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3 Stars - 34 Opinions
It is located in a central business district flanked by the Jayanagar Shopping Complex to one side and nice residential colonies to the other. Neat, clean rooms and a small party hall to boot, this place is ideal if you are on work in South Bangalore
Chail is a small hill station, not far from the old summer capital of India during the days of the British raj- Shimla.
In 1891, the then Maharaja of Patiala incurred the wrath of the British viceroy for the incident at `scandal point' in Shimla. The Maharaja had abducted/ romanced/ made overtures at/ eloped with- the Viceroys daughter, whichever version you may want to believe... As a result, he was banished from this summer capital of the Raj.
The Maharaja vowed to build a new and better summer capital for himself.
The village of Chail, with its deodar forests and a slightly higher elevation (2226 m) compared to the Viceroys Shimla, seemed as perfect as it could get...
The palace of the Maharaja is now a hotel and makes for a great place to stay.
From Delhi, take the Shatabadi or the Himalayan Queen express to Kalka... both leave New Delhi station in the morning. The Shatabadi gets you there a little faster though, and includes meals etc in its fare. Though for non a/c accomoation, the Himalayan queen will have options.
At Kalka station, take the toy train to Kandaghat. First class fare to Kandaghat is about rs 150 (if i remember right?) and general (unreserved) fare is rs 28. The general fare however, does not guarantee you a seat, as we discovered on our way back. To get a first class ticket, its best to have one from one of the two terminals (Kalka or Shimla).
The journey to Kandaghat lasts about four hours...
A 96-kilometer railway line between Kalka and Shimla, in the Shivalik hills, was laid in 1903. The hill track passes over 864 bridges, thru 102 tunnels and around 900 sharp curves, and the longest of all tunnels on the route, at Barog is a little over a kilometre in length. The maximum speed you can expect to reach on the journey is... fasten your seat belts... 30km/h!
Once known as the second city of the British Empire, it was till 1910 the capital of British India. The colonial flavour lingers on until this day in the architecture of the various buildings from the days of the Raj.
Calcuttans would call their city the Cultural capital of India, and perhaps it is...
However the city is not without its share of problems- from chaotic trafiic jams to a roads that are often dug up and look pretty filthy for a metropolitan city.
One of Calcuttas landmarks- Victoria Memorial is an ornate, hunderd year old marble structure from the days of the raj. The design is said to have been inspired by the Taj mahal.
On the death of queen Victoria, the then viceroy to India- lord Curzon, decided to construct a memorial to honour the queen... Much of the funds for the project were raised from voulantary contributions by the Indian princes and thegeneral public.
Calcutta is a city of contrasts.
Calcutta trams-- they lend character to the city and are one of the things that go into defining the citys look. However, there is pressure to remove them as they are sometimes the cause of traffic jams. The one way they bring in the moolah these days is by donning the colours of advertisers and by ending up looking like moving billboards.
I was stumbling around Old Goa one day with my camera. I walked down some old roads past an old, ill kempt Viceroy Arch and roads threatening to be overgrown when I came to this church, all alone by the river. There was no-one there. I was all alone to enjoy the white washed Interior, the marvellous Statues of the Apostles, the beautiful dome, and the fantastic 15th Century Portuguese Italian Style paintings adorning the walls. What a find.
OK some guff: St. Cajetan is built of laterite blocks, which were lime plastered. The façade, havs two towers on either side to serve as belfry, and has Corinthian columns and four niches in which are kept the statues of the apostles.
The main body of the church is Greek cross with a nave ending in an apse and aisles marked by four massive piers faced by Corinthian pilasters. The ribbed vaults of the nave and aisles are of varying height and are coffered with different floral designs. The two-ocatgonal rooms on either side of the main altar serves as the sacristy. There are six altars. The main one is dedicated to our lady of divine providence. These altars are profusely carved and gilded in Baroque style. The altars also have paintings on canvas of the Italian school, some depicting scenes from the life of St. Cajetan. The niches running along the sides of the vault have wooden statues of saints.
The church was built by Italian friars of the Order of Theatines who were sent by the Pope Urban III to preach Christianity in the kingdom of Golconda. As they were not permitted to work there they settled down in Goa in 1640. They obtained the site in 1655 by a Royal order and the church was built in the 17th century.
This magnificent palace, built by the Bristish architect Luytens, was the palace of the Viceroy of India - the throne stood right under the central cupola.
Nowadays it's the Presidential Palace of India.
A pitty we were not allowed to visit it.
The Palace of the Viceroy
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Address: 6 1st Cross, JC Road (Near Minerva Circle), Bangalore, Karnataka, 560 002, India
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