Deep snow and freezing temperatures extended from the Himalayas down tugh the Indian foothills making travelling treacherous. We’d planned to go to Shimla in January, but Mr Rana, from the children’s charity we were working with, said the mountain city and the surrounding districts were still in the grip of winter, as were the NGOs who wanted to attend the workshop. So on his advice we postponed the workshop until spring.

The road journey from Amritsar to Shimla took us high into the mountains around hair pin bends with spectacular views of the sunlit valleys below. Still we climbed, pausing occasionally to take in the view. From the road we saw the famous mountain railway and double viaducts that spanned the gorges.

Our hotel was an old heritage building, poised on the Ridge, the highest point in Shimla. It was a broad town square where people strolled in the pleasantly cool evening air. Being an old British hill station it felt like being in an English market town transported to the mountains of India. Here there was the Gaiety Theatre, there a row of decidedly English shops and on the next hill the Scottish Baronial pile once used as the seat of government. From the Viceregal Lodge the British Governor General ruled India, Burma, Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong during the sultry hot Indian summer. We were told that at its peak the Governor General ruled over a third of the world’s population from his desk in Shimla.

Our welcome from Mr Rana and the staff of the Udaan Parents and Guardians Society of Mentally Challenged Children was phenomenal. Two rows of children, with their clapping parents behind, hung many colourful garlands of flowers around our necks. The Mayor of Shimla, distinguished academics and other dignitaries made speeches of welcome filmed by TV crews, whilst press photographers moved through the packed hall. This kind of event was great for raising the awareness of developmental disabilities and the local resources available to offer advice, education and therapy.

We really enjoyed the workshop. Mr Rana had done a magnificent job, bringing together the top management of fifty local NGOs and charities and persuading academics and prominent development workers to host each day of the workshop. These very knowledgeable, incredibly warm and modest people added perspective to our sessions and contributed a huge amount to the group discussions. We soon became very good friends. 

At the end of the first day we were delighted to be presented with local traditional pill box hats with colourful designs and warm traditional shawls. Promenading along the Ridge in our new attire we received nods and smiles from the other evening strollers. Time and again passers by stopped to chat, admiring our adoption of local clothes, or maybe just trying to figure out who these two lunatics were.

In the pink evening light we paused to admire the snow clad peaks of the Himalayas, the border with China, not so very far away.

Over the course of the workshop we met many dedicated people. They told of carrying severely disabled children on their backs over rough mountain terrain to reach village therapy centres. We heard of the excellent work of parents and volunteers to bring hope to the lives of the children. We felt very close to these wonderful people and marvelled at their fortitude and optimism. On the last day we were deeply touched to be presented with personal gifts from our new friends who sent us off with songs and laughter.                 

To our delight Mr Rana was at the railway station to bid us farewell and wave us off. When the famous narrow gauge mountain railway was completed in 1902 it was a feat of engineering having been driven through 102 tunnels and over 864 bridges and multilayered stone viaducts. The leisurely journey took us through spectacular scenery and allowed us plenty of time to get to know our fellow passengers. All too soon we were at the junction where we caught the main line train back to Delhi. 

Pictures of Shimla

Pictures of Workshop

Mountain Railway

Snowy Himalayas