Stars of Simla

 

STARS OF SIMLA

For much of the period of British Raj, Shimla or Simla was the summer capital of India where the high and mighty of the subcontinent stayed for most of the year. Beautiful cottages and bungalows were built over the seven hills that constituted the salubrious hill station to house the officials - both civil and military. Later many of these elegant English style houses; many of whom had bombastic suffixes like 'castle' were acquired by Indian nobility for whom the door was opened though reluctantly. As the fate of millions of Indians was decided from Simla, it was the seat of many a monumental decision over some eight decades. Many notable people lived in these Simla houses and have left lasting legacies which are worth remembering and revoking. I would like to trace and pen down the  beauty of these houses, personality of their owners and intersting incidents to which they were home. The icing on the cake is that the current occupants of these dwellings are themselves mostly very social and  interesting personalities having been brought up in the company of men and women who guided the making of India.

One fine morning, during my walk in Chhotta Shimla I decided to explore "Airaa Holme' the colonial era house on the spur. It being advertised as a home stay made my intrusion permissible. As I ascented the approach road beyond the old iron gate, I reached the entrance to the house which was a beautiful hall covered by tall paned glass windows with flower pots adorning the stairs. An antique  brass letterbox was embedded in the wall and a brass plaque of Municipal Council fixed on heritage buildings in Shimla was there that announced that the house once belonged to Sir Jogendra Singh, KCSI. I had never heard of the gentleman - unknown to me then, he was such an achiever that I was forced to write this blog to introduce him to you - my fellow simlites and compatriots..

As I proceeded further and turned beyond the hall I was suddenly in a garden with a jhoola and was in front of a senior lady with a tall cup of tea. She looked like straight out of bed and with a hint of surprise, returned my Namaste. As I expressed my apologies for intrusion she relaxed and very kindly invited me to have a cup of tea with her. She was Mrs Maheep Kaur, owner of the house and wife of Late Mr Sangram Singh - Grandson of Sir Jogendra. 

'Sir Jogendra was a truly great man' she said. 'He was on the viceroy's executive council- the highest governing body and chairman for Departments of education, health and land. It was he who bought this property from an English man. That time the house was called 'Morefield Grange'. The house was rechristened 'Aria Holmes' after Aria estate he inherited in Lakhimpur Kheri. Aria was a huge estate of 12000 acres bestowed by the British as jagir upon Panjab Singh, grandfather of Sir Jogendra for military assistance after annexation of Punjab and especially during the 1857 mutiny. Panjab was a cavalry commander in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Army. He belonged to same Sukerchakia misl as the Maharaja'.

I sipped the refreshing tea and tried to absorb the torrent of information. 

' The Aria family has a huge 'Aira estate' in England and till recently we were in touch with them'.

 I looked around and was surprised to see the unhindered view of Taradevi and the ranges towards south of Shimla. 

'Its a 360 degree view thats rare in Shimla' said Maheep. 'Sir Jogendra had an option to buy one of three properties - Oak over, Starling Castle and Morefield Grange. He stayed in the Viceregal estate complex then. On his horse he would visit all 3 for six months to analyse the direction and duration of sun in all weathers. Then he decided in favour of this property. The house is comfortable in all seasons, has a great view, is surrounded by Deodars and has enough flat area around - see how well these colonial houses were sited. We are so lucky. One of the grandmother of my husband was Irish - thats why 'L' in 'Holme'. 

I confessed I had never heard of the great man.

 ' He was amongst the top people of his time. His contributions are lasting and in myraid fields. He as incharge of  Agriculture, brought about vast improvements in Punjab. Being a big landlord helped. He planned expansion of irrigation.You would be surprised - first tractor in India came to Aria estate! It was a Ferguson'!

I took another sip.

' The IITs you see - he was involved in their conceptualisation'

' Sorry ma'am but IITs were Nehru's brainchild. And they came up post independence'.

'Thats part true. IITs; rather Kharakpur IIT was conceptualised and finalised before independence by a committee of experts under Sir Jogendra'.

'He had been Home Minister and later Prime Minister of Patiala state. he was also involved in administration of Mandi state and it was then that he planned the hydroelectric unit in Joginder Nagar'. This early power plant led to development of irrigation facilities in Punjab and also provided power for establishment of hosiery industry in Ludhiana'. 

'You mean the 'Shanan Project'.

'Yes! and I hope you now know why the place is called Joginder Nagar'. 

'That can't be true! I thought its in honour of some Mandi Raja.'.

'Oh no! trust me. You can research it. The township was developed to house the engineers and workers of the power plant' said Ms Maheep.

'Sir Jogendra had no formal education but he was a self taught expert of English, Punjabi, and persian. He wrote a number of books. Notable among them are - 'Sikh Ceremonies', 'Thus Spake Guru Nanak and 'Persian Mystics (foreward by Mahatma Gandhi). He also wrote fiction. He was the founder of 'Khalsa National Party' thus contributing immensely to early Sikh politics in pre independence era'.

'I was lucky to get married in this family. I got the house with a mali, a cook, a darzi, a khidmatgar. Simla then was refuge of the elites during summers. There are bungalows owned by many noble families around us. There used to be great bon homie. We used to have parties and picnics. At times whole extended family used to land up from plains. We even acted in a movie by name 'Staying On' starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. Its based on a booker winning novel of same title by Paul Scott. It was shot in a friend's villa in Mashobra in late 1970s  I like meeting people and what better way than hosting them? So I run this home stay with 5 rooms. I have maintained the house in its original English manner. European travelers especially like it and spend a month or so with us. I restored all furniture that was part of the house - my mother-in-law nick named me 'Nek Chand' due to my penchant for restoration' she laughed.  

Later Ms Maheep gave me a tour of the beautiful house furnished with original colonial furniture maintained scrupulously. The house is adorned with portraits and photographs of Sir Jogendra's family and is a veritable treasure house of history. The walls are decorated with original watercolours of pheasants. A corner of the sitting room wall is taken over by a life size huge tigress skin - the blood shot eyes staring ferociously at you. 

'It was a notorious man eater in Aria Estate. Sir Jogendra shot her after tracking her assiduously over a week. To much relief to the villagers' Maheep told me. ' The trophy was processed by the celebrated taxidermists - 'Van Ingens' of Mysore - they were most sought after for doing these trophies during the Raj. Our family boasted of great shots. Hunting was permitted then and was well managed. At one time we held 40 firearms'!

 Whole bungalow exudes warmth and nostalgia. Maheep has maintained the bungalow in its original glory with colonial era furniture and retro upholestry and linen. The functional fireplace in the sitting room must be such a delight in winters - I thought. And there I saw something that I never new existed - 'A Coal Scuttle' - a brass box inside sitting room to hold coal for the fireplace! The entrance to the bungalow is a glass paned hall adorned with colonial furniture - originally it was meant to be a glass house to maintain the potted plants during harsh Simla winters. All colonial houses have these glass houses. Amidst the mad hustle and bustle of the 'bursting at its seams' - Shimla, there still exists the sylvan Simla. Behind a wild Bamboo hedge; or a CGI sheet boundary wall; in scattered bungalows and cottages esconced under the whistling canopy of Deodars. Waiting to be discovered - to transport you to a forgotten, exotic era. And there, more often than not, you will come across some forgotten 'Star of Simla' like Sir Jogendra!