Between Mist and Thought

uninhibited, unhindered, unfettered.

Weather shapes the atmosphere beautifully on a hill station. It moulds the light, the colours and also the pace of a photographer. I love the way the mist hides and reveals all that crosses its path. Sometimes the fog stays on and at other times it moves revealing some spectacular sight that it was covering.

A few months back I visited very briefly a quaint and lovely hill station that was built during the British era and just about managed to get some photographs. Landour near Mussoorie in Uttarakhand state, India, is a small hill cantonment from colonial times with dense deodar and pine forests. It sits at an altitude of around 2000 meters with cool weather throughout the year.

On a hill station, the landscape unfolds gently through the fog and the light, through the mist and the quietness. There is less urgency in the pace of things and a slow rhythm to everything. Cold weather softens and subdues what one sees.

Clouds drift by and seem to fill the valleys. Hills seem pushed back into the horizon. I avoid the famous viewpoints and dramatic moments such as the sunrise and the sunset. I rather watch the grey turn into the blue, or the long curve of a path and sometimes just the outline of a tree in the fog. This is what gives me utmost joy.

The photos carry the calm and mystery of the landscape. Landour has a dreamlike quality. For the short time I was there it felt like time had slowed down to match the gravitas of the mountains. I enjoyed the scent of pine and the damp earth from a light shower of rain that lingered for a bit in the cold air.

As I walked around, I could feel my thoughts wander as freely as the mist. Uninhibited, unhindered, unfettered.

Thank you for reading and for being here.

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