The story of Simla  

• The distance from Kalka railway station to Shimla by cart is 58 miles.

• It is surrounded by the territories of thirty minor independent chiefs.

• In recent years it has extended from one end to the other fully six miles in length. The officer gazette describes Shimla as “exquisite.”

• The journal of the Tour through the part of Himalaya Mountains by James Baillie, published in 1820, describes the account of the war in which Gurkhas and British were engaged in 1815. To revenge the uprising in the area between Sutlej and Yamuna, British gave a tough defeat to them.

• Among other place where Gurkha retained their military posts by Ochterlony were Sabathu and Kotgarh.

• Gerard brothers’ diary dated August 30^th, 1817, ran: “Shimla a middling sized village where a fakir is situated to give water to travellers.”

• A writer describes road to Jakhoo: “the road was steep and rocky in several places, and through kelo and oak trees very thick undergrowth which is full of bears and hogs.”

• In 1831, a talented French traveller describing Shimla said it was “the resort of rich, idle and invalid. Now there are over 60 houses scattered on various Hills.”

• A journal from year 1834 tells us that the road leading from club to Chota Shimla was then called ‘Combermere road’ and that to Elysium Hill, ‘Bentinck road.’ 

•  The original site for, the half timbered building of the General Post Office was completed on 3^rd July 1883 and originally exhibited both Neo-Tudor and Swiss-Bavarian architectural forms with decorative wooden work. In 1972, a fire damaged the exterior of the building, which was then repaired retaining some essential elements of the facade.