Room With a View: A Weekend in Naini Tal. Review on Nainital

Naini Tal is situated in the state of Uttranchal (formerly part of Uttar Pradesh, or United Provinces) in the Himalayan foot hills, and can be reached via bus or cab from New Delhi, after traveling appx. 6 hours north-east via Moradabad. It is one of the best hill stations in the country, the summer capital of India during the colonial times. Due to its sheer altitude, about 6500 feet above see level, no tracks were laid for trains. The nearest Railway station must be Kathgodam.

Upon arrival, I checked into the Claridges, situated in Malli Tal where I got a fabulous room with a splendid view overlooking the Naini Lake several hundred feet below. The bazaar was lively with merchants and traders with numerous fruit stalls, souvenir shops and textile stores displaying colorful sarees. At night it shines under brilliant lights with bells ringing from a hundred temples.

The weather was perfect, a cool 24 degrees during the day time while Delhi was suffering from a heat wave. After a few hours of sight seeing, I wandered into my temple, called the Gurney House, situated on the top of Ayarpatta Hill.

It was in this house Jim Corbett, author, naturalist, humanitarian and the great slayer of man eaters spent almost his entire life until he left the country for Kenya in 1947 when India became independent. Mr. Prakash Verma, the current owner, who arrived from his flat in New Delhi and was spending a few days here at the time. He graciously invited me inside.

The Gurney House must be close to 100 years old, and it shows the age from outside. But the inside was clean and spotless with all Corbett furniture intact. There was a beautiful chair in one of the rooms, the seat of which was hand made and decorated by Corbett's sister Maggie. The old piano was gone. ''My sister took it'' said Mr. Verma. He pointed out to an almira (book shelf with glass doors) and said that it was made out of a single piece of log Jim brought to Naini Tal from Mokameh Ghat. Several of Corbett's trophies were still there. Mr.Verma said the attic was filled with antlers of deer.

Corbett's bedroom was spacious with large glass windows. His bed, desk, book shelves and chairs were still in the room. It had an attached bath room also. ''There is no light in the bath room'' Mr. Verma informed me. ''Jim was frugal, and thought there was no need for an electric light in the bath room''.

''Several people wants to buy this house'' Mr. Verma said ''but I won't sell it..They may convert this into an inn and destroy everything'' He fondly recalled his association with Jim, and told me that before leaving the country, Jim offered him one of the rifles. But Mr. Verma refused. ''I never hunted in my life'' he said ''So why do I need a rifle'' . He now admits that it was a foolish choice and should have accepted it graciously as a precious gift from a great soul. We chatted more about Corbett and his sister Maggie over a cup of tea mixed with fresh goat milk and plenty of sugar, just the way Corbett enjoyed.

I enjoyed every minute of it. Here I was sitting on the verandah of Gurney House in Naini Tal. I traveled thousands of miles from my home in Canada for this. After taking a few photographs, I thanked Mr. Verma for his hospitality and bade farewell. The sun was setting when I took to the steep narrow road on the way to the hotel.

That was my reason for visiting this part of the world. If I had more time I would have tried my hand on some Mahseer fishing and possibly for a boat trip in the lake. Perhaps next time!

Postscript: It was announced that the Gurney House was put up for sale by Mr. Verma. I was hoping that when the time come, the government of Uttranchal would buy it and preserve it as a historical monument. It may even be used as an effective tool to promote tourism in Naini Tal.