It had been quite a while since I went out freely due to the sudden strike of pandemic. I am sure all of us have gone through travails, as a matter of fact still going through it. But in January 2021, the graph of the number of infected cases dropped, enabled us to take a sigh of relief.
Without wasting more time, I booked a taxi tour to Shimla. It was primarily done to quench the thirst of getting out of the house, somewhere where my nostrils can be freely allowed to inhale air. And Shimla came 1st into my mind, being it the most popular hill site in Himachal.
Keeping safety measures in consideration, the taxi booked was pre-sanitized before it came to pick me up from my house in Delhi. And the much needed break started. I was travelling with my brother and a cousin who were as reveled as I was for the trip.
It had been long since we had food outside, so that was the time which we did not want to miss. We stopped at our favorite place near Chandigarh, The Nik Bakers. Believe me, we hogged like pigs. The forbidden food, burgers, French fries and a pitcher of Pepsi, was finally on the table.
In the evening, we reached Shimla merrily. The hotel where we were staying was following all the measures to give the stayers a comforting and safe experience. It hadn’t been possible for us to come to Shimla if the taxi company’s expert hadn’t guided us about choosing a secured hotel within our expenditure limit.
After dropping our luggage in our room, we hastily ambled to Mall road, near our hotel, to enjoy a dinner at a restaurant there. It was good to see that everyone was following the norms of the pandemic. We were strolling on the street, and suddenly it started to snow that changed the atmosphere around. Within an hour, whole area was doused in snow, surging the beauty of the night.
Next day, we were really excited as today we had to go Jhakoo temple via the ropeway. We were all enthused to embark on the airlift and see the Shivalik and city from lift as it goes high in air. It took merely 6-7 minutes to reach the top of Jhakoo Hill. We were welcomed by the 108 feet tall statue of Lord Hanuman, to whom the revered Jhakoo Temple is consecrated to. There were our ancestors too, waiting for us to feed them. Relax! I am talking about the herd of monkeys.
After that we came straight to The Ridge, which is 13 m long way and has some of the famous places of Shimla. Scandal point is one of them. I wondered why the name of it is so scandalous. Our driver was aware of the reason and he told us about it. Apparently, this point was named so because Maharaja of Patiala eloped a British viceroy’s daughter. To punish him, he was exiled from Shimla.
Whatever be the conspiracy of Scandal Point, it does not matter. What good happened due to this was that Maharaja got so infuriated that he wanted to exact vengeance on British. With that motive, he started re-establishing a tranquil village near Shimla, Chail, with all amenities equivalent to Shimla. Thanks to the anger of the exiled Maharaja, Chail is now one of the most beautiful places to visit.
The Ridge renders another architectural marvel that reminds of the Colonial impact on Shimla. Christ church is neo-gothic style building having stained glass windows. By chance, it was Sunday when we went to church. Believers of Christianity had gathered for the mass prayer in the Church. It was really peaceful when we listened to the Christian liturgy at the Christ’s abode.
There was still ample time with us. We had to utilize it. So we went to Viceregal Lodge. This British era building was home of a governor-general, built in 1888. Our driver cum guide told us that it was the first building in Shimla that had electricity during British raj. Now, it serves as an educational institute named as Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS)
It was our last day before we head back to Delhi. Our driver had suggested that we visit Kufri, as it had snowed there. The place becomes really dreamy after it gets covered in snow. So, we had woken early in the morning to go to Kufri because we had planned to travel to Kalka via the famous Toy train, to see the magnificent vistas from the window of the chugging train.
After we reached Kalka, our driver was waiting outside the railway station to pick us. It was really fun to visit Himachal after so long. With sweet memories of the exceptional landscapes of Shimla, we took the road back to Delhi.