[dileep]

Drive to Kalsi, Uttarakhand to see Asoka's Rock Edict circa 250 BC

As a student of Ancient Indian history and having read and re-read Romila Thapar’s ‘Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas’, Nayanjot Lahiri's new work on Asoka and a beautiful work of fiction ‘Asoca - A Sutra’ by fellow Doonite – Irwin Allan Sealy, I was really ashamed of not having visited the site even though it lay within arm’s reach.

I think the visit was pending the arrival of the new Jimny and within a few days of the AllGrip (no we do not need it for Kalsi, I just love that the Jimny doesn’t wear big badges on it's arms) we were winding our way through Dehradun’s weekday traffic heading south-west to reach the Chakrata Road. A packed lunch of vegetable pulao (or tahri as we call it), cucumber and a couple of bottles water lay in a bag on the backseat.

Kalsi is about 50 odd km from the city of Dehradun and there are two ways to getting there – one is an all highway drive to Herbertpur and thence onto Vikasnagar and Kalsi. The other is a narrower way called Langha Road through villages and along a canal (see attached map), which turns off from the main highway around Sahaspur. This is the route we took.



A bit about the significance of Kalsi from Romila Thapar, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, OUP 1963, pp 231, 232

“The town of Kalsi lies at the junction of the Tons and Yamuna rivers… Recent excavations at the site have revealed a brick altar inscribed with Sanskrit verses placed almost opposite the rock inscription. The altar marked the site of the fourth asavamedha of King Silavarman during the third century AD, indicating thereby the site was of some significance during that period. The section of the Ganges plain lying between the foot-hills of the Himalayas and Delhi has always been a strategic area…. Kalsi being in the lower hills of the Himalayas was possibly the controlling centre of this area.”


I won’t bore you with more history about the edict and Asoka himself, but those who might be interested could use the links below for some basic information –

https://garhwalpost.in/emperor-ashok...down-the-ages/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_edicts_of_Khalsi


Much has been said about driving the Jimny – but it’s really a super cool car; no pretentions; no hassles; small so that it can go un-noticed (really – no there are fair number of eye-balls that follow the Jimny – but in a sweet way; smiles; nice expressions – even children seem to love it). The Langha Road is also as cute as the Jimny. Tiny villages dot the road, fields growing paddy and some sugarcane, lush green surroundings and at a distance - the Himalayas.

Rest to some photos mostly taken by my companion who is a much better photographer than I am.

Langha Road with lovely views


I can see my biceps getting stronger with the steering of the Jimny


More views


At the parking. All empty since it was week day


Entrance to the ASI enclosure


The Lion Capital of Asoka


This dome was built much later to protect the Rock Edict


The Rock Edict - Quartzite monolith etched with Asoka's edicts
How did they find this huge rock more than 2200 years back?


There are a lot of trees and grassy patches with benches in the shade - nice spots to cool off on this August afternoon.
The Yamuna river flows as we look towards the east.



The ASI inscription written by a senior archaeologist


Winding her way back to the Jimny


We were not hungry enough to enjoy our tiffen under those beautiful trees.
So we decided to drive back to Dehradun and stop at a jungle patch a bit before Premnagar.

Found a juice walla


And washed down our tahri with it.
We carry our own steel plates and spoons. No disposable stuff.


Thanks for reading.

[Kkumar]

Nice travelogue. How often do you use the Jimny, is it your primary ride. What were your reasons to pick Jimny and did it tick all your boxes.

[ARAY]

A very well composed thread with a lot of details covering the nooks and corners of the region and you have explored. Packed with equally brilliant pictures and these are the secret ingredients of a memorable road trip.

Glad you shared it with all of us.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by dileep

[b]The other is a narrower way called Langha Road through villages and along a canal (see attached map), which turns off from the main highway around Sahaspur. This is the route we took.

Nice travelogue.

I think this is the route that goes through all the Universities (Uttaranchal University, GEIMS, Subharti Hospital etc). Recently, visited this place and Google took me to “sabzi mandi” (vegetable market) area starting from around GEIMS via a Tea estate. Its a beautiful drive and also the road that goes to UPES (Petroleum University) and then loops back to the same place via jungle. There will be many places to click good photos with your Jimny there if you visit early morning and can afford to park on the road to click photos without worrying for the traffic jams.

[dileep]

Originally Posted by Kkumar

Nice travelogue. How often do you use the Jimny, is it your primary ride. What were your reasons to pick Jimny and did it tick all your boxes.

We use the Jimny almost everyday.
It is our only car. We also have a scooter to access the narrow old parts of Dehradun and run short distance errands.

I've written down some of my experiences of how we came to the decision of buying the Jimny in the 2 posts below. Please have a look. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to help.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5588934 (Maruti Jimny Review)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5593729 (Maruti Jimny Review)

Originally Posted by ARAY

A very well composed thread with a lot of details covering the nooks and corners of the region and you have explored. Packed with equally brilliant pictures and these are the secret ingredients of a memorable road trip.

Thank you. I was not sure if this kind of short travelogue would be of any use to members.

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Nice travelogue.

I think this is the route that goes through all the Universities (Uttaranchal University, GEIMS, Subharti Hospital etc). Recently, visited this place and Google took me to “sabzi mandi” (vegetable market) area starting from around GEIMS via a Tea estate. Its a beautiful drive and also the road that goes to UPES (Petroleum University) and then loops back to the same place via jungle.

The route you mention is different than the one we took, though I'm sure it meets up with the Langha Road at some point. I've been on that road once when going to meet a friend who lives in Pondha.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by dileep

Drive to Kalsi, Uttarakhand to see Asoka's Rock Edict circa 250 BC

Thanks for sharing this. I visit Chharba occasionally (closer to Horawala), and though I've heard of the existence of this Ashokan relic, never made the time to visit this place (about 5-6 km from where I visit). Will surely take out a bit of time to visit the place when I'm in the vicinity next time.

[dileep]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Will surely take out a bit of time to visit the place when I'm in the vicinity next time.

Come by and let us know when you're here. Maybe we could plan a drive and a picnic together.

There's also Silavarman's 3rd century asvamedha altar, a brick structure sitting in the middle of a mango grove which is in the vicinity.