Tetseo Sisters under the Lyre Tree, Woodstock School, Mussoorie.
Photo courtesy: Ajay Mark
Our date with the Mountain festival came true. But we were nearly without any pictures to document the trip as our poor camera was being taken care of at the service center in Delhi. Thanks to the Dangs and Mr. Ajay Mark, who took some amazing shots. Cheers!
One early November morning, we drove from Delhi to the mountains of Mussoorie. Through thick mists and miles of sugarcane fields, the road narrowed up and up to the rolling mountains and into the crisp air of Mussoorie right to the door of the quaint Rokeby Manor where we were to stay.
After many loo stops and chasing away monkeys everytime we stopped, we finally rested in the warmth of our hotel rooms and gorged on the wonderful food on offer at Emily's - the restaurant. Come evening and we dined with the distinguished guests at the elegant residence of the Alters. From there on, we were on an eating spree, after all, we needed our full strength and nourishment to put up a grand show.
The next day, we turned up at Woodstock School where the Mountain Festival was being held and took in the sights. We also sampled the feast of a lunch laid out and got a very special tour of the Music Department. We actually borrowed an acoustic guitar from the Music Head for a special performance for the Junior School children to be held the day after.
Soon it was time for our performance. We got ready for our performance and braced ourselves for the cold, considering our outfits and the November chill of the mountains. In our excitement, we forgot all about the chill and the wonderful vibes of our audience had us sailing through the Li session seamlessly.
Our one hour Li session came to an end with a standing ovation from our awesome audience - an eclectic mix of students, teachers, writers, photographers, adventurers, mountaineers, filmakers and artists from all over the world. It was a wonderful and proud moment for us. We couldn't resist singing a christmas carol....and we did sing Winter Wonderland :)
After all, we were among glorious deodars and Christmas was just round the corner. Imagine?
It will be an honest statement when we say we had a most wonderful holiday experience in Mussoorie. It was so much more fun than work. The beautiful scenery. The exciting sessions. Movie/Photographic presentations at the Fest. The very talented people we met at the Festival and the admirable work they are doing. The gorgeous food spreads. The unforgettable exchanges and conversations. Being so close to the heavens with beautiful souls and the fresh air did marvelous things to us all. Did we mention a leopard sighting while we were there?
Oh and sunday service at St. Paul's Church topped up with hot lemon tea at Char Dukan and a picnic-cum-shoot at the Haunted House of Landour. Not to mention the leisurely exploratory walks and the many jars of fruit preserves and peanut butter that became our souvenirs.
Lulu had a fun time collecting cones which we had to leave behind.
Mrs. Sanjaya Mark giving us a rousing welcome.
We had another beautiful moment singing for the students of the Junior School, Woodstock School early one morning under the Lyre Tree. A sunny morning spent sharing a few of our favourite Li with the lovely young students and some of the staff who couldn't make it to our evening gig. Mhaseve stole the show with a few classical guitar pieces which had the young boys going "WoW!"
Li under the Lyre Tree for the Junior School, Woodstock School.
As the Mountain Festival came to an end, we packed our bags and headed to Delhi with wonderful memories, many new exciting contacts and the firm promise to come back to the company of the majestic deodars of Mussoorie again soon. Do have a look at the video below for a short film on the festival. Hiyohey!
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