Thepoet — and there is only one, when a particular eastern state is concerned — says it rather well. If you look hard, you will find a treasure in the unlikeliest of forms right there in your backyard. He could have said this about Dagshai — a little mountain spot that’s almost in Delhi’s shadow. But what a treasure it is.

I had heard about Dagshai from some friends, but never thought of going there. Dagshai can’t be all that beautiful if it’s just a six-hour drive from Delhi, I used to tell myself. And then sometime last month, while on the lookout for new places to visit, I thought I ought to check this little town out for myself. So I led an army of 15 people, including three kids, to Dagshai in Himachal Pradesh.

It’s curious how not many have heard of Dagshai. Everyone knows Shimla — so much so that it turns into a Karol Bagh or a Bow Bazaar in the summer holidays. We all know and love Kasauli, which is a nice cantonment area some 340km from Delhi. But every time I tell people about Dagshai, they ask me, what shai?

I suppose there was a time I used to react in a similar way. But no longer. I have found a wonderful friend in Dagshai. It’s quiet, green and picturesque. It has no ugly buildings, no blaring horns, no loud tourists bumping into you on the mall. And, oh yes, there is no mall either.

Dagshai is a cantonment town — and has been left to itself because of that. The army forbids construction, so you have nothing but little cottages dotting the hilltop. At a height of 6,000ft, it is 330km from Delhi.

We decided against driving up, even though it’s a nice drive — in large parts on an eight-lane highway — from Delhi to Kalka. Dagshai is 28km from Kalka, really a hop, skip and jump. If you start early enough from the Capital, it’ll take you five hours or so to Kalka — and then an hour to Dagshai.

We, however, went by train. We boarded the Kalka Shatabdi from Delhi early in the morning, and were at Kalka, on the border of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, in four hours and twenty minutes. We took a taxi from the station — but had to, of course, stop en route at Giani’s Dhaba at Dharampur, which is almost a pilgrimage stop for those travelling to Himachal Pradesh.

When I first went there decades ago, it was a shack that offered wayfarers rotis and rajma. Now it’s a sprawling and flourishing dhaba, with delicious, fresh food, and a huge menu. A friend had told us to try out Giani’s lemon chicken. Usually, I stick to butter chicken in dhabas, for you can’t go wrong with chicken, butter, cream and tomatoes.

But we had the lemon chicken, which was mildly flavoured and good to eat, along with hot dal, zeera aloo and rotis. Then, suitably nourished, we hopped into the taxis, resuming our journey to the hills.

The road snaked its way to Dagshai, with pine, rhododendrons and pomegranate trees lining the way. We found the cottage we were going to spend three days in — called 18 Charing Cross — without a problem. The cottage is run by a Delhi resident called Arun Aggarwal — and you can call him and ask him if he has a room to spare for you. It is a lovely cottage with a view of the valley, and a sprawling field in front of it — big enough to play football if you wish to. From the cottage you can see the toy train from Kalka to Shimla puffing and tooting its way up the hill.

If you are in need of a spell of rest and silence, this is where you should be. All that you can do in Dagshai is go for long walks, and if you are bent upon seeing some local sights, you can visit its two churches, a cemetery and a quaint little post office.

It also boasts of an old jail with 28 cells, where white prisoners were kept during the British regime. The jail, sadly in a state of disrepair, has an adjoining area where prisoners used to be hanged.

Dagshai is bursting at the seams with history. The name itself has a slice of history attached to it. Legend has it that during the Mughal period, prisoners were sent to Dagshai and branded on their foreheads. That is how it got its name — from daag-e-shahi, or the mark of the royals.

But what interests me most about Dagshai is its link to the Irish war of independence. After the First World War, an Irish regiment of the British army was stationed in Solan, some 20km from Dagshai.

Sections of the regiment revolted in support of the Irish independence movement, and 70 prisoners from the regiment were taken to Dagshai and court-martialled. 14 were given life sentences, but their ring leader, James Daly, was executed there.

For some 50 years, Daly lay buried in Dagshai. Then, in the seventies, his remains were taken back to Ireland, and he was buried in his homeland with full military honours. The Irish, who have a song for every occasion, wrote a little marching song for Daly and Dagshai. It goes like this:

And the drums they were a beating time/ While the pipes did loudly play/ When Daly died, the drums did beat/ That morning in the Dagshai heat/Now we’ll beat the drums no more.

Imagine, somewhere in Ireland, they are singing a song about Dagshai, and back home, it does not even feature on the district map of Solan. Dagshai, truly, has dropped off the map.

Ready reckoner

How to get there: By road from Delhi, or take the train to Kalka. From Kalka, take a taxi or the toy-train to Dharampur (4kms away) or Kumarhatti (1.5km).

Where to stay: Get in touch with A. Aggarwal (0-98100-76048).

How expensive: A couple may have to pay Rs 2000 for a night, with all meals thrown in.

Distance: 330 kms from Delhi, 28 from Kalka.