To the Venue of Gymkhana

A writer’s address, a heritage Museum, a water glen and a picnic spot 

A lovely walk that pulls you thorough some of the narrow streets, trails and old houses where you can have some glimpses of Shimla’s typical lifestyle. People basking in the sun, ladies drying their laundry outside the house, washing clothes at public taps, children playing street cricket, a few shopkeepers busy with their daily customers and old men reading newspaper or just chatting. The walk begins with these scenes and takes you to an Army dominated area –a venue of Gymkhana and Public functions during the Raj, and the through a forested road. 

FINGASK ESTATE

A flight of stairs descends from Kali Bari Temple to Fingask Estate. There are a total of 115 steps and easy to step on. It ends at the office of Great Himalayan Travels and the entrance to the Fingask Estate which is to your left. Fingask is the name of an old house which is now buried in a cluster of small hotels. Perhaps it is named after a castle in Scotland with the same name that was built by Patrick Bruce in 1594. But this Fingask once held the Shimla branch of Chelmsford Club in 1921. In 1863, the house was owned by Colonel Richard Lawrence, brother of Sir John Lawrence who had actually recommended Shimla to be used as the Summer Capital. A detour to the narrow lanes of Fingask Estate can be interesting. After you return from there to the office of Great Himalayan Travels take a right turn and descend to Tara Hall.

KIPLING’S ABODE.

This is not very far from where you turned right, that is near the office of Great Himalayan Travels. Reach there and take a right turn and behind the office is another old house called “Ensham Estate” Presently it is shared by a number of families of which most are Christians and is known as the Catholic Club. After a steep descent of fifty meters or so a road to your right branches off to ‘Northbank Estate’.

Just behind a Moc Tudor structure called ‘Manorama’ that has green wooden frames and is occupied by the Indian Army, ‘Northbank’ is located. This house was once occupied by our celebrity writer Rudyard Kipling. Here he penned his two world famous books ‘Kim’ and ‘Plain Tales from the Hills’. The house is now in a shabby condition and occupied by a few families of locals. It deserves serious attention. After leaving this place, once Kipling wrote to one of his friends in Shimla, ‘Do monkeys still come and pick up the hair brushes from the table?’

‘This must be restored and a part of it should be used as a library of Kipling’s books’ was the useful suggestion of an English tourist.

Return to the bifurcation and take U right to descend. Continue with your walk. The lane here passes between two old houses. To your left is ‘Mythe’ and to the right is ‘Firewood Cottage’. A famous sculptor of Shimla, ‘Professor Saxena’ lives in a part of Firewood Cottage. Professor Saxena is well known for his Murals and statues installed at many places in Shimla. Especially the walls of the Mall which are adorned at many places with the murals designed by him.

MYTHE

       This splendid house was one of the most picturesque properties of Shimla.  Originally it was called ‘Laurel Hall’ In 1921, when it was the property of the Maharaja of Nabha in Punjab. The building was presented to, by His Highness, to Lady Reading to be used as a hospital. She found it unsuitable for the purpose so it was sold to Maharaja of Dumraon for Rs.1,60,000. Presently it is owned by Mr. Yatish Sood a leading hotelier in Shimla.

Continue through the lane and cross the road. A lane along the outer wall of Tara Hall School, descends to Kaithu earlier known as Kayatoo Village. After descending for a few meters, on your left you have a fantastic view of the Glade of Annandale. The circular shaped ground is the only tableland in the vicinity of Shimla. The lane descends further and tests your knees. After another old house, not very old but built in the mid-forties called ‘Peeli Kothi’ - the Yellow House, there are a few more old structures built during the Raj, from here the view to your left is astounding. ‘Peeli Kothi’ has a different architecture all together as it has no wooden walls. The house is completely made of bricks and the walls are plastered with cement. Round shaped vertical pillars support the ceiling. Without looking at the year of its construction the architecture of the house confirms that it must have been built sometimes after the thirties.

Keep walking down and pass a green color house called Bhaji House and then Herbert Villa. Here you see a plaque installed by the Department of Language Art and Culture, informing about the famous Hindi writer Nirmal Verma.

Further the road becomes little steep and then is followed by a hairpin bed to the left. This place is called ‘Chungi Khana’ During the Raj a lot of local villagers used to come to Shimla through this path so sell their goods. At this place they were required to pay Chungi – a tax. Now the Chungi tax has been removed by the Indian government but the small room that was used for the purpose is still there.

Move a little ahead and you will see a Y junction and a trail to your right. From here you have two options.

