Vttarakhand 67
hill resort and houses the Garhwal Regiment Centre which was
raised here in 1815 and in 1890 it was named after Lord Lands-
.downe; I had an opportunity of visiting this picturesque hill town
as-far back as 1945, when we came here from Nainital as part
of my maternal uncle's marriage party by train upto Kotedwara
End from there moved upto Landsdowne in small buses. The
old reflections are still in mind but I have not been able to visit
Landsdowne again.
The other places of interest are connected with military tradi-
tions. From the marble view point, one can see the famed
peaks of Nanda Kltat, Trishul, Nanda Devi, Dunagiri, Nilkantha,
Badrinath and Kedarnath.
Hill resort
Pauri is the headquarters of the Garhwal District. Once it
was the headquarters of unified Pauri District where it controlled
both Chamoli and Pauri Garhwal. The Commissioners and
D. I. G, Police headquarters are also here. Pauri presents
magnificent view of the Himalayan range. There are blue ranges
one behind the other and in between the snow clad mountains
,and Pauri, there is nothing to obstruct the grand view.
The seat of power
Next we landed at Srinagar which lies on Ihe bank of
Alaknanda. The view from the ridge while descending to Srinagar
valley is wonderful. Another picturesque view of Srinagar is
from the Kirtinagar P. W. D. Inspection House. I am not
aware how many times I have viewed this beauteous scene with
intense admiration. It is just unforgettable. The Ganga near
Srinagar normally remains enveloped in fog about which a story
is told narrating the escapades of Dhaurya Rishi."
Srinagar has been the seat of Panwar Icings since Ajaipal who
moved in here from Chandpurgarhi. The tradition narrates
that Sankracharya also halted here and liberated this place from
the tantric spell of Sri Yantra. He threw it in the river. This
small riverside town has seen many ups and downs during
Kumaonese attacks and Gurkha plunderings. The town was
badly mauled and damaged during the flood ravages of 1830 and
1970.