Hills on a high

Nainital recently celebrated its 170 years of existence. People from all walks of life attended a small ceremony that included prayers led by priests from various religions, reports Rajeev Khanna

A prominent jewel of the British Empire, Nainital, the town of lakes, which finds a place in the list of top global tourist destinations, recently celebrated its 170 years of existence. People from all walks of life turned up in large numbers to attend a small ceremony that included prayers led by priests from various religions and to savour a large number of cakes sent by different establishments and social organisations across the town. Blankets were distributed amongst the poor to mark the occasion.

The entire town was on a high right from the morning as people sent congratulatory SMS messages to each other on the town’s ‘birthday,’ and took a vow to preserve its beauty and grandeur. One of the key organiser’s of the function, Maruti Sah, said: " The purpose of holding the celebrations is to develop a sense of belonging amidst the population of the place and to promote the need to keep the environment and beauty of the place intact."

Although the place has a mention in ancient texts, it was in 1939 that a Britisher, Rosa P.Barron, stumbled upon a beautiful lake next to a temple of Naina Devi. Charmed by the sheer beauty of the place, he
decided to develop a settlement over here. Historians contend that it cannot be said that the place was discovered in 1839 as the locals had been coming here for ages, but still it was a landmark since it was decided to set up a proper settlement over here. According to various mythological accounts, Nainital is referred to in Manas Khand of the Skanda Purana as the Tri-Rishi-Sarovar, the lake of the three sages — Atri ,Pulastya and Pulaha — who were reputed to have arrived here on a penitential pilgrimage, and, finding no water to quench their thirst, dug a hole and siphoned water into it from Mansarovar, the sacred lake in Tibet.

The second important mythological reference to Nainital is as one of the 64 shakti peeths. These centres were created wherever parts of the charred body of Sati fell, when Lord Shiva was carrying around her body in grief. It is said that the left eye (nain) of Sati fell here, and this gave rise to the patron deity of the town Nainital. It is said that the lake is formed in the emerald eye shape. Naina Devi Temple is located at the northern end of the lake. Thus, the name of Nainital is derived from naina and the tal (lake).

The British occupied Kumaon and Garhwal in 1815 and E. Gardiner was appointed as the Commissioner of Kumaun Division on May 8, 1815. In 1817 the second Commissioner of Kumaun, G.W. Traill, conducted the second revenue settlement of Kumaun. It is believed Traill was the first European to be aware of Nainital but there are doubts whether he actually visited the place.

It was in 1839 that English businessman Rosa P. Barron, a sugar trader, along with a hunter friend, strayed into the hills. Nainital Gazetteer states that the locals were reluctant to lead him to Nainital, fearing sacrilege of the temple of Naina Devi by the visit of an outsider on purely religious grounds. But the two stumbled upon the place.

The gazetteer states that Nainital, as a place, first appeared in the pages of Englishman, that was published from Kolkata (then Calcutta) in 1841. The publication had announced discovery of a beautiful lake near Almora. The place went on to become a popular hill resort. It was on October 3, 1850, that the Nainital municipal board was formally constituted. It was the second municipal board of north-western provinces. To catalyse the formation of a town, the administration transferred land to the wealthy Sah community of Almora, on the condition that it builds houses on the land.

According to information available, in 1862 Nainital became the summer seat of the north-western provinces and a remarkable expansion of the town occurred with the growth of magnificent bungalows all around and construction of facilities. It also became an important centre of education for the British, who wanted to educate their children in the better air and away from the discomforts of the plains. The place witnessed a devastating landslide in the monsoon of 1880 but it has remained a popular destination throughout. The town grapples with a host of problems today owing to the pressures exerted by human and vehicular population. Eminent historian and prominent citizen Shekhar Pathak, who has been airing concerns of the local community at various platforms, says:" There is a need to preserve the beauty of the Naini lake.

Although efforts of the Lake Development Authority (LDA) have yielded results, a lot more needs to be done at the level of the civic administration in terms of maintaining sanitation and cleanliness of drains that were built around town by the British."

The most prominent requirements today come in the form of a need of a speciality hospital as the existing BD Pande Hospital is fast gaining the reputation of being a referral centre. The town also requires regulation of hotels in terms of proper registration and display of rational tariffs. There is also an urgent need to rationalise the taxi fares, which the administration has failed to do despite tall claims. The visitors at times go back a harried lot after being fleeced by certain hoteliers and taxi owners.

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