I, Not We Are Responsible for Cleanliness – This photo was taken at Band Stand in Shimla (Himachal Pradesh).

Sunday Worship Timings:

English Service: 09 am
Hindi Service: 11 am
Holy Communion Service: 1st, 3rd & 5th Sunday

Visiting Hours (Monday-Saturday)
10:30 am to 1:00 pm
02:15 pm to 5:30 pm

FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE
PH. 0177 2652561, 2654589

Founder of Himachal Pradesh – Dr. Y.S. Parmar (1906 – 1981)

Sidhowal Lodge

One of the first houses to be built in Shimla in the 1820s, this was initially called ‘Ballyhack‘ and later became Christ Church Lodge. It was renamed Sidhowal Lodge in the early twentieth century when it passed into the hands of the Sidhowal family with whom this still is.

Band Stand

Now a restaurant, this conical slate-roofed structure on wooden posts, was presented to the people of Shimla as a Band Stand by Kanwar Jiwan Das of Jabalpur in 1907. The gift was welcomed, for as the town’s largest open space, the Ridge that faces this was also the place where every major event under colonial rule, especially the King’s Birthday, was celebrated with parades and bands.

As the town of Shimla grew through the nineteenth century, its Mall steadily developed as the primary street and the hub of its social life, and the core is the row of shops and public establishments. Architecturally, this stretch is often likened to an English ‘home counties’ small-town marketplace. Elements of Tudor framing, a varied roofline, assorted columns, and numerous decorations have given this row considerable character. The street also has a variety of windows that range from the bay, sash-barred, and diamond-cut panes, and some unusual elements also find expression and take the form of Mughal-inspired cupolas that hold bay windows. Reminiscent of Italy, acroteria of urns can be found on a couple of structures.

While decorative devices abound over the Mall, the aspects of safety are apparent with the presence of ‘fire walls’ between buildings. Interestingly, the lower floors of most buildings start well below the Mall, and the same structure displays a variation of character at different levels. The earliest shop buildings are regarded to have been constructed on the ‘Northbrook Terrace’ below the Post Office. Today, the Mall forms the core of the town’s notified ‘Heritage Zone’.

Click to learn more about ‘Himachal Pradesh’.

Arrival – Objective

29 June 1940 – To present the Indian side in the context of World War II.

27 September 1940 to 30 September 1940 – To inform the Viceroy that the war has been imposed on the people of India.

23 June 1945 to 17 July 1945 – To participate in the Shimla Conference on the Wavell Plan, also known as the All Party Meeting.

2 March 1946 to 14 May 1946 – Participated in the Cabinet Mission Conference and discussed the Cripps Preamble.