I live in a metro city since last 10 years. Being in merchant navy, I stay with my family for a limited time. And I love to cherish every moment of it when I am home.
Last month while I was at home, I was having a quiet evening drink with my father. He started talking about his childhood and his parents. How life was calm, peaceful back then. How everything seemed pure and healthy. Everyone seemed at an arm’s distance ready to help or just talk. How he used to go for a stroll with my grandfather to the woods every morning with birds chirping and amazing sounds from a small waterfall nearby. I know how it seems so magical and filmy and honestly, a bit untrue.
And I would probably be skeptical too had I not spent my childhood in the same home. Solan seemed like the perfect place to live. And exactly like my father describes it. Even after so many years since he was a child and lived there. While I was growing up there, not everything was the same though. There has been a significant increase in quality of education and urban lifestyle that you can get there now. But the true essence of the hills has been the same all through these years.
I left Solan when I got into Merchant Navy. Moved to a high-rise apartment in Mumbai. It was a huge shift from the life I had in Solan but the move was worth it since the job I got was really good. Life moved on and I got used to the urban lifestyle of one of the most exciting cities in the world, where everything seemed in motion at all times. And I fell in love with it. The whole package.
But one thing I couldn’t get used to was feeling the lack of peace, the joy of feeling cool breeze of pure air on my face, sounds of birds chirping, and going out for a peaceful walk whenever I wanted to. Something always felt missing. Those childhood days, those evening games with my friends with the backdrop of hills, bonfires at night. All of that left a void in my heart that did not fill up even after years had passed.
And that’s when I started exploring options for a second home in Solan. And Chester Hills seemed like the obvious choice. The perfect combination of what I loved in the hills as a child and what I loved in the urban life as an adult. And so I purchase a beautiful 2 BHK as a second home in Chester Hills and you know what, my family loves it more than I do.
That’s my story. What’s yours?
– Rajesh Sharma