SHIMLA:
'If one was told that monkeys had built it, one could only say, 'What wonderful monkeys - they must be shot in case they do it again'. (Lutyens 1912)
Another very early 6am start from the Meridien Hotel to catch the 7.30 train to Kalka en route to Shimla.
Everything went well at first and after a short wait at the station we boarded the train. Our seats were reserved and comfortable, and the waiters soon arrived with flasks of steaming hot water to make our breakfast tea. But progress was very slow and the train made many lengthy stops, seemingly unscheduled and in the middle of nowhere. After about an hour we stopped again and the message filtered through that we were in fact only about 7 miles from Delhi and the driver was having to stop so often because as a result of the pollution he wasn't able to see far enough to safely drive the train! We had no choice but to sit it out however long it took to reach Kalka. We were assured that the Toy Train would not leave without us, and the waiters soon arrived with lunch.
Over 7 hours after leaving Delhi we duly boarded the Toy Train at Kalka. It was now late afternoon and only about 2 hours till sunset but still time enough to enjoy the 60 mile Himalayan ascent, and at least some of the 20 railway stations, 102 tunnels, 864 bridges and 919 stunning curves through the rugged mountains, lush pine forests, waterfalls, valleys and picture-perfect hill stations along the way promised? But it soon became apparent that this part of the journey was to be a complete disaster. Not only would most of the five and a half hours on the train be in the dark, but it would in fact be a much longer journey as the pollution was making it impossible for this driver to see. And that's before taking into account the state of the train we had been put on: no plush seats here but cramped wooden benches and over-flowing hole-in-the-floor toilets already stinking before we even left the station!! Rudy made some hasty phone calls and managed to come up with a plan for drivers from Shimla to pick us and all our luggage up in a fleet of cars from the next stop. Incredibly, some of the group complained that they were not prepared to forego the train trip but People Power won out, the majority of us making it clear we were going to take up Rudy on his offer!
A fleet of vehicles met us at the next station, we were divided into groups of 3 and introduced to our driver and set off for Shimla via a nearby service area with toilets. Then the fun began!! The drivers were brilliant and knew the road intimately BUT speed limits and overtaking rules were not in their list of essential driving protocols. Terrifying enough on a straight multi-lane road: but in the dark on a single carriageway of endless hairpin bends and precipitous drops on both sides and most vehicles being large, horn-blaring lorries .......
Eventually we arrived at the Shimla Oberoi Cecil Hotel 16 hours after leaving our Delhi hotel.
HISTORY:
Named after its patron goddess, Shamla Devi, the tiny village that stood on this spot was 'discovered' by a team of British surveyors in 1817. Glowing reports of its beauty and climate gradually filtered to the imperial capital, Calcutta, and within 2 decades the settlement had become the Subcontinent's most fashionable summer resort. The annual migration was finally rubber-stamped in 1864 when Shimla, by now an elegant town of mansions, churches and cricket pitches, was declared the Government of India's official hot-season HQ. With the completion of the Kalka-Shimla Railway in 1903, Shimla lay only 2 days by train from Delhi. Before this the only way to get to the Shimla hill station was on the so-called Cart Road: a slow, winding trail trodden by lines of long-suffering porters and horse-drawn tongas.
Its growth continued after Independence, becoming the capital of Punjab and later, in 1966, state capital of Himachal Pradesh.
THE VICEREGAL LODGE:
Our first port of call was the Viceregal Lodge, the summer seat of British government until the 1940s and today home to the Institute of Advanced Studies.
Designed by Henry Irwin and built in the Jacobethan style during Lord Dufferin's tenure as Viceroy, the construction of the Lodge was begun in 1880 and completed in 1888. It stands on the summit of Observatory Hill, the second highest point of Shimla, which was flattened and levelled in preparation for the construction.
No expense was spared and its notable features include a vast wine cellar, a room for empty suitcases (!) and an indoor tennis court. It was also filled with the latest technology of the Victorian era. A complex piping system provided both hot and cold water and gathered rain water to be stored under the lawns in front of the house. Hidden in the grounds was a large steam generator which provided the lodge with electric lighting, the first such building in Shimla.
