The Sunrise Villa Shimla Blog

Shimla, Dec 2 (IANS)  Those nostalgic about the good old times in Shimla should be delighted. Coming up is a coffee table book detailing the history of this city that was a seat of power in British India. “We are bringing out a coffee table book carrying details about eminent personalities and imperial buildings associated with the British era.

This will also help tourists, especially from Britain, to know the heritage of the town,” Tourism Director Arun Kumar told IANS. He said most of the tourists have been complaining about lack of information about the heritage of this town. “All prominent heritage buildings would be photographed and a brief history would be compiled. Some of the buildings or monuments that have been damaged or refurbished would be exhibited in black and white sketches in the book that will be published by March next year,” he said. The department has also requested prominent century-old institutions and private owners of historical buildings to provide details about their property.

“We have written to prominent institutions like Bishop Cotton School, St Bede’s College and Christ Church (located on the Ridge) to provide us rare documents or photographs in their possession,” the official said. The ‘Queen of Hills’, as Shimla was fondly called by the British, has 91 British-era heritage buildings. These include Ellerslie (housing the state secretariat), Vidhan Sabha, Peterhoff (which was completely renovated after being devastated in a fire nearly two decades ago and now serves as the state guest house), United Services Club, Town Hall, Barnes Court (housing Raj Bhavan), Viceregal Lodge (now housing the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies) and Gordon Castle. More than 60 years after the British left, this Himalayan town still attracts their descendants who are eager to know their roots.

 Himachal Pradesh attracted 9.37 million domestic and 367,000 foreign tourists last year. Kullu and Manali are the hot spots for tourists, followed by Shimla and Dharamsala.