It’s crumbling but still has some old charm

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Shimla has been called the Honeymooner’s Paradise in north India and is the biggest hill station in India. I had never been to Shimla until last year when I finally decided to visit the summer capital of British India.

I took Kalka Mail train from Delhi to Kalka. After an overnight journey I reached the sleepy little station of Kalka around 5.30 AM in morning. From Kalka I had one of the most beautiful train journeys one can have. The journey, some 90-KM long, was done in a toy train. It was November 8, just a day before that railway line was about to complete its 100 years. We were travelling in the same train, which was supposed to make the historic journey next day, marking the hundred years of this wonderful gift of British India. You can blame them for lot of things they did to India during their rule here but you have to give it the firangs (As British rulers were called), they took the trains to the kind of places where Indians have not been able to do so after independence.

Here is a quick lowdown on this journey. The train passes through some 103 tunnels, one of them, at Barog, is more than a kilometer long. That’s not all. It uses more than 800 bridges to reach Shimla.

My train, Shivalik Deluxe Express, stopped at Barog – a beautiful little station. The stop was for 10 minute where most of the passengers got down while catering staff collected breakfast to be served on the train. It was beautiful, early morning sunshine made us feel in a different world.

The train was full of honeymooners, as it was marriage season in India. Some of the couples seemed in hurry to ‘get lost’ in each other’s arms. Since it was a toy train and has small coaches, people were seated pretty close to each other.

I arrived at the Shimla station around 10.30 AM. Starting from 660 mts, we were now at about 2000 mts above sea level. Immediately we were surrounded by Kashmiri potters. We settled for one and he helped us climbed out of the station. There we were met by the cab drivers. After little bit of bargaining, I took one to our hotel.

After checking into the hotel, a Raj-era building, we took shower and had brunch. We checked with the hotel manager what all I can see in the remaining day. He suggested we walk up to the Mall Road, that quintessential Raj left-over. So we started our walk to the Mall. I was surprised to see so many tall deodar trees on both sides of the road before we reached the actual hustle and bustle of the Mall.

It was same as at the other Mall Roads. All kind of eateries asking you to ‘come and try’ the delicious fare. We went inside a restaurant, which served north Indian, south Indian, Chinese and whatever you can think of. To be frank, it was awful. My friend ordered a pizza and that did not look like the pizzas one had seen or eaten before. After that misadventure with food we walked up to the Ridge. A flatter place, a rarity in mountains, The Ridge has, for years, been used for all kinds of functions. During British rule, it was used to hold military parades. Sahebs and memsahebs used to enjoy the romantic evenings. There, you even have a place called Scandal Point, thus named because it is said that some officer’s wife had run away with an Indian prince from that very point!

We walked back to our hotel as it became dark and our bodies began feeling cold. The mountain air was having its effect.

There is more to my Shimla journey. I will write about that in second part.

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Photos

The Ridge
Always buzzing with activities

The Ridge
Another View

A shop on The Mall
A shopper checking out woodcraft products

A view of the town
Concrete Jungle

A view of The Mall Road
The main attraction for the local tourists