A visit to the former Viceregal Lodge in Shimla can be a memorable experience for people of all ages in general and for history lovers in particular, as it is an attractive historic as well as tourist spot. The building is located in a beautiful hilltop with a dazzling panoramic view, which is now 121 years old and a historic one as it was the summer capital of British India. The building was completed in 1888 to serve as the Viceregal Lodge. The British ruled whole of Indian subcontinent from this building during the summer — from March to October. I was surprised to see and have the information from the guide that the building has been so nicely maintained that till today its original construction and structure never lost its Victorian character.

The plan for construction of this huge edifice in a Scottish baronial style was conceived by the ninth Viceroy, the Marquess of Dufferin. Its construction began in 1884 to be completed in 1888. The principal architect was Henry Irwin, who used grey limestone and Kashmiri wood to complete the structure. Grey limestone was carried from a distance of 5 miles from the site and transported on mules. The building with surrounding lawns, gardens and terraces covers an area of 331 acres and consists of European-style kitchens and laundries. During the British rule, there was 800 staff including 40 gardeners. The staff are mainly used for entertainment of Viceroy’s guests. It was the first government building to have electricity at that time. The electrical fittings such as wiring, switches were imported from Scotland and chandeliers are of Belgian make and are still functioning. Wooden works of the building are of Kashmiri style. At present, three rooms are being opened for public visit.

The morning room used by British Viceroys has now been converted to conference hall. The Viceroy used this room to take morning tea and read newspapers. Many historic meetings such as Cabinet Mission meeting, struggle for Indian independence and negotiations, which led to partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, crucial meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Shimla conference in 1945 were held in this room. The table on which India Pakistan partition papers were prepared and signed is also kept in this room. The wall curtain affixed in this room were brought from Scotland and remain as it is till now.

The visitor’s waiting room of the British Viceroy has now become the place where historic furniture, wall clock, piano, etc are kept for public view. The furniture include the chair used by the Viceroy and later by the President of independent India. The wall clock is a Dutch-made one of 1926 and is still running. It needs to be keyed once in a week. The peculiarity of the wall clock is that the phase of the moon and the daily temperature can be seen on its upper part. The piano kept here was originally in the ballroom but later shifted to this room. Apart from these articles, some historic photographs are also displayed in this room.

The original ballroom, dining room and banquet hall have now been converted to library with 180,000 books.

The building was also fitted with auto fire fighting system at the time of its construction, which consists of water pipes throughout the building. There are outlets on the pipes at a reasonable distance, which are covered with glass and wax that can bear the maximum temperature of 60 degree Celsius. In case of any fire in the building and the temperature reaches 60 degree Celsius, then the wax melts and the glass breaks automatically due to the heat and water comes out through these outlets. Till now no such incident occurred but the system is checked regularly. The terrace of the building contains 24 tanks that preserves water. Similarly, there are water tanks under the garden, which preserves water through rain water harvesting technology and these tanks built at the time of construction of the building.

This historic Viceregal lodge was renamed as ‘Rashtrapati Niwas’ after India gained independence and was used as a summer retreat for the President of India. As the huge building was lying without serving any purpose except the summer retreat of the President of India, Dr S Radhakrishnan, the then President of India decided to turn it into a centre of higher learning. Accordingly, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study was first set up on October 6, 1964 as a society. The institute was formally inaugurated by Dr Radhakrishnan on October 20, 1965.

The institute offers study on the areas like social, political and economic philosophy, philosophy and religion, education, culture and arts, logic and mathematics, nature and life sciences, environment, Indian civilization, etc. Now, it has become a great institute of higher studies in our country. The atmosphere of the institute is calm and cool and pin drop silence prevails inside the building. Even the visitors are requested not to make noise inside the building.

Ikramul Hussain