The Gaiety Theatre

After taking it easy yesterday we had a good breakfast, before meeting our guide and driver. We drove up to the Viceroy's house on a hill top called Summer Hill, passing various schools on the way. Many were boarding schools and some still have boarders. They are regarded as very good by Indians both at home and those who are non resident. One was called Loretto but was a girl's school.

The Viceroy's House is now a college for post graduate students and we had a tour of the gardens and the lower floor of the house. It was very impressive, panelled with teak, chandeliers everywhere and photos of various viceroys, their wives and others who visited the place including Ghandi.



Next was a very high statue of Hanuman on top of another hill, evidently included in the Guiness Book of Records. First we had to avoid the baboons which were quite aggressive. We left our glasses in the car under our guide's insruction. Evidently one lady had her bag snatched and it ended on top of the statue. However armed with a walking pole (and adopting tactics to fight off bonxies) we made it. After another steep climb by car we were taken to Wildflower Hall, which was originally built for Lord Kitchener, but is now an Oberoi Hotel. We had our lunch there looking out at the snow and faced a bill to match its opulence, a bit like going to Gleneagles. We chose the "platter of Indian street food" as we have been warned frequently not to eat from street stalls no matter how tempting they look or smell. It was certainly the best coffee we've had since we arrived and the ambience of sitting in such a building with the chandeliers, the waiters and the amazing toilets made up for the inflated bill. It was Valentine's Day after all.

We asked to be dropped off at the Mall as we wanted to see the Gaiety Theatre. It has been a feature of Shimla life since the 1890's. It was a small theatre seating about 350. It is gothic in style and the only one of its kind in Asia. It has undergone a refurbishment lasting 5 years. There are many amateur dramatic groups in Shimla which use the theatre but its heyday was in the 1900's when Rudyard Kipling among others wrote and performed in plays there. There was a photographic record of most of the plays. More recently Bollywood actors have performed here, and also Michael Palin when he made his "Himalayas" programme. We have the book at home so must look it up.

The weather has been kinder today so it was pleasant wandering around. The church, like the theatre, had prominent seats for the Viceroy. It also had huge stained glass windows and plaques commemorating people who died in Shimla or died elsewhere but had a Shimla connection. All in all it was an interesting day and we went for a very nice meal of spicy chicken, potatoes and the usual rice and breads.