Har Ghar Kuchh Kehta Hai — Old stories of Shimla ready to be re-told

The book contains some of the rare photographs of old buildings constructed by the British,personalities and events having taken place in the town since 1822. “In 1822,the first house was built in Shimla,then a village,and it took another almost 44 years when this number grew to 290. Till 1841,there were only 100 houses. The population in 1881 was only 13,258 that increased to 43,333 (4,803 Europeans and 38,539 Indians) in 1921,” says the book.

The major historical facts,such as the Simla Agreement signed in 1972 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan premier Z A Bhuttoo,and the pre-Independence events like visit of Mahatma Gandhi,also find a place in the book. It talks about India’s Myanmar connections — a foreign office of the Government of Burma in exile was located in Shimla that now houses the radio station (Akashwani).

Other features in the book include facts about Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s stay in Shimla at Woodfield — a wood and mud house at Boileuganj — and some of his poems like “In the midst of my heart,always awake like unwavering white mountains…” The book narrates the bravery tales of Major Roy Alexander Farran,a Shimla-born British-Canadian soldier who later became the world’s most decorated officer during the World War II; and Guy Gibson,also born in Shimla during the British Raj,another World War-II hero,who was awarded the Victoria Cross.

The Har Ghar Kuchh… also gives a glimpse of Shimla’s life during the Raj days through its buildings known for their architecture. A few of them are Kenny House,Viceregal Lodge,Yarrows,Inverarm,Rothney Castle (house of A O Hume who founded the Indian National Congress),Barnes Court (now Raj Bhawan) and Gaiety Theatre.

The journey of M S Oberoi,the Shimla-Kalka rail track,a UNESCO heritage site,telegraph office,churches and walking trails,too,are part of the book,which also mentions Shimla-born novelists M M Kaye and Nirmal Verma and actors Anupam Kher,Prem Chopra,Balraj Sahni,Rajinder Kishan and Preity Zinta. The Mall,its shops,the plays at Gaiety and hand-pulled rickshaws that are an integrated part of Shimla’s story have been presented in photographic detail in Har Ghar Kuchh Kehta Hai.