After the Rain in the hills
Today was a sunny day after the rain in the hills and for the first time, I realized that my house is facing the right direction. Last night was a night full of thoughts floating in my mind. The sleep was away and my fingers kept clicking the keyboard of the computer to record another day of my life. In the morning when I got up, the sun had already appeared in the sky and the sunrays had swept across the valley.
Full Day Heritage Walks and Forest Walks in Shimla
Shimla Heritage Walk is all about the stories of the making and existence of Shimla. You will be led by your local explorer through the heritage zone of this lovely hill station showing most of the architectural sites of Shimla. All these buildings hold amazing stories of the past in their bosoms. Practically once you have finished the walk you will realize that Shimla is a kind of museum of architecture and it is not monotonous.
Going to a Multiplex for the first time – Wow
There was a time when as students, in Rohtak, we the boys bunked classes and treated ourselves with some new releases in Liberty, Sheela, Sangeet, Palace, or Ashoka. And if it was of my favorite supper start Amitabh Bachchan, I was the first one to go and watch his movies. Who had the courage to say anything wrong about his performance in my presence? His worst movies also won him our silent appreciation. Many times, I went to see his old hits also, all alone, which were released repeatedly.
A Walk to Remember
I used to walk a lot even when I was in Delhi. Every evening, when I was jobless, I would walk to Fatehpuri which was a two kilometers distance away, to teach a young boy. He remained my good student for two years. Then I found a job with a travel company in South Delhi and stopped giving tuition.
Avoid doing this while in Shimla hills as a tourist
Shimla is a city of decorum and those who play with it, have to go through tough times. The strict rules of this nearly two hundred years old British Himalayan Town keep this town graceful and elegant. Also due to the rules and regulations, it is able to maintain its ambiance, its history, and its glory of its past. The Gora Sahibs and the Mem Sahibs who lived here and spent a long time of their lives here held it like a baby and brought it up like a child. They left a number of marks of their presence in this British town and taught us to keep it as they kept it.
Mall Road is The High Street of Shimla
You enter the hills from Kalka and after two hours you get the first glimpse of Shimla to your right side. You are confused if you are at the right place or not because most part of the hill slopes if covered with buildings and the old part of the town is almost hidden in the clusters. Houses on houses are running from the bottom to the top of the hill hiding the actual character of the town. You heard of the Mall Road of the town and that is not visible anywhere.
Annandale Ground in Shimla during the Raj
The natives had never thought of those types of celebrations. And now those people were there with the band ‘Puritani’ and ‘Masaniello’. To enjoy more in their own way and style they managed to get Salmon fish from Scotland and sardines from the Mediterranean. In the hills which had never seen anyone from outside since they were created by nature and the area which never expected people from overseas to arrive there and change the entire style of living.
Carey and his wife introduced first journal and first school in Shimla
William Henry Carey was born in Indonesia in 1817 and then was taken to London for some years. He spent some part missed his boyhood day in London and missed his childhood always. The habit of getting up early morning came to him from the watchman in London used to arrive in the lane outside his house holding his lantern at four in the morning to give a call.
Old Houses in the hills are falling apart
I manage to reach them to enter. They are interesting for a writer to find a story. There could be a wild animal inside. A flying fox, some stray cats, or a panther can easily find shelter in these houses. Sometimes a dog with her pups starts living there in peace or some birds make their nests. These houses also attract honeybees to set up their hives. Insects and wildflowers also find their way to such ruins and sometimes they become hideouts for drug addicts or smugglers.
Penelope Chetwode – the woman who traveled from Shimla to Kullu on mule
The most terrible experience was when at a Rest House in Aut in Kullu Valley a young India Forest Officer, on seeing a white woman traveling alone intended to sleep with her. She told him that she was the age of his mother and the young officer went away.
Shimla is known for its Victorian buildings and architecture
Shimla was set up as a Hill Station by the British. They accepted the challenge of carving a town out of nothing. It was the same as a painter paints an image on a plain canvas with his imagination. They initiated with a thatched roof house that was removed after two years. Then Captain Kennedy built a permanent house or a ‘pucca’ house by using the local material, wood, stone & mud. How long did he take to complete his house is not known but he definitely used local labor and used his own skills and ideas to design the house.
Meeting with Writers in Shimla is a great experience
People are ready to donate money for making temples but no one spends in creating libraries. They like to spend on expensive clothes but how much do they spend on books. I see people wearing torn jeans and to the matter of surprise to me, this torn pair of jeans sells expensive than the correct one.
A transporter who carried the British Government to the hills
He decided to become a transporter. He purchased a few pairs of bullocks and carts and began to provide transport to the British officers. That was the requirement of the hour and his enterprise was accepted with open arms.
In the next five years his business widened and in 1864 when Shimla was officially declared as the Summer Capital, Hukami Ram’s firm was registered with the Government. That became the first registered transport firm in the hills.
Meet me at Scandal
The British families would start arriving here by the end of March and lived here for nearly six...
Lock-Down and My Forest Walks
Every spring I went out with my camera and my diary to record some moments of life in the hills. March and April are the best months to be on a walk in the hills. Rhododendrons are in full bloom, especially on the north face and the chill in the atmosphere is your best companion. Most of the time I took a bus from Lakkar Bazaar Bus Terminus to some unknown destination and then found a trail to walk through.
Shimla Walks
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Contact Here
Writer's Attic,
Village Shaich,
Post Office - Shakrah
Shimla – 171011
Himachal Pradesh
Postal Address,
Libasa Store,
Near Scandal Point
The Mall, Shimla – 171001
Himachal Pradesh
