At a crossroad in his life, Ganesh Saili’s father took the cheapest bus ticket to somewhere and settled there. Quips his son Ganesh in his quintessential light hearted and hearty manner— “I simply forgot to go away!” when he recounts his turn at the same fork.

Saili settled in Mussoorie and dug in deep. This recent book reflects his passion for the Doon Valley where his father, and later he, made his home.

With the diligence of the brown Babbler, Ganesh Saili has turned over every leaf and inspected the past beneath. Rajas and the Raj, robbers and rogues rub elbows in this interesting collection of short pieces that recollect the known history and social tapestry of Doon valley.

The princess of an exiled king elopes with a young officer. ‘Chaste’ brides cuckold their husbands and the Hearsey family continue to claim the land as theirs, with this book once more giving voice to their grievance, based on a deed dated 1811.

Ganesh Saili brings together historical facts— with details of sales, construction, upgrades, changes and myriad other little details that make up the growth of a place— with the passion of someone intoxicated with love of the land.

Acres under cultivation, development and the infrastructure that went with it, institutions, their offices and officers, duties and scope and a trail to their current form and activities are followed. All the little details are collected and presented to the interested reader.

In the ‘Guide to Mussoorie’ we learn that Col Everest built the office of the Trigonometrical Survey in Dehra Dun and measured the baseline of Dehra Dun in 1831. The Tea garden ‘Arcadia’ was named after Everest’s Arc of Triangulation. We also learn about several schools— their origins, staff, objectives and ownership— that pepper these hills.

For those interested in battle, included in this collection is a British Civil Servant’s recollection of the Goorkha War.
This piece, written in great detail, offers statistics on the weaponry, strengths of either force and a perspective on the overall campaign.

Of course given that the extracts and the articles of this compilation, with the exception of one A R Gill and the editor’s own voice, are those of the British officers, civil servants or Raj socialites— the perspective we get of the history of Mussoorie and the Doon Valley are naturally stilted and coloured with their narrow concerns and time frame.

The Valley was lived in long before their arrival, and thankfully, ‘joyfully’ as attested by the editor, is peopled by her native residents once more.

The Doon Valley across the years
Edited by Ganesh Saili