Manohar Singh Gill: An Officer of the People
Mountains and Meadows
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The Meadows of Sanasar
Read more here →: The Meadows of SanasarWhenever and wherever we discussed the charms of the valley during our recent visit to Kashmir a new name kept cropping up. Everyone agreed about the marvellous golf at Gulmarg, the trout fishing and riding at Pahalgam, the hilting and climbing at Sonamarg, and the quiet romantic shikara rides on the Dal Lake of an…
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Land of Perpetual Sunshine
Read more here →: Land of Perpetual SunshineIn September 1962, Spiti burst upon the national scene with a tragic drama, involving over 2,000 people – men and women engaged in the vital task of connecting this remote area with the rest of the country, and now trapped by the fickle gods of rain and snow. Day by day, hour by hour, the…
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Ladakh Notes
Read more here →: Ladakh NotesI like going to the Himalayas. The love affair started in 1961, when I trained at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, under Tenzing and his nephew, Nawang Gombu. I continued this, with a stint as Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti, under the great Punjab Chief Minister, Kairon. A February winter crossing, of the Rohtang Pass, remains a…
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Shimla Diary
Read more here →: Shimla DiaryOutlook | July 12, 2010 Over The Ridge In mid-19th century, Capt Charles Kennedy rode up to the deodar-covered Shimla Ridge from the hot Ambala cantonment, liked what he saw and put down a Scottish loghouse. Others followed. And soon the High Ridge was dotted with houses named Peter Hoff, Ivanhoe, Dane’s Folly, Barnes Court,…
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An Ol’ Ranger
Read more here →: An Ol’ RangerOutlook | September 29, 2008 My love affair with the Himalayas started in 1961 when I trained at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, under Tenzing Norgay and his nephew, Nawang Gombu. The affair continued during my stint as deputy commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti, under the great Punjab chief minister Pratap Singh Kairon. A winter crossing in February…
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Concrete Valleys
Read more here →: Concrete ValleysOutlook | September 3, 2007 Pre-1966, the Beas-Kangra valley was part of the Punjab. My early service was spent in that beautiful valley. In 1961-62, I was deputy commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti, across the Rohtang Pass. My family and I have continued to visit Lahaul since then. Last week, I went after a decade and a half…
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Peaks Of Power
Read more here →: Peaks Of PowerOutlook | April 30, 2007 I first went to Kathmandu when I was CEC many years ago. It was a world congress on mountaineering and tourism, Nepal’s main bread-earner. But I spent most of my time with the political establishment, the Election Commission of Nepal, and the late King Birendra. I can never forget the…
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The Hermit of Ta-Yul Gompa
Read more here →: The Hermit of Ta-Yul GompaThe Tribune | March 21, 1981 In the summer of 1967, my wife and I went for a visit to Lahaul. We thought those high remote valleys, with their perfect sunny weather and carpets of alpine grass, studded with wild roses of every hue and colour, were the ideal place for a short rest. We…
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A Fascinating Land
Read more here →: A Fascinating LandThe Tribune, Chandigarh | November 22, 1980 HERMIT KINGDOM – LADAKH by Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia.Vikas, New Delhi, Pp. 186. Rs 295. In her book on Kulu, Pamila Chetwode has referred to its ancient name Kulanthapura, the end of the habitable world. The ancients had a valid reason for giving this name to the rich, well-watered…
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The Doctors From Pathankot
Read more here →: The Doctors From PathankotThe Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | November 9, 1980 In the course of my official duties I once had occasion to meet a deputation of unregistered medical practitioners of Punjab. These are men who carry on the trade in the countryside. They argued for the honour of being declared “Registered Medical Practitioners.” The medical men present…
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Kanwaljit Singh of Lahaul
Read more here →: Kanwaljit Singh of LahaulThe Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | October 26, 1980 Many years ago I was posted as Deputy Commissioner of Lahaul-Spiti. I fell in love with these inner Himalayan valleys and their fascinating people. Over the years, whenever opportunity occurred, I have tried to visit the area and spend some time in the remote Shangri-la. Last month…
