Oh, the Places I've Been

Again, I am in an internet cafe where connections to my pictures are not easily navigable. I will try to send some photos, but cannot promise that this will actually happen. The internet cafe owner, another very savvy tech person, has helped me. It will now be up to me to see if I can follow directions and allow you to see the places I've been.

Above is the "Geyser," otherwise known as the water heater, found in most bathrooms. You flip on the switch and wait for 20 minutes to get minimally hot water. This morning's shower was cool at best but not cold, a welcome relief. I find myself judging the quality of my accomodations by the quantity and temperature of the hot water for washing!

The stained glass windows shown above are found in the one of the churches in Shimla. In the Christ Church, the windows are well known for the six panels denoting Love, Patience, Faith, Hope, Charity, etc. Other than the windows, that particular church is nondescript except for the cheerful yellow paint that livens up the otherwise plain concrete exterior walls. The Cathedral is reminiscent of British architecture, imposing and grandiose.



Here is a photo of the Christ Church in the evening. Services are held in both English and Hindi. There is a surprisingly large number of Christians among the Indian population in many cities and towns.



As the city of Shimla is built on several hillsides, vehicles are only able to travel on a few of the roads. Additionally, The Mall, shown above, is vehicle-free. These strong men, like so many others, are delivering propane tanks to someone's home or restaurant to be used as cooking fuel. Porters are found everywhere, hoping to earn a few rupees by transporting visitors' bags, merchants' goods, constructions supplies, etc. I suspect that these men are members of one of the lower castes here in segregated India. It's not an easy life for the porters, but they are VERY fit compared to some of the higher castes who's opulence is evident, especially around the waistline!

This is one of the many Hindu temples in Shimla where the ringing of bells calls the gods to the temple before a devotee enters. One must remove shoes before entering as well. Because of the monsoons, the temple walkways are often wet, muddy and slippery.



At Shimla's State Museum, examples of ancient art are exhibited in the small galleries. Rather primitive sculptures were originally carved from rock (3rd - 11th centuries) until artists began using wood. This material and their attention to detail allowed them to more elaborately carve their idols.



Miniature paintings are another special feature of the museum in Shimla. The artists must have used brushes with only one or two hairs on them to make some of the very fine lines found on these religious renditions of scripture.



The wall paintings were among my favorite pieces. They appear to be painted on plaster, lifted from the walls of Hindu temples around the country and transported here. They are quite primitive but have been well preserved for at least ten centuries. The paintings are set in the walls of the museum so they look almost as if they were created right here!



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Indians are famous for their metalwork. Most cities sell jewelry and silver and gold is abundant in many places. Here are some silver slippers made hundreds of years ago. They would be my favorite pair of shoes if they belonged to me!


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Kids go to school on Saturday for a half of the day. These high schoolers are out for "sport" time (P.E.) playing volleyball and hopscotch. Uniforms are required and look different for each set of grades (primary, middle and high school). During this hot and humid time of year, the heat must make the wearing of sweaters and long-sleeved shirts most unbearable. I'm sure they couldn't wait to get home and put on cooler clothing for the rest of the weekend.



The Viceregal Palace, also known as the Institute of Advanced Study, was at one time a British facility used by its government when India was a colony belonging to Great Britain. It was at this very table that India gained its independence from Britain, and the map for an independent India was drawn. At that signing, India was divided into two parts, India and Pakistan. Therein, the trouble between India and Pakistan began.

Today, renamed the Institute of Advanced Study, this majestic building is used by the highest scholars in the country for study. University professors, authors, and other learned men and women come here to read and study about their country's unusual history and the struggles that have long plagued the sub-continent.


Because it is the capital of the state of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla "enjoys" a very rigid military presence. Government soldiers are everywhere. However, they do not enforce many laws, and this lax government security seems to be true of India in general. Although, when I tried to take a photo of a military emblem at the bottom of a government building driveway, both the soldiers on guard at the compound as well as those driving by, furiously waved me away with shouts of, "No photo, no photo!" Needless to say, I scooted away pretty quickly and found other less compromising scenes to shoot with my camera.

I left Shimla (my reason for being in this shopping-mad town in the first place) on the "Toy Train," a diesel-locomotive drawn small train that navigates the hills and valleys from Shimla to Chandigarh (located in the plains of the states of Punjab and Harayana). The train was a delightful respite from bus travel and the views were outstanding. The train moves slowly enough for passengers to "hang out" of the windows and doors as it winds it way from mountains to plains.



The conductors have a "fail-safe" method of avoiding accidents along the way. The metal ring shown below is tossed from the trains at different points along the way to signal that the train has already passed that station (there is only one track for trains traveling either way). Some station stops were quite long while we waited for the oncoming train to pass by. The pails hanging from a rack behind the station agent are filled with sand. The sand is used in the event of fire along the tracks or on the trains.



As I said, the view from the train is magnificent. The hard part is catching the photo before the train slips behind some tall bushes and trees. As we descended from the hills, the number of cultivated fields increased. Fruit, like apples, mangoes, pears, bananas, etc. and vegetables, like white radishes, spinach, carrots, etc. are found in the fields. Rice is also an important cash crop.





The train winds its way through the trees, passing small homes and cattle trails along the way. One gets used to the twists and turns and looks forward to the over 100 tunnels that the train passes through on its way to Kulka. When in the tunnels, it's not unusual to hear the shouts of young and old passengers who are having some fun while passing the time on this five to six hour journey.

Time to say so long for now. It'll be interesting to see how this post turns out. I've been decreasing the size of the photos (due to a 2/Rs fee per MG), so this is my new tech lesson for today. Have a good day. Next post, my adventures in Chandigarh!