Dehradun, July 13 -- Ganesh Saili

Winter steals quietly upon the hills. A break in the monsoon, I take a walk along the figure of eight road that is the Upper Chakkar. I look around for someone to talk to, but most of the houses are vacant.

We start this walk from the Commandant's House, which is just above the bridge built by Rahim Baksh in 1930.

Go past the bungalows still clinging to their old names. A roll call of names reveals Wolfsburn, Alyndale, Seaforth, Parsonage and Scotsburn. Once upon a time I used to drop by the Bank at Char Dukan to chit-chat with the Manager, but ever since I fell behind with my loan, this pleasure was denied. The last straw came when Nandu Jauhar sold his house Bellevue simply because all the 'Sisters' ...