SHIMLA -1

Shimla

 Beginning

 Ashok planned the trip to go to Shimla, and he made all the arrangements for the entire trip. He, Neeraja, Vijaya and I started on 18 Sep 2015 for Delhi – Shimla by Rajdhani Express. Reached Delhi on 20^th Sep early morning and spent 24 hours at Srikanth’s house, Dwaraka. Most of the Anna’s family came there to see us.

We left Dwaraka on 21^st Sep for Shimla by a taxi. Travelled for 8 hours and reached Shimla by 2 PM.

 SHIMLA – An introduction

 Shimla is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, this was designated as the Summer Capital of the British Raj. After independence, Lahore was given to Pakistan and Shimla became the capital of Punjab and was later the capital of Himachal Pradesh.

Its name is derived from the goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess .Kali. Shimla historically contained the 19 hill states. Its elevation (altitude) is about 2205 metres or 7234 feet above sea level, in the Himalayas. Its population in 2011 is 1,71,817.

Earl Dalhousie visited Shimla in 1831. After this, the town saw regular visits from the Governor Generals and Commanders-in-Chief of British India. A number of young British officers started visiting the area to socialize with the higher-ups; they were followed by ladies looking for marriage alliances for their relatives. Shimla thus became a hill station famous for balls, parties and other festivities. Subsequently, residential schools for students from upper-class families were established nearby. 

By the late 1830s, the city also became a centre for theatre and art exhibitions. As the population increased, a number of bungalows were built and a big bazaar was established in the town.

On 9 September 1844 the foundation of the Christ Church was laid. Subsequently, several roads were widened and the construction of the Hindustan-Tibet road with a 560-feet tunnel was taken up in 1851-52. This tunnel, now known as the Dhalli Tunnel, was started by a Major Briggs in 1850 and completed in the winter of 1851-52.

The Indian population lived in an area known then as The Upper Bazaar (now it is called, THE RIDGE.) Later “The Middle Bazaar” and the “Lower Bazaar” were developed. Many roads, office buildings, schools, libraries were constructed by the British Raj, In  1863, the Viceroy of India John Lawrence decided to shift the summer capital of the British Raj to Shimla.

The 500 feet (150 m) Lower Bazaar tunnel was built in 1905 and christened Khachhar Surang. The Elysium tunnel (now known as the Auckland Tunnel), about 120 feet (37 m) in length was also built in 1905.

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The Kalka-Shimla railway line, constructed in 1906, added to Shimla's accessibility and popularity. The railway route from Kalka to Shimla, with more than 806 bridges and 103 tunnels, is touted as an engineering feat.

Shimla was the capital of the undivided state of Punjab in 1871, and remained so until the construction of the new city of Chandigarh (the present-day capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana) Upon the formation of the state of Himachal Pradesh in 1971, Shimla was named its capital.

Initially Shimla was part of the Union Territory of HP. On 25 January 1971,  Himachal emerged as the eighteenth state of the Indian Union.

Shimla is at 31.61 N, 77.10 E. The closest river is the SUTLEJ, 21 km away.

Climate wise, Shimla’s average temperature is from -4 C to 31 C (for the entire year). During January and February there will be heavy snowfall. The maximum snowfall received in recent times was 38.6 centimetres (15.2 in) on 18 January 2013. On two consecutive days (17 and 18 January 2013) the town received 63.6 centimetres (25.0 in) of snow.

The majority of Shimla's population consists of natives of Himachal Pradesh. Hindi is the Lingua franca of the city, it is the principal spoken language of the city and also the most commonly used language.

There are four major hospitals: the Indira Gandhi Hospital (formerly known as Snowdown Hospital,) Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (formerly called Ripon Hospital,) Kamala Nehru Hospital, and Indus Hospital.

The hotel industry is one of the major source of income generation for the city. Shimla leads the list of Indian cities with the highest ranked hotels.

Apple is one of the most popular horticulture products of Shimla.

Many Hindi movies like Love in Shimla, Daag, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, BLACK, JAB WE MET have been shot and picturized in Shimla. The Tamil movies, Anbe Vaa (MGR), and ROJA (Mani Ratnam) were shot here.

Shimla is 90 km from Kalka, 120 km from Chandigarh, 380 km from Delhi.

A very picturesque and beautiful, clean city.

Rajappa
6:30 PM

17-10-2015.