It was warm evening, with a nip in the air. We had just come back from a long walk from Char Dukaan Bazaar (four shops marketplace). Sitting on the rocks, sipping hot chocolate, we were waiting for the moment. The clouds swift past us, caressing our warm cheeks. The evening started to turn misty and moist. We started to get a little fidgety, it was soon to be dinner time. With a sudden gush, the clouds blew past, in a rush, to unveil the mystical twinkles, the Dehradun Lights.
Dehradun lights, from Prospect Lodge, Landour!!
Evenings like the above, are common during the summers at Prospect Lodge. It is St Thomas’ property, which is less of a lodge, and almost like a home. In fact I would suggest it to be renamed as Prospect Home. Every summer, STS organizes trips to Mussorrie, in the hills of Himalayas. Prospect Lodge in in the Landour Cantt area, which has its own history (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landour). It is around 2 hours walk uphill from the Mall Road in Mussorrie.
Half way through, there is the small stop, with a few shops, and a public telephone booth. That was the only way we could contact our family, there were no mobile phones in 1994/ 1995/ 1996. A bowl of hot maggi, a hot cup of sweet tea, and a phone call to mum. Bliss was that afternoon, when I first saw the Dehradun lights from the garden of Prospect Lodge.
The lodge, in its new avatar..
Landour is famous for its bakeries. Prakash Stores, a English bakery, just a few meters from Prospect Lodge, had all sorts of cakes, pastries, buns. You name it, and they have it.
Talking about the lodge. It had a huge kitchen, a big dining room, a very beautifully set living room and activity area, and 4 bedrooms – blue room, green room, red room and the pink room. The pink room has 3 beds – one each for the prime minister, and two deputy prime ministers. The bunker beds could be the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in my life. Or did we sleep at all?
A few clicks from Prospect Lodge, with my super seniors. 🙂
I have lived in Prospect for three consecutive summers, 7 days each, for the cabinet leadership camps. I have some beautiful memories to treasure.
Thanks for all the fun STS!!
Showcasing Janaki Nagaraj, who blogs at Memoirs of A Homemaker, and is participating in the AtoZ challenge with full vigor. Visit her, to get inspired, and read her posts.
Photographs courtesy: Seniors, super seniors, super duper seniors, loving juniors, and the school website: www.stthomasgirlsschool.com
This post is dedicated to the A-to-Z blogging challenge – the largest Blog Challenge in the history of Blogkind. My selected theme is “memories of St. Thomas’ “- my Alma mater. This is the sixteenth post of the challenge, and is linked to the letter P: P for Prospect Lodge of STS..
After almost 22 years i found some blog on STS. Though i am not part of STS but still memories from 1996-2004 remains alive with me….
@arpita if you ever happen to see this message pls call on 9999888315.
This trip was probably my best trip , and thank God my friends (classmates) or with whom I was planning to go cancelled at the last moment and as I already paid I had to go alone with seniors and juniors , I was actually able to truly enjoy nature , as I was in 7th I didn’t have the touch screen phone which made things a lot better , I was a able to enjoy every thing there , what an experience it was, the smell of the forest after the rain , it felt like heaven , i felt so fresh , when we were allowed to roam around the lodge in the evening , I literally explored every place , every lane there , there were two paths as we move a little forward towards the shop near our lodge , so I went to explore one of the paths , however it had an end.i wanted explore the other one too but we had to leave. The scenery from the lodge is just so amazing.
And at evening when I used to just sit and explore the mountains , goddd that was the best thing. I wanna go back again.
The scenic beauty of Mussoorie is ecstatic. I have been there hundreds of times. The night lights of Dehra Dun appear like glow worms. Oh Mussoorie I love you.
Nice one Arps!!
~S(t)ri
Participant|AtoZ Challenge 2014
Smile, it makes (y)our day!
🙂 thanks Danny!!
Thanks a ton Afshan
Brilliant Arpita 🙂
day by day ur school looks like a fairy tale to me . U r lucky to have studied in STS !
Prospect lodge looks like the place to be <3
Remember those days when mobiles were non existent and we used to wait in queue to make calls! And if you took too long then the others would start to complain! Great post!