A Winter146;s Tale

But one look at the 8216;Bonnie Doon8217;8212;a 50-year-old English bungalow for sale in Dehra Dun8212;and the Singhs were ready to pack their bags. The house was dingy and ill planned, like many of its vintage, but the couple knew it had good bones.

Since they moved in earlier this year, it has been lovingly restored: Windows have been opened up and and bay alcoves now house their collection of Tanjore art and Russian religious icons.

8216;8216;Retirement is not all it8217;s cracked up to be,8217;8217; Meena, who is in her early 60s, says passionately. 8216;8216;That8217;s why Dehra Dun, for us, is perfect. We have a host of good friends to meet in the evenings and enough to keep us busy during the day.8217;8217;

Until a decade ago, Chandigarh beckoned Dilliwallahs with its promise of an affordable lawn-and-bungalow lifestyle after retirement. Today, a 500-square-yard plot in the more desirable residential sectors of this capital of Punjab can set you back by almost a crore.

Dehra Dun, in contrast, is still eminently affordable. Land costs in certain areas of this once quiet town may have reached stratospheric levels up to Rs 50 lakh for 1,000 square yards but cheaper options abound.

It also has easy access to diverse and endless wilderness8212;the Himalayas to the north, the Shivaliks to the south, and Rajaji National Park and the Ganga and Jamuna rivers less than an hour away. But the capital of the newly formed state of Uttaranchal itself is a bustling town, connected to the national capital by rail, road and air.

Keeping busy is an important concern for retirees. Rajiv Ranjan 8216;Bunty8217; Chopra and his wife Shubh moved from Delhi to Dehra Dun some years ago. Certain that they didn8217;t want to live in Delhi, the Chopras, who are in their 60s, even considered moving to Bangalore.

8216;8216;We yearned for open space to lead a peaceful life. Both of us are fond of the mountains, and being a keen angler, I naturally wanted to come to Dehra Dun,8217;8217; says Chopra.

He is actively involved with the Clean Doon Society. When he8217;s not prodding some local babu into action, Chopra sketches and paints dreamy watercolours of local areas. Shubh, a talented knitter, has turned a hobby into a cottage industry. Employing over 80 local women, her Chandroti label produces patchwork throws, Afghans and scarves.

Other retirees seek slower and gentler rhythms of life than can be found within the city limits of Dehra. Tucked away in dense sal forests, across a dry riverbed, is the home of former companywallah and Test cricketer Michael Dalvi. His Shangri La, appropriately named 8216;Far Pavilions8217;, is a half-hour drive from the heart of town, and Dalvi uses it to raise 16 dogs, emus and his beloved Golden Pheasants, an endangered bird that he seeks to reintroduce to the wild.

The working farm provides employment to local villagers as well as saplings and seedlings free of cost. Dalvi has also started a Mahila Gramin Udyog, which provides local women with lemons and mangoes for pickling. He then markets the end product8212;delicious chutneys and pickles.

The desire to give back is a common sentiment, and Dehra Dun provides many opportunities. David Keeling, a former diplomat in the British Foreign Service, spent 40 years travelling the world before sinking roots in Dehra Dun.

He had met his Indian wife on his first posting to the country, in 1972. So the India connection was strong.

8216;8216;Delhi was never an option although both my wife and I have friends and family there, so Dehra Dun, which is nearby, was a good choice,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;In fact, I spend most of my time here, while my wife spends more time in our home in London.8217;8217;

A profusion of original Daniell etchings and lithographs of Indian scenes adorn Keeling8217;s home. He laments that ever since hotels have made acquiring these fashionable, prices have soared. Keeling now scours auction house catalogues via the Net and buys only when there is 8216;8216;something really irresistible8217;8217;.

But a dominant concern among older residents of this former mofussil town is the lack of state-of-the art medical facilities. Cardiac care, for instance, is practically non-existent. Most patients rush to Delhi or Chandigarh in emergencies.

The nearest modern facility for advanced medical care is the Himalaya Hospital, 25 kilometres away, on the way to Rishikesh. But as Rajbir Singh says, with a twinkle in his blue eyes, 8216;8216;Better to have a heart attack and die here in Dehra, rather than die of boredom somewhere else!8217;8217;