Incomparable mountain city — ‘Simla’

Shriniwas Joshi

Thacker Spink and Co. was printers, booksellers, engravers, stationers and die-sinkers in Shimla in 1920s. They published a book 'Thacker's Guide of Simla' in 1925. Its foreword reads: "From the new-comer's point of view, Simla suffers under the burden of 'officialdom'. Do not let this deter the prospective visitor from approaching the incomparable Mountain City. The atmosphere is certainly that of a state capital, but this obtrudes neither upon the activities nor into the social intercourse of the casual visitor or even the permanent resident."

So, welcome one and all to that Shimla, which you may not know. There is a road here called Lady's Mile. It used to be a wide road but now, with vehicles parked on both sides, the road has narrowed but it carries history with it. Thacker's guide says it was constructed during the Viceroyalty of Lord Lytton (1876-1880). It is a perfectly level road, winding in and out as it follows the contour of the hill. This road from Chelsea or St. Bede's to Sanjauli measures about a mile and was named Lady's Mile. I could lay my hands on a painting of that era, where two ladies in Victorian Gowns were moving in that road unafraid of any mode of transportation putting a check on their stroll. But, it is said that horse-riders enjoyed exhilarating gallops here that were practically impossible elsewhere in Shimla of 1925 because the roads were too narrow. About half way along, the road enters a rocky gallery with a towering cliff above and a deep drop below. It is the place of the 'Devil's Paint Box', formed of the deposits of various mineral substances upon the rock face by the action of percolating water. This devil painted the blackest picture in September 2012, when two pretty students Nancy Thakur and Sakshi Thakur of Class VI, Convent of Jesus and Mary, slipped from the cliff above and fell on the road to be declared dead on reaching the hospital. The parents, in remembrance, have raised memorials on the parapet of the road. Above that point, on the north, the devil's paint box oozes the colours, which it had been doing since ages. It is called 'Kala Dhank' in Hindi.

Come to lovers' walk. Please do not confuse it with lovers' lane running from 'Machhali Wali Kothi' to St. Bede's College, which, today, is called the Forest Road. Lovers' lane, I believe, is not the name that the British gave. It is Hindustani noun. When Shimla starting filling, the lovey-dovey couples starting going to comparatively solitary forest road, which had the sounds of nature like the rustling of leaves, the howling of winds, the chirping of birds and a beautiful companion by the side. I had seen many young couples on this road and accepted it as the lovers' lane. Today, unfortunately it is a motorway and even learners make use of this road for having lessons on how to drive a car. So, the name Forest Road; but the forest, too, is gradually dwindling. Poor Shimla!

Scandal Point was a busy point in British times too! People would stand there to gossip, have chitchat and to stand and stare. Loving couples wanted an escape from all this and wanted to be in a solitary place where the two can feel each other's breath. The escape route was not afar. There is a road that cuts the Mall by the side of Rendezvous restaurant and goes down to the erstwhile Rivoli Cinema Hall. It has an uphill gradient from the erstwhile Willows Hotel to Auckland House, from where the road turns back uphill to Lakkar Bazaar. This patch of road from Scandal Point to Lakkar Bazaar was named the 'Lovers' Walk' by the British.

But in 1905, Shimla Municipal Committee, got constructed the Lower Bazaar tunnel. The purpose was to divert the movement of mules and coolies because the English abhorred this traffic passing through the Mall. It was commonly called Khachhar Surang. The Lovers' Walk thus became Khachhar Walk and the lovebirds decided not to tread on the road hoofed by khachhars. The Lovers' Walk after the Tibetan's influx became the Tibetan Market. 

Tailpiece

The British had honoured Shimla by various titles - Viceroy's Shooting Box, Abode of the Little Tin Gods, Mount Olympus, Capua of India, Jewel of Orient, Queen of Hill Stations, Star of Hill Resorts and Town of Dreams