Dehradun, May 25 -- Leisurely Landour courtesy Author's Collection

Of all our hill stations, Mussoorie was the raciest. We were once the pleasure dome of the maharajas - now overrun by mass tourism. Though Landour, like me, is still in love with the past, with its old bungalows still clinging onto their old names like Alyndale, Bellevue, Firs, Ivydene, North Cottage, Parsonage, Seaforth and Shamrock. Walk through our bazaar to debouch on a mountaintop full of deodar trees, church spires, flowering gardens and panoramic views. This is as close as you can ever get to the days of the Raj.

Our old churches, St. Peter's (1829), St. Paul's (1840), and Christ Church (1836), have been restored by public-spirited souls. On their walls are brass ...