Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Viceregal Lodge, Shimla

This Independence day, let me take you to Shimla, where the Indian Flag flutters over the erstwhile Viceregal Lodge.




Today, this building is home to the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies. Before that, it was Rashtrapati Nivas, but it was built to be the home of the Viceroy of India. The name itself is interesting, since it is not a lodge by any standards! Regal, it certainly is, and I don’t think the nomenclature can be attributed to anything but the classic British understatement!



The entrance led us to a path lined by huge stone walls which made us wonder if it was intended to be fortified!




From the outside, it looked like a massive castle, fully made of stone.



On the inside, the delicate woodwork complemented the look, giving us a glimpse into how impressive it must have been, as the residence of the Viceroy.



The structure has an interesting history, being the first permanent residence of the Viceroy, built in 1886. This was the first structure to get electric supply in India, and most interestingly, some of the original electrical fittings still work, after the passage of centuries!!!



This was also where the meetings for the famed Shimla Agreement were held, deciding the fate of India and Pakistan. Many of the memorabilia from the time have been preserved, such as the original table on which the agreement was signed, and old photographs of the meet.



Post-independence, this became the residence of the President of India, to be used during the summer. However, the residence was rarely used, and under Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, it was handed over to the Institute of Advanced Study, to ‘provide an environment suited for academic research’. Part of the building still functions as such, with an impressive library on the ground floor, and rooms for the scholars on the upper floors. Part of it is closed to visitors, while a section is opened to tourists, albeit under the supervision of a guide, to give us a glimpse of its magnificence.



Back on the outside, creepers have crawled up the stone, and provide a splash of colour to the grey of the stone…



The British lion glares down at us from the Royal coat of arms. This is one of the few places it hasn’t been replaced by the Indian symbol – the Ashoka pillar.





On the arch, the building’s name has been replaced, but the names of the architect, Henry Irwin and the executive engineers – F.B. Hebbert and L.M.St.Clair stay on, a reminder of their art.



Information:
  • The Viceregal Lodge is closed to visitors on Mondays. On all other days, there are regular guided tours every hour.
  • There is a caferteria cum shop on the grounds where you can await your turn for the guided tour, and while you are at it, you can stock up on postcards, momentos, or, if you are literally minded, publications of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS)
  • The IIAS website has more details about the building – architectural, historical as well as photographic.




Comments

  1. I don't know how trustworthy those old electrical circuits are ! :) Fascinating to see the old British architecture. It would have been wonderful to wander the library there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Natalie, I was surprised to hear that these were really trustworthy!!! still working after all these years! and in any case, they were special.. apparently, this was the first residential building to get electricity in India! surely they made sure they were given the best! after all, it was for the viceroy!! i would have so loved to get into the library, but its only for the scholars! wish i could go there and study too!

      Delete
  2. excellent blog
    awsm images :)
    keep bloging :)



    www.itarsia.in

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is beautiful .. and the rest of the pics brought so many memories .. of shimla .. it use to the weekend haunt for us when we were in college friday evenings ride to shimla and come back early monday mornings :)

    Bikram's

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Bikram! you were lucky guys indeed to go off on weekends! and that too to Shimla! this was my first visit and i loved the place, though it was crowded. hope to go again sometime when the crowd is less :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie