Where to go to cool down from Delhi or Mumbai

I'm leaving in 10 days for India, arriving in Delhi. I will be in India for six months and will be in and out of Delhi and Mumbai as well as a few other places. As I have a completely open schedule, if I need a break from the heat or monsoons where would be a few good places to go to relax and cool down from Delhi or Mumbai? Ideally it would be great if it's a smaller community rather than a place full of other tourists, though that would work too. I don't mind hiring a car or flying so I suspect that opens up more options.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Obviously you would need to go to a hill-station. Since traveling by plane is an opotion for you, the distance does not really matter that much, does it? Hmm, to avoid the monsoon close to its beginning, it may be possible to go up-north for a time, while when monsoon has arrived there too, a way out would be to go to Tamil Nadu, like Kodaikanal or thereabouts.

It's hard to avoid the crowds anywhere in India, except in a village setting. So you'd need some input about attractive village sites in the hills.

Probably others can come up with ideas.

Is a meditative setting an option for you? Then a stay at this retreat place in a plantation near Kodai might be attractive. http://www.bodhizendo.org/

There are also other alternatives around Kodai which are less involving you in a formal way.

I would not rule out to go to Sri Lanka, if I were you. Nuwara Eliya has apretty cool climate in July and August
see chart here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuwara_Eliya
It (rather Colombo) is only a two-and-a-half hour flight from Mumbai, or one hour from Chennai.

The Sri Lankan Highlands is where Europeans suffering from the heat in India used to go.