We had plenty of time to walk around the exterior of this impressive mock-Tudor stately home with attractive grounds and gardens but unfortunately very few of the state rooms are open to public view as it is now changed into the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies but we did see an exhibition of rare photos showcasing the building's significance during both the independence of India movement and the founding of modern India. During the independence movement Mahatma Gandhi visited the Viceroy at his residence in 1922 and later Lord Willingdon in 1931. In 1945 the Lodge was the venue for the Shimla Conference which proposed the Wavell Plan for Indian self-government. The plans were rejected by the Muslim representatives and this meeting, as seen by historians, was the last opportunity for a united India. Consequently, in 1947 partition discussions which created India and Pakistan were held at the Lodge.
HANUMAN STATUE:
Jakhoo Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Hanuman. A giant vermillion-pink 108-feet-high idol of monkey-god Hanuman was unveiled there on 4 November 2010. hundreds of rhesus macaques loiter around there hoping for gifts of prasad (temple-blessed food offerings) or any
loose objects they can snatch. In Darjeeling we had been warned about feeding the monkeys but they were far more numerous, vicious and dangerous in Shimla where they are revered and hence not controlled.
GAIETY THEATRE:
As part of our guided tour of Shimla we were taken into the Gaiety Theatre and shown around.
This remarkable 320-seater theatre, named after the Gaiety Theatre in London, was designed by Henry Irwin and opened in 1877. The 5-storeyed building was originally intended to be the Town Hall as part of a bigger grandiose civic centre and contained a theatre, library, ball room, police station, Masonic Hall, hall for public meetings, 2 reading rooms, 2 retiring rooms, drawing room, bar and card room. Unfortunately in 1912 it was found to have been constructed with poor quality stone and hence structurally unsafe and a complete demolition was planned, but eventually only the upper floors needed to be demolished. Between 2004 and 200 it was lovingly restored.
When we visited Shimla in November 2017 the 111-year-old half-timbered Tudor style Town Hall, constructed by Scottish architect James Ransome, on the Mall, was in its third year of refurbishment, and embroiled in a bitter dispute between the municipal authorities and the Tourist Board who they suspected of planning to take the building over once the work had been completed.
Wherever we walked in Shimla we could see Christ Church, situated on the Ridge, the second oldest church in north India. Built in the neo-Gothic style in 1857 to serve the largely Anglican British community, it was regularly attended by the Viceroy and members of the British aristocracy, the Viceroy's pew at the front of the church being clearly marked.
By the time we came to the end of our first day in Shimla many of us in the group were feeling wearied, not by our time in Shimla but by the fast and relentless pace of the tour thus far, and suggested to Rudy that perhaps we could opt out of the second day's planned events. As ever, he rose to the occasion, organising a half day trek for those willing to go. Most of us stayed in the hotel and took the opportunity to swim and enjoy the sunshine in the morning and then walk back to Shimla later in the day to get our bearings and have a more relaxed look at the place.
As luck would have it, it was also the day of India-wide municipal elections which gave us a chance to observe the workings of the world's largest democracy in action. It was a warm and sunny day, and we saw that the chance to vote was a time that brought out families and groups of friends to enjoy one another's company, an ice-cream or just the chance to sit and people-watch. There were political posters aplenty and many people handing out election materials, all in a very convivial and friendly atmosphere. Undoubtedly elsewhere in India where ethnic, religious and economic tensions were closer to the surface the atmosphere might well have been less relaxed but the desire to use their democratic right to vote was obviously very important to many people and not that dissimilar to what we would have observed in the UK.
We strolled along the Mall past numerous shops, cafes and restaurants which had all reopened in the late afternoon after the polling stations had closed.
The main post office , one of India's oldest, occupies a half-timbered 1882 building formerly known as Conny Cottage.
The State Library was built in 1860 in timber and stone with a sloping roof and wide wood-panelled windows, and houses a collection of 7,000 books.
Along the Mall is a statue of Indira Gandhi, the first woman Prime Minister of India and daughter of Nehru (a woman whose controversial political reputation is still under review).
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| The Ridge |
No visit to Shimla is complete without time at Scandal Point where the Mall meets Ridge Rd,
The name comes from the supposed elopement in 1892 of the daughter of the British Viceroy with the Maharaja of Patiala. The Maharaja was banished from entering Shimla by the British authorities and retaliated by setting himself up with a new summer capital at the hill resort of Chail.
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