The Call of the Forgotten Hills

Between 1798 and 1815, the Gurkhas exercised control over the Garhwal and Kumaon regions.

- Ganesh Saili

Their presence brought the angrezes like Frederick Young, who enlisted as a 15-year-old ensign, and went on to become a general, having served in India for 44 years and set up Landour's convalescent depot.

Elsewhere, atop a ridge in the library, rose Christ Church, the oldest Church in the Himalaya, built in the best Victorian, Indo-Cotswold style, with a William Hill organ.

Along the bridle path came our older schools. By 1834, Mussoorie had acquired a reputation as 'the Eton of the East'. Wynberg-Allen Memorial School began in 1888, as did the Railway School in Jharipani. Waverly, the Convent of Jesus & Mary, for girls, was started in 1845, and St George's College, Barlowganj, came up in 1856.