Dehradun, Nov. 16 -- Author's Collection

By: Ganesh Saili

'When a bird's nest falls, you get upset,' a young boy said at the Landour Cantonment Board Office, adding, 'What's there to celebrate when someone else's home is pulled down?'

That, more than anything else, sums up the general feeling in Landour over the past years. Granted, the courts have ruled against resident Sanjay Narang, upholding the local authorities' decision to demolish Dahlia Bank.

Rewind to twelve years ago, and change was in the air. Walking past those ugly concrete hawa-ghars (rain-and-sun shelters), stained by years of neglect, I was pleasantly surprised to see all six of them newly clad in local slate to bring them in sync with the ethos of a magical hill stat...