During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport. That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju
Sometime around the year 1830, a young British officer
exploring the area around the still developing hill town of Shimla, came upon a
beautiful sight. Amidst the towering mountains, was a small stretch of plain
land, a natural tableland, dwarfed by the mountain and forests, but presenting
such a lovely view that he was reminded at once of the girl he had once loved,
back in England. The man was Captain Charles Pratt Kennedy, the then Political
Agent of Shimla, and he named the place ‘Annadale’ after his lost love.
Charles Pratt Kennedy doesn’t seem to have married his lady
love... but the name he gave, stuck, and endures, centuries after him. It is
sometimes mis-spelled as Annandale, but the romantic origin of the name still
remains.
Annadale, in the early days of its discovery, was a popular
haunt for the British. They came here for picnics, amusements, and games, and
the ground became a popular haunt for polo matches. With the passage of time,
the ground played host to races as well as cricket matches, and, with after
Independence, was handed over to the Indian Army, which uses it as a helipad. If you look close, you can even see a helicopter there..
I wish the ground was still used for Polo or cricket... or even
racing. It would be fun to see any sports held there. Meanwhile, the Army
Heritage Museum at Annadale is worth a visit. More about that later....
Meanwhile, visit the Skywatch Friday page for more beautiful
images from around the world!
Such a beautiful place the first picture is really beautiful. And what a story behind the name!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mridula!!!! no idea if the story is true, but it seems to have really stuck to the place :D makes it all the more interesting!
DeleteLooks beautiful.The name also sounds pleasing. A similar name on Ooty route "Lovedale"
ReplyDeleteThanks PNS! Basically, dale means valley.. so its quite common in names given in the british era, esp in hill stations.. and each usually has a history to go with it too :D
DeleteInteresting story and nice pics to go with it:)Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteShantana
Thanks Shantana! have a grt day too!
DeleteGreat captures from the place Anu.
ReplyDeleteThanks Indrani!
DeleteYou have captured the landscape beautifully!
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/02/maha-kumbh-mela.html
Thanks Niranjan!
Deletea great place
ReplyDeletehappy Skywatch Friday
Reflections
Thanks Jidhu!! happy skywatch to you too!
DeleteIndeed a very romantic view for those in search of love.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely, Thomas!!
Deletenice info , journey and shot
ReplyDeleteThanks Manu!
DeleteSuch A beautiful Place,thanks For Info,Its veyr Informative
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures and a nice post, too! I had not heard much about this place. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletehttp://renuka-mytraveldiary.blogspot.in
Thanks Renuka. There isnt much to see here apart from the museum, and we saw this only because we hired a guide to do a walk of the whole place..
DeleteNice place... but I'm sure it was not "discovered" by the British. I bet the locals must have known about this place long before the British even stepped foot on India. I also think it's about time we change the name of that place to something Indian.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bharari.net
True Neeraj, that the place was not really 'discovered' by the British. But we cant deny that it was they who brought it to prominence and it is they who made it what it is today. changing names to indian ones is an idea that seems to have captured our imagination, but we cant forget that the british are a part of our history too... whether we like it or not, and we must remember that it is they who made the place what it is today. changing names wont make it any more indian....
DeleteI think changing the name from an English/British name to an Indian one will give it an "Indian Identity". Although it won't make any difference to us, it will make a difference to the next generation as they will grow up knowing the Indian name rather than the British one.
Deletewell, Neeraj.. as I mentioned earlier too, we cant erase the British from our history and heritage no matter how much we want to, or how hard we try. its better to accept it and move on, and make our own identity rather than change names to create our identity
DeleteWonderful, Shimla is so beautiful and Annadale is really interesting name for the place.
ReplyDelete