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DOWN MEMORY LANE
Christmas on the Ridge
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A clump of silver oaks on the Ridge reminds one of Christmastime of the days gone by, says R.V. SMITH
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Christmas comes over the Ridge in Delhi, or so one would like to imagine, for there is a clump of silver oaks there which remind one of Santa Claus and his reindeer sledge. When the stars shine in the December sky on the misty night and one drives pa
st the trees, their leaves seem to murmur the message that Bara Din is not far away.
It’s the change in the season that is responsible for these thoughts. When one goes this way in summer, things seem quite different. The breeze that blows here is hot or cool, according to the time of the day. During the monsoon the weather is particularly lousy and in spring it’s pleasant. But in December things are just balmy on this stretch, with little fires lit here and there, not by wandering gypsies, but by labourers and their like who happen to be passing that way. Walking along the other day, one could notice that a pair of vultures had made their nest on the silver oak. Could they from their high perch see the snowline in winter? The old Delhi District Gazetteer records that the British soldiers on the Ridge could see the Himalayan peaks on a clear summer’s day. Could be an exaggerated claim, or it could be possibly true, for the air in the Capital was clear and pollution-free then, making it possible for a man armed with a pair of binoculars to see the distant snowline.
Spirit of Yuletide
As one walked in the fast gathering gloom, one thought of the snow and of Father Christmas who is fabled to have his home there. So what better place to spy on good old Santa than the Ridge? A thought no doubt, in keeping with the spirit of Yuletide, with its bonfires in the intense cold of snowy evenings, frosty nights which converted the foliage into Christmas trees with their natural gifts, and not the presents one finds on them on Christmas Eve, when the choir chants “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. The clump of silver oaks on the Ridge imparts such thoughts as these.
During the British era the Ridge was the place for picnic parties on Christmas Day.
That was the time when the Delhi Club was housed in Ludlow Castle. The road, now known as Raj Niwas Marg, led straight to the Ridge and after Xmas lunch many young couples thought it convenient to spend the afternoon there. The older ones preferred to stay back in the club and bask in the winter sunshine.
The hackneyed carriage stand, where the horse-driven “garhis” were parked, stood as a reminder of those days for many years right up to the 1970s, even after Ludlow Castle was demolished to make room for the school that had been opened in it. Nearby was the saloon of a European hairdresser, and next to it the Swiss Hotel, behind which was the Cecil Hotel, where St. Xavier’s School came up in the 1960s.
The bungalows in Ludlow Castle Road, some of which still exist, were occupied by British and Anglo-Indian families and added their own charm to the festive season. Now all these are dim memories, and the old Christmas spirit is missing, both here and on the Ridge. But the silver oaks are very much there for the vultures to build their nests and enjoy a birds-eye view of the changed surroundings.
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