The name Mussoorie is derived from the Cororiana Nepalensis shrub whose vernacular name is mansur or mansuri. Initially there were only shepherds whose animals grazed on this shrub that ran amok over the hills and which gave the town its name.  The present town stands on what formed part of the Garhwal State. Mussoorie came into being in 1822, when Captain Young of the English Army and his companion Shore, the Superintendent of Doon, explored the present site and laid the foundation to this hill resort. Soon Young built his large residence Mullingar, and moved in as the Commandant of Landour. Travellers those days, either walked up, rode, or were carried in either a jhampan (reserved for heavy weights) or a dandy for lighter mortals. The jhampan was meant to be a bed or an easy chair, while the dandy resembled a stretcher!  It was not long before everyone realised the potential that the city had, with its cool clear weather and its remote setting. By 1836, over a hundred bungalows could be spotted all over the region.  Bohle, the pioneer of brewing in India, set up the Old Brewery here at Barlowganj in 1830, while in 1832, Colonel Everest, (after whom the world's highest mountain is named), built his residence and office at Mackinnon Park, parts of which are still in existence today. Bohle's bullock cart train from Rajpur to Mussoorie was a famous goods carrier in its time. His tomb is one of the most impressive tombs in the Camel Back Cemetry. The first church known as Christ Church was built in 1836. Gradually more and more Englishmen as well as Indian Nawabs started to set up house in the vicinity of the town.  As the hills gained popularity by 1827, the Government established a convalescent depot for European soldiers at Landour. Soon the Landour cantonment was hosting parties and fetes by the dozen. The present site of the LSBNAA academy was where the Charleville Hotel once stood. Mussoorie has even been associated with Charles Dickens. The writer published his magazine Household Words in the 1850s. His correspondent in India was novelist and newspaper proprietor John Lang, who spent the last years of his life in Mussoorie.  Visiting Mussoorie in 1926, the famous traveller, Lowell Thomas, wrote: “There is a hotel in Mussoorie where they ring a bell just before dawn so that the pious may say their prayers and the impious get back to their own beds.” Chather Singh Negi, an employee, who’s worked for over 60 years in the hotel, confirms the statement and says: “The hotel used to employ an old, short-sighted waiter to ring the separation bell… It guaranteed absolute privacy to the guests!” Of course, soon other boarding houses followed the example of The Savoy and introduced their own separation-bell, which was rung at four every morning.  During the Second World War, the British and the American military officers, on leave, came up for amusement to the hills and found it in ample measure at the Savoy. It is said that the sale of whisky used to be so high that Lincoln would have all the empty bottles from the previous day’s sale, collected and brought down to the cellar. Here he would coax every last drop of scotch from each bottle. Miraculously, he would have two full bottles ready the next day for house guests!  The size of the luxury suites staggers casual visitors to the place. I am told that one day, when the hotel was full, an elderly couple were shown the bridal suite. “What will we do with this?” the old man exclaimed. “Sir! If you’re shown the ballroom, you don’t have to dance!” the manager said.  Now the hotel is being run by Anand Jauhar, who says that his father bought the complex in 1946. “Since then, it’s been a family-run hotel. We try to keep it the way it was earlier. Often visitors request a more compact place, and then we send them to the new match-box-variety rooms!”