Naini Tal mid 1965

21 Oct Naini Tal mid 1965

The long post Senior Cambridge holidays were coming t an end – preparatory to joining College

We were shipped off to Naini Tal for May and June in response to our noisy demands to go to a hill station for the summer . We got accommodation at The Swiss Hotel (some distance above the hustle and bustle of the Lake), with its front lawn, its  spacious rooms, its large common room where we put powder on the floor and  practiced dancing behind a convenient screen   . Frequently vivacious and pretty school girls in their uniforms would pass by after School well aware of their attractiveness , some of them laughing to add to it .

The road around the Lake and in the side lanes climbing up would be full of shops selling sweaters, other colourful winter wear from the hills, jewellery , trinkets, photo studios, small restaurants, Hotels with first floor windows overlooking the street , hill pony wallas

At the start of the lake was a colonial club called the Boat House Club , highly anglicised with a bar to the right of the entrance with elixirs in bottles promising Bacchus.

At the entrance next to it would be an officious Anglo- Indian with a club lackey with an open register scrutinising everyone to make sure they were members and their dependants . The dining area next to it had large open windows looking out on the Lake and letting its breeze in ,. The Breeze and I.

Next to it was the Jewel in the crown the spacious wooden dance floor    with springs below  to aid the Waltzing by ramrod straight men , many of them from the Services , and their elegantly swirling ladies their colourful and tasteful saris billowing out with the twirl and the breeze.

Come the starlit evening we drifted down to the Club with the lake reflecting the lights all around. There was a handsome  chap called Raza  around ,with dreamy honey coloured eyes  . He was reputed to have acted in a Bollywood film called Waqt . I remember some of the girls I used to dance with  .

There was an older chap Kirti  who used to dance with one arm free – not holding the girl s hand and the other hand around the girl s waist as per tradition. Managed to look suave . Another slightly older charming fellow called Vikram  .

The live band played  catchy Jive, Cha Cha , Fox Trot and Twist tunes changing the tempo and the mood .

A little further down the corridor there were the sailing yachting club fellows- handsome, sophisticated  next to white sails just side of the Boat House club.