Cycle of Life

An abandoned mansion Radha Palace, atop a hill over looking Mussourrie

While ambling around Mussourrie recently I came across this abandoned derelict large mansion, called Radha Palace. The roof of the palace had been demolished, the doors and windows taken out, its fine Chinese tiles vandalized and the garden light posts broken.  The lawns of the palace give a breathtaking view of the the Mussourrie town on one side and the Doon valley on the other. It quiet and peaceful and in good weather, one can spend hours listening to the chirping of the birds and enjoying the views all around.

The mansion is located on one of the highest points in Mussourrie, over looking the town. It is at a point higher than the palace Maharaja of Kapurthala, so I imagine the person who built it was a man of some substance and stature.

The only residents of the mansion are goats owned by people living in the outhouse of the mansion. Ironically the outhouse, though in poor shape, is fully inhabited and teeming with life and activity. Occasionally a stray tourist walks up to this mansion or cadets from the ITBP academy below undergoing training come for field exercises making  use of  the large open space around the mansion. Otherwise it is largely ignored. 

While contemplating the views around the palace, I dwelled upon the cycle of life. A palace of such grandeur just fades away, perhaps because of a small difference of opinion, an ego problem between the owners or the heirs. Such a palace which could become the finest located hotels in Mussourrie lies abandoned and derelict. Someone or some people just did not feel it necessary to carry a grand legecy forward.

But life is like that. Everything in this world, people. places, organizations, nations go through the cycle of life. Somethings have a very large cycle of life, seem to carry on and continue to have connect and relevance. Other things just get ignored and abandoned. Sometimes to be rediscovered later. Or may be never rediscovered at all.