Netaji’s Dalhousie connection

Shriniwas Joshi

INDIA celebrated the 122nd birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose on January 23 this year. He had a special connection with Dalhousie as well.  During his stay in Dalhousie in 1937, he wrote for The Tribune on July 22, 1937: "I hope that after independence, our resource-rich water bodies and health resorts would, in a systematic manner, be developed as health centres, so that we do not have to go abroad for such places in order to gain health." 

He gave the example of the town of Bad Gastein in the Austrian Alps, where there was a spa, in which people visited the humid tunnels of a former gold mine and sweated away their ailments-while breathing radon gas. He further wrote: "I have seen such water bodies in Rajgir (Bihar) and Bhuvneshwar. I have also seen a sulphur water pond near Karachi. I believe that there might be several such water bodies with their specialties in the Himalayas, which need research and development from the point of view of medicine and cure."

This he had written after finding some respite from his illness (pleurisy) that he got in the British jail, where he was prior to May 1937. His health started deteriorating after which his younger brother requested the British Government for his release on parole. The parole was granted and his classmate Mrs Dharamvir, wife of Dr NR Dharamvir of Lahore, requested him to come to Dalhousie to recuperate. Why did she invite Bose to Dalhousie? Because Dalhousie had and still has the old-world charm. Jawahar Lal Nehru came here for the first time in 1925 and wrote: "Dalhousie is the finest and greenest in India. Its heart-touching scenic beauty is fascinating and unique." He came again in 1954, when the town was celebrating 100 years of its existence. He wrote: "One of the finest hill stations is Dalhousie from the point of beauty, climate and agreeable surroundings. It is not a flashy hill station like others and there are few amusements there…for my part. I would rather go to Dalhousie than almost any hill station in India, Kashmir apart." Debendranath Tagore had said: "Watch the natural beauty of this part of the world, pick up your pen and go on writing." Subhash Chandra Bose could not resist the tempting offer of resting in such a beautiful town and came to Dalhousie in May 1937 and stayed at a house named Kynance. It was built by Dr Dharamvir in 1933. Kynance, I believe, has been taken from the Kynance Cove of Britain. That area in Britain is believed to be stunning with amazing views, coastal scenery, beach, rocks and caves to explore along with fabulous walks. Quite a few of these beauties are missing in Kynance in Dalhousie, but is a striking place, standing in solitude in the midst of the town still far from the madding crowd. Bose spent more than five months here from May to October in 1937. He used to walk daily for over 2 km - coming and going back to Kynance - sit and meditate by the side of a perennial spring, whose water had a curing effect on him. People, later, named it Subhash Baoli. I visited the place and found it very well-maintained, which is an appreciative step of the local administration. The place is in the itinerary of tourists visiting Dalhousie and presents a delectable view of the distant peaks.

Kynance is an old building carrying the heritage features of a building built in 1933, which looked like a timber-framed farmhouse of the 16th Century England to me. When Subhash Bose was recuperating here, Mahatma Gandhi sent Mirabehn, his apostle, to Dalhousie in 1937 to enquire about his health. In memory of Netaji, a life-like statue has been erected after independence at Cheering Cross in Dalhousie, but today, nobody knows where the Cheering Cross is because it is popular as Subhash Chowk.

Imagine what could be the second love of the man who had said: "Give me blood and I will give you freedom!" or "We should have but one desire today. The desire to die so that India may live." His first love was definitely Free India, but the second was cars. His favourite car was 'Audi Wanderer W 24', in which Netaji had made the great escape as Mohammad Ziauddin, an insurance agent, from his house at Elgin Road in Kolkata to Gomoh (now in Jharkhand) railway station, from where he went to Delhi by train to continue taking part in the freedom movement. Audi had sold only 22,500 units of W 24 cars and Netaji was the first Indian to buy it. It has now been restored to originality and is preserved in the Subhash Bose Museum as country's heritage.

Tailpiece

No real change in history has ever been achieved by discussions - Subhash Chandra Bose