Promtions:
Himachal tourism Development Corporation
Height:
Most of the town lies between 2,100 m and 2,300
m
Languages
spoken: Hindi. Also English, Punjabi and Pahari.
Religion:
Mostly Hindu. Also Sikh, Muslim and Christian
Medical
Facilities: Good
Telecommunications:
Worldwide links by the net, telephone and fax,
code: 0177
With
all its intricacies, history seems to have been
the mortar for every brick and stone that has
built Shimla. As the summer capital of British
India for well over a century it was the seat
of one of the most powerful governments in the
world. From its cedar-shaded heights, one fifth
of the human race was ruled and the decisions
made those decades ago affect our lives to the
present day.
The
town of Shimla rose in the nineteenth century
when the Gurkha Wars came to an end in 1815-16
and the victorious British decided to retain certain
pockets as military outposts and sanitaria. In
1822 the most rigorous of dandies and the greatest
of sticklers for form Captain Charles Pratt Kennedy,
Political Agent to the Hill States directed that
a house be built for him at the village whose
name is variously reported as Sheyamalaya Shumlah,
Shimlu and Shemlah. Kennedy House led the vanguard
of the hundred-odd houses that were to scatter
themselves by 1841 over every level or gently
inclining space. Lured by the climate and terrain
scores of European invalids began moving to the
station and the only stipulation of the local
chief who owned the land was that no tree be cut
or cattle slaughtered.
In
1864 the Viceroy, John Lawrence anointed Shimla
– then spelt Simla, as the summer capital
of British India. With Lawrence came the Viceroy
Council, the Imperial Secretariat, representatives
of the Indian princes and foreign envoys. As the
town grew to become the workshop of the Empire,
an awed visitor observed, every pigeonhole cradled
an embryo of a war or death. Despite the fact
that up to the time of Indian independence in
1947, Shimla officially remained only the summer
capital, yet the Government spent more time in
these hills than at the actual capital Calcutta
and later New Delhi. As the bearer of the Viceregal
sceptre this tiny pocket became the cynosure of
British Empire. Imperial grandeur, and all the
panoply and trappings of power came along for
the ride. And there was a popular local saying
that went, “You cannot sleep the nights in
Simla for the sound of grinding axes”. A
social whirl of parties, gymkhanas, balls, fancy
fairs and affaires du Coeur ensured that a heady
mixture of scandal and intrigue constantly wafted
through the town.
Quite
inevitably the freedom movement had a close connection
with Shimla. Ornithologist and former Civil Servant,
Allan Octavian Hume created the Indian National
Congress which spearheaded the struggle while
living in the town. Stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi,
Pandit Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Pandit Madan
Mohan Malviya and Maulana Azad regularly visited
Shimla. Major events that took place in the town
were the Simla Conference in 1942, the deliberations
of the Cabinet on and finally the decision to
partition India.
And
while the British Empire may have ceased to exist,
its echoes linger on in the architecture and ambience
of this hill resort. The elements of nostalgia
may be strong but Shimla also has a youthful vigour
in its pace. Its easy accessibility and several
other attractions have made it one of India’s
most popular hill resorts. There are many unforgettable
walks, day-excursions by the dozen, a variety
of convenient shopping and entertainment museums,
and ice-skating in winter. Shimla is the base
or the unwinding point for numerous exhilarating
routes to the state interior.
Today the town is distinctive for its variety
of architecture. It has one of the rare surviving
urban forests, made all the more unique, for its
species are temperate to alpine ones in what is
otherwise a tropical zone. And then Shimla’s
famous Mall offers one of the longest stretches
of pedestrian shopping in the world.
Within
and around Shimla, the public and private sector
offer an enormous range of accommodation that
range from modern to heritage hotels. Like satellites
placed around the centre, there are many resorts
in Shimla’s periphery that are full-fledged
destinations in their own right. These are located
at Mashobra, Naldehra, Kufri, Shilon Bagh and
Chail. En route by road from Kalka there are Parwanoo,
Dharampur and Kasauli.
Shopping
Handicrafts.
Shawls and tweeds. Fruit juice and jams. Honey.
Quality woollens. Silver jewellery. Rare books
and etchings. Contemporary pahari miniature paintings.
Metalware. Rugs and carpets. Handmade footwear.
Wooden items like walking sticks.
