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SHIMLA, the beautiful hill station on the Himachal
Range of the Himalayas, has always been like a diamond
of a damsel's necklace. It is rightly named "Queen of
all hill stations". Shimla has not only been of
importance after independence but it was also like a
second capital of the Imperial Subcontinent.
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Kufri (
Snow Point) |
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An enjoyable drive through forests and small villages
leads to this small but popular station.The Nature Park
here is a great attraction . A short trek leads upto the
Mahasu peak - with breaking views. |
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Chail
Palace |
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When
Bhupinder Singh ,Maharaja of Patiala , was expelled from
Shimla - the 'summer capital ,'of the British in India -
he decided to create his own capital for hot months .
the little village of Chial was perfect . It lay
surrounded by magnificent deodar forests , Shimla was in
direct vision and most important, the hill of Chial at
2226m was somewhat higher than British- controlled
Shimla.
Today ,the Maharaja`s creation can be experienced by
everyone . And for Himachal Tourism, who now own the
gracious mansion, every visitor is royalty.Here is a
resort in in the true sense of the world:A beautiful
palace with ornate furniture, charming cottages,
delightful log huts, thick forests and quite walks, a
'lovers hill', an orchard of its own, elegant lawns,
badminton and lawn tennis, billiards and even a
children's park. Each regally appointed room, each
quaint cottage and every warm log hut offers a memorable
holiday. Whether you are on a honeymoon and in search of
seclusion or wish to organise a conference and demand
all facilities, chail has it all.
Then, there is good sight seeing and the possibility of
some fishing and trekking . Chail also has the world's
highest cricket pitch and polo ground. |
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From
the Windsor Castle to the insignificant village in the
Punjab reigned the Queen for over a century. The "widow
of Windsor", after the death of her consort Prince
Albert led a lonely and secluded life .
In 1814, the Nepalese King brought the first war when he
attacked Sikkim. The Sikkim's ruler asked for help from
the East India Company and during this conflict the
Britishers came to know of the beauty of Darjeeling and
accidentally discovered the thickly wooded abode of
Goddess Shymla, a synonym of Goddess Kali. The prime
settlers of this village were the worshipers of Shakti
and later these people spread around in the neighboring
hills and built small temples doting the hill sides,
peaks, ridges and valleys which came to be known by the
name of the Goddess herself like Taradevi, Sipur, Mahasu,
etc.
Little did these hillsmen know that their unknown and
remote village Shymla will later become the seat of
Imperial Empire in the Subcontinent and will be named
SHIMLA. The name SHIMLA came into being as the
Britishers were unable to pronounce the name Shymla.
The first Britishers settlers took this place with its
cool healthy climate as a tent village where heat-weary
British civil and military officers came to rest in the
arduous process of empire building .
The year 1822 was an eventful year in the history of
this salubrious spot ------ a young officer, Major
Kennedy built the first permanent residence for himself
and named it KENNEDY HOUSE.
Young banished officers from Britian were the ones who
found their way to the thriving SHIMLA. In order to
start a new ,better substitute life these officers began
to gay around on long picnics, sports, riding etc.
Everything ended with a gay party and impromptu dance.
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In
1847, when Punjab was annexed to the British, Lord
Dalhousie entrusted John Lawrence to write the first
report on the Punjab Administration. Perplexed and
harried he came to SHIMLA where he met the Knight of the
Pen in India Sir Richard Temple. Thus the first report
on British Administration was penned down here . In
1857, came the revolt of the sepoys or the first War of
Independence but there was hardly a ripple in SHIMLA and
it went on with its calm, serene and merry life. The
first Viceroy of India, Lord Canning came to SHIMLA
while retracing his steps after completing his journey
of reconciliation. He left India in 1862, broken by his
wife's death, himself a dying man.
The great debate on the bill which saved the cultivators
and recognised the claims of the landlords of Punjab
took place on 18th October 1868 in SHIMLA, thus the
importance of SHIMLA began to rise. The capital Calcutta
hot and sticky did not appeal to the Governor - General
and the later Viceroys. So, in due course SHIMLA was
named the Summer Capital of the British Empire in
Subcontinent.
In 1870, the then Viceroy, the dashing Irish Earl of
Mayo set about having a beautiful and elegant residence
for himself: The Vice regal Lodge. He was assassinated
on Feburary 8,1872 by a convict on his visit to the
penal settlement of the Andamans.
The turretted splendiferous Lodge awaited his arrival,
and received the banker Viceroy Lord Northbrook
brilliant but colourless. SHIMLA society had now begun
to erupt with beautiful, elegant cottages and Georgian
style manor houses. At this time Summer festivities
consisted of balls at the Vicergeal lodge, the residence
of the governor of Punjab and at the estate of
Commander-in -Chief` in the evening when dance and
revelry went on till late night. In the day there were
polo and tennis tournaments followed by an evening at
the Gaiety Theatre, built to look like the old Garrick
in London. Cricket matches were held at Annandale and
Daddy Grace's exploits in the game were talk of the town
both in SHIMLA and London. Gymkhana was held in the
spacious playgrounds twice a week.
