About Book
'As the summer capital of the Raj, Simla came to be known as "the workshop of the Empire." An awed visitor wrote, "Every pigeonhole contains a potential revolution, every office box cradles an embryo of a war or death..." The heady mixture of hill air, political power and social snobbery held an irresistible allure. Ambitious careerists, calculating matrons with daughters to marry off, enigmatic adventuresses, bored young wives, and dashing roues flocked here. Often with disastrous result. In a letter home, a correspondent lamented " the pure atmosphere and foul rumours ruined prospects, guilty passions, frivolity, intrigue...jealousy, madness...remorse unmitigated..."Husbands went into debt to send their families to summer in Simla. A breath of scandal scented these holiday sojourns-a consequence of a social climate which thrived on pleasure seeking and gossip...'
About Author
Shimla is home to Raaja Bhasin who has authored the critically acclaimed and standard history of town, Simla--The Summer Capital of British India. His town walks are famous and are described by Frommer's India as, 'intelligent, entertaining, and exclusive'. A noted writer, he has published over a thousand articles, reviews and stories in various leading publications in India and abroad. He has handled assignments for the Government of India's Department of Culture, the UNDP, the BBC and the Oberoi Group of Hotels. He is on the Heritage Advisory Committee and the Tourism Development Board of Himachal Pradesh and is the Managing Editor of Himachal Tourism's magazine, Monal.