HIllside view Love the rainbow, love the state… When was the last time you watched quietly, say for thirty minutes, the glorious sight of the evening sun melting away behind a wavy hill-range? Those changing hues, the twittering birds? A serenity, a sublime feeling all of its own? Probably not in recent times - unless your balcony is so positioned, or you were so situated at that time purely by chance. Probably, you have not even walked a mile or two in recent months specially to enjoy the generous offerings of nature here.

shimla diary
Spoil-sport Moon
The weather god spoiled the day for the wedded women on Karva Chauth, a traditional Hindu festival of feasting and fasting, which has over the years come to acquire a special significance for the “queen of hills”.

Preamble of a book
Dr J.N. Barowalia, District and Session Judge, is known for his books on emerging legal topics. His latest project is an in-depth study of the Right to Information Act (RTI) and presenting a comprehension treatise before the legal fraternity.

TB Sanatorium project hangs fire
The problems in TB Sanatorium, Dharampur are galore. The various proposed projects have either been lying incomplete or failed to take off for want of funds. The health authorities are equally responsible for its failure to find a solution to problems.

Ecologically Correct
Travel is an old human trait be it for adventure, exploration, trade, pleasure or salvation. Mainline travel, travel to off beaten tracks. Travel and tourism can be creative, enlightening; though it can also be destructive and polluting. Himachal is blessed with a panorama of nature at its beauteous and bounteous best.

Four-laning Dream
The government has drawn flak from various quarters for turning down the proposal for the four-laning of the Solan-Shimla section of the National Highway, however, the project has not been not been abandoned. It has only been deferred.

Mani stones of Nako
Thousands of manuscripts related to Buddhist history, beautifully carved on stone plates, some dating back to the medieval period are lying in the open in absence of any care in the desolate tracts of Nako village. The village, famous for its scenic beauty, situated at a height of more than 3, 600 metres in the tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh.

STONE AGE: Buddhist manuscripts carved on rocks are vulnerable to all sorts of erosion.