Nostalgia

Yesterday another 'old student' back for a visit and I walked up to Edgehill Villa.  In our childhood it was home to British missionaries, later on it was a guest house for visitors, and now it is home to some of the younger boarders. It is quite charming from the outside with a lot of potted flowers.

Also located there is the old merry-go-round that we spent hours on as children spinning ourselves silly.

The same old see-saw is off the Quad on the way back to the tea garden.

Vehicles

I mentioned before all of the traffic on Tehri Road.  It is also possible now to drive from the lower Tehri Road down to Ridgewood dorm, up from Mullingar to the chukkar, and up from Tehri Road above South Hill to just below the Oakville Estate. The taxi driver bringing me up from Dehra Dun took some short cut that had some awfully steep sections - so I just closed my eyes!

Here are some photos of vehicles that ply these roads.

Here is a sign that I like that is near the top of Mullingar Hill. It says "May the Lord keep your journey safe." In this case "the Lord" could be Jesus or Krishna.

The Archives

Last night I slept poorly, and when I did my dreams equated the many piles of folders from previous administrations with khalighas [spelling?], a local invasive plant. I also found myself riding Indian trains and having to change trains at out-of-the-way stations and deal with the normal confusions of train travel.  Then I was woken at 5:45 am by the sweet singing of the Himalayan Whistling Thrush.  This started my day with a brief moment of grace.

Part of the reason I came on this trip was to check on the state of the archives at Woodstock School. In 1997 I had a summer research leave from my regular job, and I came here and spent 6 weeks providing some preliminary organization and access to historical materials.  My intent had always been to return a few years later and continue the work, but life events intervened.  On this trip I am just assessing what has and has not been done in the intervening 15 years, and to consider whether I might return again in the next few years to do some more processing.

I've found that the historical materials are in decent shape - a volunteer in the late 90s and early 00s expanded the system I had set in place and inventoried a lot more material.

What is more problematic is that the archives space has become the dumping grounds for old administrative files - proceedings of board meetings, grant applications, strategic planning documents, administrative councils, etc. etc.  These are the type of thing that in library-land falls under 'records management' and should really be managed under administrative oversight as there are important policy issues, especially in the areas of retention and access restriction.

So, I am doing what I can in this brief 2 1/2 week stint here - mostly making recommendations and changing my mind every day as to whether I might want to return again her to this work.

Turner Organic Garden

This morning (Wednesday), M&S and I walked down to the Turner Organic Garden, which is owned and run by the school.

A lot of the plate scrapings & food waste from the kitchen is composted in big monkey-proof containers just below the new/lower Tehri Road.

The caretaker of the garden has a very neat small house, with a satellite dish .. and solar panels with which he runs his TV. There is also a newer windmill which he says does generate some electricity.
There are two water catchment ponds on the terraces, the water from which is used for drip irrigation on the garden terraces.

There are also two greenhouses covered with sturdy plastic sheeting.  In one he had a good crop of broccoli, some bok choy for transplanting, and a few other vegetables.

The vegetables we saw lima beans, green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, radishes, dal, and green gram. There are also a couple of small fruit trees. The last picture is of turmeric plants (the root is dried and ground into turmeric powder).

Layering

Before I came I was in a real dilemma about what clothes to bring. I am thankful now I brought what I did.  The temperature/comfort level varies greatly throughout the day, so I am frequently changing layers of clothing.
Morning -- start out with tank top, long sleeved T shirt, sweater, fleece vest, scarf.  Go into the archives office without sweater but with fleece vest. 
Mid-day -- step outside and soak in the sunshine - need only tank top and long-sleeved cotton shirt [the latter for modesty but mainly to protect skin from sunburn].
Evening -- sit out on the verandah with sweater & fleece vest. Then when back in the guest room after supper I've needed my warm jacket, and, as the evening progresses, I sit on the bed and read with the covers over my legs to keep them warm.

Outside when it is sunny it can be quite warm.  I don't have a thermometer, but would guess in the 80s F. In the evening in the cold of the room it gets down to about 60F or a little below. There is a small electric heater and a hot water bottle in the guest room but I haven't needed to use them yet.

Yesterday early afternoon I walked into the Landaur bazaar.  It was quite warm and the sun was very bright.  Not long after I returned to the school a sudden strong hailstorm blew in and cooled the air off considerably.

Fall

It now feels like the true beautiful October fall weather that comes to the hills every year.  Last evening the clouds were bright in the setting sun (and here at this elevation one looks right across at many of the clouds, not just up). There was a bit of a winterline as the sun set. All night the lights in the Doon sparkled.  This morning the air was chilly and the Siwalik range clear. I imagine the snows are fully visible, but that was too far to climb this morning!

Hillside roads and paths

This posting is mostly FYO ..

Tehri Road is the main motor road from the plains back into the mountains.  There is auto traffic on the road - buses and taxis carrying people from the villages to the cities and back; trucks carrying milk, fruits & vegetables, and other goods; children walking to school or being transported on motor cycles.

The Chukkar is a motorable road near the top of the Landaur ridge that circles around most of the ridge. From the back side (the ridge runs roughly north-west to south-east), if it is clear, one can see the higher snow covered peaks .. not Everest as that is much farther to the east .. but other peaks in the 15-25,000 foot range.  From the front side one looks down towards the Doon (a broad valley, ca 3000 feet) and the Siwalik Range, which is a low, old range of hills.

Between these two motorable roads one must mostly go by foot up or down stone paths or stairs.  It is still taking me about 30 minutes to get from the school to the chukkar .. as a child we used to run up and down these with ease!