Option 01 : Kipling’s Trail :

Move ahead and follow the right road from Y. This road will take you to the Annandale Ground which has the most interesting associations with Shimla. The most interesting stories from the Raj, came up from this piece of table land. Keep going and follow the road till you reach the ground and see the fence. From here you have to take left U turn to continue you walk to Army Heritage Museum which is about a few meter from ahead.

              Remains closed on Monday and other Government Holidays.

Near the gate of Annandale, a building has been converted into an Army Heritage Museum. Thanks be to the idea of Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Jamwal who also supervised the setting up of the Army Heritage Museum prepared. This is open to the general public on all the days, except Monday. The museum describes the history of the Indian Army. Following is an extract from its brochure:

ARMY HERITAGE MUSEUM

Past some more houses, the same lane ends at a small school from where you have to turn left and keep walking along the fence of the Golf Course till you reach Victorian type gates of the Annandale Ground. Two beautiful Chalets near the gate, which were used as stables by the British, were recently restored and converted into the Army Heritage Museum.

ANNANDALE GROUND – THE VENUE OF THE GYMKHANA

It used to be grazing plot for the cattle of the people of village Kyatoo. Once, Charles Pratt Kennedy, Political Agent of the British, who came to Shimla in 1822, fascinated by the beauty of this charming glade, descended from his Cottage and asked the villagers the name of this place. Impressed by the arrival of a Gora Sahib in their village, someone said “Dale” – the word for valley in the native language. Then perhaps roaming here in the valley, the young officer missed his beloved Anna back in Wales. So it was named Annandale. Or perhaps the name was drawn from a shallow valley called Annandale of River Annan in Dumfries in Scotland.

Later it became a popular picnic spot among the British and also the venue of the Gymkhana, Dog Shows, Parties, Horse Races and many other public functions. In 1896, Lord Durand started the football tournament here called Durand Cup Football Tournament. Many discussions, shows and other functions took place here including sending a Military expedition to Tibet between Lord Curzon and Sir Francis in 1903. Now, thank God the land is with the Indian Army and they are maintaining it very well in the form of a Golf Course. A part of it is a helipad. Other wise there are many ‘land mafias’ who have their eye on this land.

Near the gate is a small hill temple dedicated to local deity, Dhanu Devta a good example of hill architecture.

The road further extends through dense Cedar forest and a level walk of a kilometer or so brings you to a hairpin bend from where you have the following options:

A

To the right next to a proper rain shelter the road descends to the Glen. There is a small park which has some joy-ride for children of nearby villages. It offers panoramic view of the Annandale Ground. Near the park a narrow trail branches off up to the left up to the Glen, an old picnic spot. A stream runs through moss covered rocks. Oak and rhododendrons make a canopy over it. Here you might spot some wildlife or some Himalayan birds such as red jungle fowl, silver pheasant or a babbler. A whistling thrush might ask you to stop and listen to it or perhaps a Magpie glides through the valley and attracts your attention. The ‘gurgling’ sound of water in the stream breaks the silence and you feel one with your own self.

B

From the hairpin bend if you do not want to continue on the road, you have another option and that is to enter the gates which have no name but beyond that the forest path might tempt you to enter and follow the path. The path is wide enough for a big car to pass through it. You notice that the muddy surface of the path has a number of small stones emerging from it and weeds have grown all around. On paying some attention to the path you realize that there are impressions of the wheels of vehicles. You know this road was once used by the Viceroys to reach the venue of Gymkhana. These impressions are the result of plying of horse carriages initially and then of the cars. The road is not in use now for many decades and at many places it is covered with the mud that slid down during heavy showers and has settled on the road. At some places it is just a trail that has to be walked over in a single file. The last part of the walk might disappoint you as there could be rubbish and some sludge due to shops and a few houses located nearby.

The walk ends at the gates of the Viceregal Lodge from where you can walk to the Mall.

C

From the hairpin bend you might choose to carry on along the road. Further on, it passes a few more old houses named ‘Ellerslie Cottage’, ‘Ellerslie Villa’ and ‘Kumar House’. There is another bifurcation down where a narrow road to the left descends to ‘Glen Uquard’ and further to the Army Heritage Museum. A signboard points to the right where from the road climbing up leads to the parking of Cecil Hotel. After this walk a cup of tea or a glass of chilled beer at Cecil is recommended, so turn right. Otherwise the best option is to continue on the road to reach ‘Knockdrin’ at Kennedy Chowk from there you can walk to the Mall road.