Landour Language School, Mussoorie

ploink

Ariel, I've read negative and positive reports on Dev Dar Woods (but hawaiiyogagrl's was the worst, I think, and has made me think whether I've made a mistake by booking a room there and whether I should try to book a room elsewhere), Rokeby (appeared the least attractive to me on the basis of IMers' reports), and Ivy Bank - circumstances change, people are different --> some people have a good time, some people have a bad time...? Same for the school? I guess it's still a good place to learn Hindi, and I guess not all the students study reports on Indiamike (or elsewhere on the internet) before they come to Landour to learn Hindi.


Just have to try to make the most of it, won't we?

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bijapuri

Ah yes, Dev Dar Woods . . . .

I really had to put on my best Pukkah Sahib show to get what I needed up there. First, I bragained hard, got a decent rate. Next, I was very specific what i thought a meal should be- entre, salad, Veg dish, rice, chapatti, etc. and held them to it. Had to insist on decent portions at first, too. I did a few inspections of their disgusting kitchen, and LOUDLY pointed out it's deficiencies, which did manage to clean up a bit.I expected free tea in afternoon, and got it. I spent 3 days cleaning out my room thoroughly, and expected them to help- they did. I got an electric heater and a lamp and strong light bulbs right away from a shop in Mussorie- heater was around rs, 500 I think. I filched a bit of extra furniture from other rooms when they were empty. And I demanded, and got, daily room cleaning.

It was clear to me that the meek would perish there!

The place is old and owned by one of the oldest families in Landour, the same folks that own the biggest store in Sisters Bazaar. They make their own Jam, which Ruskin Bond writes odes about in his books. It is indeed tasty, and is on offer there. I got on great with them. If I couldn't resolve issues myself, a word to them and it was done to my satisfaction. Dev Dhar made good pizza back then in their oven.

The staff back in 2005 lived in mortal fear of the main guy, I forget his name. He'd start off his day by yelling at them, then sucking up to me and the other guests. Failed, resentful alcoholic, you know the type . . .

All in all, it was "old India." Anyone wants to know what it was like before the 1990's- or the 1890's i reckon- stay at Dev Dar.

All of Landour, IMHO, it a big fat lie. It's someone elses (The RaJ) idea, and never got around to coming into its own. A giant rental with a renter's mentality, which some day will slip back into its rightful owners- the monkeys and mice.

That said, it's beauty is awesome. It's also dissapearing in them thar hills. Most hill stns these days are obnoxious, fumy, deforrested and polluted versions of the plains. Might as well just buy an AC unit and watch Animal Planet on Cable TV rather then bustle oneself out of the city only to find more city atop a hill. Not there, thank goodness. The solitude of walking in the morning mist, the rare tantalizing views of the high Himalayan peaks, the fresh air and bracing temperatures of August . . . I'll never forget it, and would return in a heartbeat.

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brownshouse

Having spent weeks at Landour myself, I have to say that there is something wrong with ALL the accommodation options close to the language school. DevDar woods is dark and cold and the food boring. Rokeby is (or rather was) a bit like a rundown 1950s boarding school with too many rules, and full of missionaries if you don't like that sort of thing, but it is very close to the school, has hot water, and the food is very good indeed. Ivy Bank has beautiful clean rooms but it is quite a walk up the hill in the morning, and the food is terrible. All of them get mildewed in the monsoon.

The school itself though is brilliant. I didn't even know Datt was a Christian, he doesn't proselytise at all, and all of the other teachers are Hindus or Muslims. It is no longer formally associated either with the church or with Woodstock School -- which by the way is itself no longer a missionary school, but simply an international school. The course is brilliant, and I disagree with those who didn't get on with the Urdu classes -- their very best Hindi teacher is their Urdu teacher, Yusuf, and I found his Urdu classes to be very good indeed. (Not such a good Urdu text book though). The Christian atmosphere, if you're sensitive to such things, comes from the other students, not the school.

The gossip about H---b doesn't surprise me at all -- he was such a sleazebag when I was there. He asked me out (in Hindi), even though he knew I was married, and he had a very bad reputation.

Can't speak highly enough of the Hindi tuition at Landour though, whether you're there for a week or three months.

Darryl

I'm interested to hear comments on accommodation too but I'd still like to get rundown of the current costs of the various components that make up the Hindi course at the Landour School if possible (see my post a few days back)...do you have any feedback hawaiiyogagrl..?

cheers
Darryl

hawaiiyogagrl

I think that you had the costs down correctly.
I suggest that you contact the school directly for the costs though, as they would be able to confirm. I lost my receipt, so I can't tell you for sure.
The text is pricey (1350), but it's possible to get one on loan or buy a used one. They were prepping a new book this summer, so the old one may not be used anymore.
The classes were all one on one, I took 4 a day and found that I could tailor the classes to fit my needs. I think it was great, except that I could have used more practice. Often I would learn a bit of grammer, then not get any review even if I asked for it. Certain teachers were way better than others for me.
I found Habib a great teacher and a great guy. Too bad he seemed like a perv to that other girl. It even seems out of character....

PeakXV

As long as you're not asked to drink any kind of Kool-Aid Punch .... then I'm cool with that type of crowd ...... for a little while anyway.

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We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Dilliwala

Hmmmm........total non-Indian, eh?

I really have tried hard to stay away from the discussions on Landour (Cantt) itself in this thread - one man's meat is another man's poison, as the saying goes, and everyone who's been there is entitled to their take on the place; and my opinion, though based on frequent visits over a much longer term, is also just that, an opinion. I do have more facts at hand, f'rinstance about the inn-keepers, their inns, their legal status, etc, but they don't materially change anything, and certainly don't alleviate the accom shortage, so no point putting them here. I know less about LLS becos I never studied there (didn't need to), but Datt is not a bad guy. (BTW, LLS has never been a part of Woodstock. Upto the seventies, Mussoorie was still full of missionaries, so church, school and language-school were all interlinked (after all, LLS was started 100 years or more ago to teach new missionaries Indian langs) - the missionaries ran all 3, but that was the extent of it).

But one point I will comment on - for anyone who thinks about Landour (Cantt) as having a total non-Indian feel (and doesn't like that), here's a recommendation - mix with the desis more. U won't find it quite so non-Indian then.

ploink

Their legal status? The innkeepers'? the inns'? Interesting...
But, I'll respect your decision not to write more on the topic.

Lugubert

"Inns"!? In a hurry, so I don't dig into my photos, but I think the name of the hotel cum restaurant was Clark's. They were proud to be the only place in M licensed to serve beer.

Dilliwala

Goodness gracious me, as we desis say - is the word 'inn' so hard to understand as referring to the GHs in question? I didn't mean it to be taken literally as places also providing booze.

ploink

Ha-ha. No, Dilliwala, I understood that you meant the guest houses and their owners - legal status, erm, hmm?


I've been thinking about possible weekend trips from Landour. Is it possible to make one weekend trip to Haridwar and another to Rishikesh? I think it is. I don't want to study every weekend! (Or maybe I should ponder these questions in the other Landour thread...)

Dilliwala

Yes, that'll be better to maintain continuity. I'll answer there.

ploink

Now, the website is up, but the email address isn't... ("Delivery Notification: Delivery has failed")

hawaiiyogagrl

Sometimes access to the internet in Landour is difficult. Just call them if it's urgent, or be patient.

ploink

Must be a server between Finland and Landour that doesn't like me - or my emails to the school. My friend in India is able to email the school!