Shimla: Himalayan Cloud City

We've entered a different world. It is like waking up in a cloud. Every morning, I open the curtains and the view is mostly white fog with some green trees and houses peaking out. Shimla is a city built on the mountains of North West India, in the Himalayan region. (Himalaya is pronounced hi-MA-lia here). The weather has been rainy, cool, and pleasant. What a difference from the steamy heat of Delhi.

Shimla is where the British Raj set up its summer government so the architecture is a funny mix of influences. We visited the Viceroy's mansion, an enormous construction made from stone (exterior) and wood (interior). The wood paneling inside this place is magnificent. I can't imagine how all those workers must have carried the materials up the mountain to build it. Now the building is used as a research center for post-graduate scholars. They are put up in room upstairs and have access to a huge library. Most of them write books that are then published by the center.

Rain in Shimla

Lord Mountbatten, Nehru and Lady Edwina Mountbatten