Thanedhar – the land of Satyanand (a.k.a. Samuel) Stokes – the apple county of Himachal Pradesh … the name held a huge promise and so, Thanedhar found place on our itinerary. Considering the hype, Thanedhar was initially disappointing, more because of the property we were staying in than anything else.
The House (marketed to us as the “Apple Country Inn”) was a brand new property, leased and managed by Pratap Chauhan of Agyaatvaas (Ref. my diary entry on Agyaatvaas, Narkanda), the hospitality and food were excellent (some of the staff from Agyaatvaas had been brought here for the duration of our stay, and they really went out of their way to please!!) – so no complaints on that front. But the property was right on the main road, with no lands/orchards in immediate view. The internal layout plan of the house also left a lot to be desired. Initially, we also found the continuous presence of old Ratanji (the owner of the house, who had leased it to Pratap Chauhan) very intrusive, but he and his wife turned out to be very nice and helpful people, who were actually trying to make us feel comfortable.
On the second day of our stay in Thanedhar, we decided to visit Kotgarh, the place where Samuel Stokes initially came as a missionary, to preach and stay, and where the Stokes family still has a formidable presence.
The story of Stokes, in brief, for those who don’t know it, is that Samuel Stokes was an American Missionary who came to India and while working in the Kotgarh area, fell in love with an Indian Rajput christian girl and married her and later on, became so influenced by the Bhagvat Gita and Hindu philosophy, that he along with his entire family converted to Hinduism (he took on the name of Satyanand Stokes and gave his wife the name Priya Devi) and stayed on in Himachal Pradesh. Stokes also started orchard farming of apples in Himachal, with some saplings that his mother sent him from America. The Stokes family still owns apple orchards and has retained the original Stokes home in Thanedhar.
So, as I was saying, we decided to visit Kotgarh, the place where Samuel Stokes initially came as a missionary. At Kotgarh, we visited the old St. Mary’s Church, where Samuel Stokes married Priya Devi and started a school called the ________. Regular service is still held every Sunday. Next to the Church is a burial ground, which is not at all well maintained and not in a state to be visited, unless, like K, you wish to just walk down the paths trying to sight birds hidden in a tree and photograph them.
While in Kotgarh, we found out that the original Stokes home is not in Kotgarh, but in Thanedhar, and in fact, just behind our house. What a stroke of luck! When we got back to the house that afternoon, S engaged old Ratanji in a long conversation, from which it emerged that Ratanji knew the Stokes family and history very well – Ratanji had gone to school with one of the Stokes’ boys and was well versed with the Stokes family’s whereabouts till date.
Later that evening, we took a walk up the hill behind the House, leading up to the Stokes estate. On the way up, we saw a nice, well cared-for bungalow, with a little garden full of flowers. Ratanji had earlier told us that this bungalow, which could be seen from the House, belonged to a christian family, who lived there. After admiring the beauty of the house for a few minutes, we continued trudging uphill.
We first arrived at the Stokes’ temple. A wonderful building, in concept and execution – simple structure, with nothing more than four walls and a dome and an open verandah on all four sides. The outer and inner walls are covered with plaques bearing shlokas from the Bhagvad Gita in sanskrit along with their translation in English and the room encased within the four walls is devoid of any idol, picture or painting of a diety …. there is just a havan kund inside. The peace and tranquility made us want to spend hours there.
A little ahead of the Stokes’ temple was the Stokes’ family house. The temple is at one end of the grounds, but is not enclosed or fenced in. We found the gates to the Stokes’ house closed. There is a new manor within the grounds, where the Stokes family now resides, but the old house has also been retained and preserved. The Stokes are fiercely protective of their family property and privacy and tourists are not allowed to enter the grounds and we later heard that tour operators have been strictly instructed NOT to bring visitors to see the Stokes family house and temple.
We were a little saddened, as Thanedhar has nothing to offer its visitors other than the story of Satyanand Stokes. If tourists are disallowed from visiting this pilgrimage spot, then Thanedhar will find itself struck off most itineraries in future.
On the way downhill, we were lucky to be invited in for a cup of tea by Mrs. M, the owner of the beautiful bungalow with a well maintained garden. Mrs. M, a retired school headmistress, also has a connection with the East, and so, was very happy to find people with whom she could converse in Bangla. Her husband, an apple orchardist, was also a very pleasant person. Overall, a happy evening was spent with Mr. & Mrs. M.
Our last day in Thanedhar was spent lazing around and packing up. In the evening, K took a short drive with Prashant to Narkanda, where some friends with their families were just beginning their vacation as we were ending ours.
Finally, we drove down to Kalka on the 30th, to catch our train back to Howrah. Stopped for a few hours at Shimla on the way down, for lunch, shopping and a visit to the Kali Bari.
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