.

Next day we left for SITLAKHET, another gem in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, supposedly a place for those who seek a true happiness and peace, a wonderful vacation, an adventure and an off beat paradise
Being only 28 kms from Ranikhet we reached early and Vow! What a place ! Incredible!! Never in my life had I seen such a scenic beauty. SITLAKHET at the height of 2000 meters or may be more in Syahi Devi hills was a real treat to your senses with great Himalayas in front of you. It was a stunning view.
We reached at KMVN tourist lodge which has as usual, the best location. There are not many choices though. The typical colonial structure with a bungalow with large rooms and easy chairs which we took out into the lawn, had our lunch out side and lived the day till the evening gazing at the mountains and basking in the sun!
The night was a drama..........
Part 2
We all settled in Mr. Sharma's room early in the evening for a fun session. A prior message to the KMVN guest house had taken care of all the necessities for us. We started with stories followed by singing and dancing, "Sammy" (Samay Sharma), Mr. Sharma's 15 years old son, rocked on the floor! The hot and spicy gram flour dumlings "Pakoras" were served with green sauce eventually washed down with a couple of Vodka shots, Mrs. Vidya Sharma preferring a typical Indian tea.. yes, tea in the milk rather than the British way of milk in the tea!
Darkness and a cold breeze started engulfing us quickly. We shifted our stage to a small dining room . Dinner was served-Biryani, yogurt, puri (deep fried Indian pancake) and potato curry.
It was Mrs. Vidya Sharma s speaking about a dinner party at her home when the lights went off!
For a moment there was a creepy silence and it continued...I was the first to speak though it was a whisper I don't know why? A muffled sound form a distance,we heard some footsteps but nothing could be made out in darkness which by then was becoming menacing and reminded me of Bram Stokers evil fairy tale ! What a pleasure holiday it was turning to be. I felt a cold hand moving over my back and the feeling startled me! There was nothing, I thought. Then we heard another sound, a chair being moved, we stared hard but couldn't see anything. We saw a dim yellow light oscillating and coming closer to us and behind it was a huge tall shadow approaching. I swallowed and stared at the figure."Who are you". I asked a bit frightened. The guy was from the nearby village and a relative of the caretaker, we were told in a deep and husky voice. "And where is the caretaker?", I asked. "To collect some wood from adjoining forest behind quarters". We lit the candles brought by the mysterious man and there was a sigh of relief as we could see now. But somebody was missing. "Where is Sammy", cried Mrs. Vidya Sharma! Sammy was missing. We immediately started calling him loudly but no answer. I rushed to my room with a candle and brought my big torch and so Mr. Sharma . Forgetting the chilling cold and the breeze, covering the compound we threw our beams in all directions but no sign. Suddenly my beam caught a movement of two small green spots off to the left. What was that? And it was gone next moment! Some wild animal, a wolf? I was scared! Then I found that the tall mysterious man has disappeared!
Then we saw another light slowly moving towards us from woods. Breathless, we watched, our throats dry, no sound coming! We focused our beams on the approaching light and figure behind it. "Mummy" "Papa"! It was Sammy. Oh my God! What a relief! Sammy was with the caretaker who had a bundle of wood and the other hand on Sammy's shoulder.
Later we came to know that when the lights went off Sammy slipped out of room and joined caretaker who took him to the nearby woods as he didn't want Sammy to get lost in the darkness.
These kids! They are experts in "panickology"and really know how to scare the elders!
Part 3
The next morning was beautiful with a commanding view of majestic Himalayas. We laughed on the last night events. After a rather heavy breakfast, we immediate started on our trek in the adjoining forest where we saw foxes, not wolfs. The forest abounds in orchards and herbal medicinal plants.
We went to nearby spring water source and a 4 kms steep trek to the top of a hill, turned out to be a trekking paradise. We also went 2kms down to a village "Khoont", the ancestral place of late Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, a renowned freedom fighter for India.
Sitalakhet is a lost paradise, an ultimate place for peace and happiness nestled in the lap of majestic Himalayas in Uttarakhand, a green jewel of India. With a heavy heart and memories we left in a search of another heaven.

Route: Delhi- Kathgodam-Ranikhet-Shetlakhet