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His
Excellency Lord Lytton came here at the age of 44. He
was an informal person and he shocked the British
society in SHIMLA by casually lighting up a cigar
between the courses of dinner. He also shocked the
British Cabinet by his willfulness towards the Afghans.
In 1876 Atta Muhammad, British agent to Kabul, visited
SHIMLA to discuss the Afghan questions but better
councils did not prevail. He was dismissed with gifts
and presents for the Amir who was not to be fooled.
In
1877, on the first day of the year, Lord Lytton
proclaimed at a darbar in Delhi that the Queen had
assumed the title of "Empress of India". She had assumed
this title at the request of Disraeli, this gave her a
new earnest in life and she left the Castle of Windsor
to go to her relieved subjects in London.
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The
occasion was provided by Lord Ripon himself with the
Ilbert Bill, its political precipitation was the INDIAN
NATIONAL CONGRESS.
Overlooking the Ridge , near the Church is a medium
sized gabled cottage which belonged to the retired
British Civil Servant Mr. A.O. Hume, the founder of the
Indian National Congress in 1855. From here along with
three other liberal English civil servants, Hume
launched the fledging body---- the membership was 70 and
the first session was held in December of that year at
Bombay. Among the first Presidents was the famed
Theosophist Annie Besant and among the first to give it
priase was the Viceroy Lord Dufferin. Hume's house is at
present the Head-quarters of the SHIMLA Theosophist
Society.
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The
year 1903 came with the proclamation of the accession
and coronation of King Edward VII. This was the time
when SHIMLA really became glamorous as the Summer
Capital of the Imperial Empire. The Mall, the
fashionable shopping center, took on the look of the
Pall Mall and Regency Row in London. The Mall closed to
all but a handful of Indians from top families of the
aristocracy, was a riot of color of the rickshaws and
their pullers, coupled with the elegant dresses of their
occupants. The air was filled with the fragrance of
expensive perfumes from Coty, Channel or other deluxe
salons of Bond Street and London's Mayfair.
On Sundays, the Viceroy rode in his magnificent
equipage, followed by the Vicerine and aides with their
wives in their own rickshaws. This magnificent
procession, escorted by the Viceroy's guards, moved from
the Viceregal Lodge towards the elegant and beautiful
Church on the Ridge. The slowly moving procession
achieved the admiration of the Sunday morning
worshipers. The evenings were marked by dances at the
Devico's Ball Room.
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Lord
Curzon did not confine himself to SHIMLA alone but on
many occasions made it a point to visit the lovely
places offered by the mountains sojourn. He had named
his youngest daughter Lady Alexandra, Naldehra after the
beautiful sylvan spot Naldehra.
Taking personal interest he got a narrow -gauge railway
line built which linked cool and calm SHIMLA to the
burning hot plains of Delhi through Kalka. After almost
two years of efforts of the workers the railway line was
laid through 103 tunnels for the TOY TRAIN, the longest
mountain train in India, in the year 1904. The train was
inaugurated by the Viceroy himself. At Barog, 37Km from
Kalka, is the longest tunnel of about 1Km and before
entering this tunnel the train halts here so that the
travelers can enjoy a lavish lunch.
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Mahatma
Gandhi came to SHIMLA after being released from jail by
Lord Irwin, as the darling of the masses Jwaharlal Nehru
had boycotted the Simon Commission and called for PURAN
SWARAJ or complete independence, in 1927. In SHIMLA
Gandhi ji stayed at Summer Hill at the residence of
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur daughter of, the deposed ruler of
Punjab, Maharaj Dalip Singh. The Rajkumari was one of
the first aristocrats to join the lead of the Mahatma
and her house, a beautiful Georgian manor, became the
venue of predawn prayer meetings where people came after
traveling for around 5miles or more to participate.
Among the elegant houses of SHIMLA were the houses built
by top Indian Princes. The Mall was ablaze by the
colorful uniforms of the rickshaw pullers and their
rickshaws. SHIMLA was never gayer. The Punjab Government
shifted its summer capital to Chhota SHIMLA. By the time
World War II broke out, SHIMLA was full packed to
capacity with aristocracy.
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SHIMLA,
the beautiful hill station of India and the proud
capital of a proud state, finds it difficult to wear an
official look, filled as it is with holiday crowds that
come savour the delights of the year - round vacation
spot.
At one time the base ridge of SHIMLA had the thickest
forest of the area. The vast leveled ground of the ridge
is the famous evening rendezvous spot-- The Scandal
Point, it is also the meeting place of the Ridge and the
Mall.
Scandal Point has a story behind getting this unusual
name :
It is said that the spot was named after the scandal
between a handsome and dashing Indian Prince and the
daughter of a top British officer, member of the
Viceroy's household. The story goes that the first
meeting of the two love birds was at this point. The
girl came from the Ridge |
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