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Himalayan ‘Ajanta’
Read more here →: Himalayan ‘Ajanta’The Tribune | September 24, 1979 Kee, Tabo, and Dankhar are among the important Buddhist monasteries, locally known as Gompas, which have lifted the desolate valley of Spiti, situated on the Indo-Tibetan borders, to the artistic status of a “Himalayan Ajanta.” The Monastery of Kee on top of a hill, just ten kms from the…
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Living dangerously in Lahaul Spiti
Read more here →: Living dangerously in Lahaul SpitiPublished on March 29, 1979 While M. S. Gill writes of the hazards of life in this Himachal area, struck by a disastrous avalanche recently, in the article below Mr SunderJal Bahuguna, leader of the Chipko movement in Uttarakhand, UP, warns of the mounting dangers to the eco-system of the Himalayan region. The heavy snowfall…
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The Road to Xanadu
Read more here →: The Road to XanaduThe Sunday Tribune | October 16, 1977 In Xanadu did Kubla KhanA stately pleasure-dome decree:Where Alph, the sacred river, ranThrough caverns measureless to manDown to a sunless sea.So twice five miles of fertile ground,With walls and towers were girdled round;And here were gardens bright with sinuous rillsWhere blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;And here were forests…
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Men of the Mountains
Read more here →: Men of the MountainsThe Sunday Tribune | July 1, 1973Republished in The Statesmen Magazine | August 12, 1973 Darjeeling has always been associated with mountain climbing. The other hill stations along the lower Himalayan ranges – Simla, Mussoorie, Nainital – are essentially sanatoriums, cool havens from the sun-scorched northern plains. Not so Darjeeling. It was born to nobler…
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Rising of the Dead
Read more here →: Rising of the DeadFor The Tribune | September 10, 1972 HAIR RAISING STORIES FROM LAHAUL The following are extracts from MANOHAR SINGH GILL’S forthcoming book “Himalayan Wonderland – Travels in Lahaul-Spiti” (Vikas Publishing House). Another instalment from the book which gives a first-hand account of life in Lahaul-Spiti when the author was posted there as D.C. in 1962…
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Travels With a Judge
Read more here →: Travels With a JudgeThe Tribune | September 3, 1972 It is not often that one is invited to travel with a Judge. I never dreamt of doing so, till one morning the Financial Commissioner of a neighbouring State telephoned me. Would I come for a walk and shoot in the Dhaula Dhar? His Lordship had invited the Financial…
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Shades Of Caesar’s In Simla
Read more here →: Shades Of Caesar’s In SimlaThe Tribune | May 3, 1970 Pompeii evokes memories of Imperial Rome; Istanbul of the Caliphs and Pashas who are no more. Where is one to find the ghost of Imperial Britain? Some say in London. But like Vienna, the city is one vast museum of vanished history. It does not evoke memories of a…
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Hikes and Hiking
Read more here →: Hikes and HikingPublished on November 2, 1969 Even while sitting on the door-step of the most magnificent mountains in the world we all but ignore them. Simla in the summer is the sum total of our knowledge of the hills. The ultimate in pleasure lies in pushing people about at Scandal Point, and gorging ourselves, at popular…
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The Three Friends
Read more here →: The Three FriendsFor The Tribune | April 5, 1964 A FOLK TALE FROM LAHAUL Once a wolf, a crow and a rabbit were going along the road when they came upon the body of a man. The man had obviously died due to some accident. A bundle of clothes and a rosary were lying near the body.…
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Winter Crossing of the Rohtang Pass
Read more here →: Winter Crossing of the Rohtang PassPublished on February 16, 1964 We were a party of eight, Tshering Dorje, Rana, two peons, three dak·runner and I. On the first day we expect to do the five miles to the Tandi confluence and another four up the Chandra river to the village of Gondhla. During the night there was light snowfall and…
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The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute
Read more here →: The Himalayan Mountaineering InstituteThe Illustrated Weekly of India | July 30, 1961 A BAND of enterprising young men have been the toast of the country these past few weeks, and Annapurna and Nilkantha have become familiar names. While all recognise the daring of these mountaineers, few understand and appreciate the role that the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, has…