On a recent trip to Himachal's capital city, Shimla, I visited the newly opened colonial-era Bantony Castle. Located a few metres away from Scandal Point on the city's iconic Mall Road, this charming little château made entirely of wood looks straight out of an Enid Blyton novel.
Built in the 19th century, the 19,000-square metre estate is the former summer palace of the Maharaja of Sirmaur. Named after the former Governor-General of India, Lord William Bentinck, the two-storey monumental castle was designed by TEG Cooper during the First World War. Over the years, the building fell into much disrepair, and several attempts were made to renovate it.
After spending around INR 29 crores, the magnificent 143-year-old building was restored and finally opened its doors to the public in September this year. Currently, it serves as a state-of-the-art digital museum highlighting various aspects of the state, including its history, traditions and lifestyle.
A major attraction for tourists here is its daily open-air 30-minute sound-and-light show in English and Hindi, which is narrated in the charismatic voice of Shimla-born actor Anupam Kher and staged twice a day every evening.
One of the major exhibits on the ground floor focuses on Mahatma Gandhi's several visits to Shimla and his activities during these stays. Another section talks about the historic Kalka-Shimla railway, which was built by the British government in 1903 to connect the summer capital of Shimla. With more than 800 bridges and 103 tunnels, this 96.6-kilometre-long single-track line is a vital engineering marvel.
A wooden staircase brings one to the top floor, where one of the exhibits provides a detailed biography of freedom fighter, philanthropist and social reformer Satyanand Stokes (1882-1946), known as "the apple man of Himachal." In 1921, Stokes brought apple saplings from Philadelphia and planted them in Kotgarh for the first time. The exhibit also brings out some interesting and relatively unknown stories.
In 1912, Stokes married an Indian Christian girl, Agnes Benjamin, at St. Mary's Church, Kotgarh. In 1926, Stokes sent a box of golden apples to Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad. Gandhi wrote a letter thanking him for the delicious apples. Another section on the floor is devoted to writer, lawyer and leader Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, the architect of Himachal. Another exhibit showcases the culture of the tribal cold desert of Spiti Valley as well as its main features, such as Tabo and Kye Monastery, as well as the region's rock engravings.
The museum also displays many different forms of art which are found in the state, such as contemporary Kangra art, Ragamala paintings (a set of illustrative artworks depicting variations of Indian ragas) and the Thangka (a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton or silk applique, which usually depicts the life of Buddha).
There are also many vintage photographs and paintings of landmark buildings in the city, such as Barnes Court, Jakhu Temple, Peterhoff, Willow Banks, Scandal Point and Kennedy House.
At the end of the tour, one can pick up local handicrafts to take back home at the castle's little shop. Further plans include opening a cafeteria serving Himachali cuisine on the premises.
Timings : 24 hours
Entry Fee: Entry to the premises is free.
The closest railway station to Shimla is in Kalka, 89 km away. You can take a taxi, local bus or the toy train to Shimla. Chandigarh-Shimla highway is in good condition and it takes around 3.5 hours to reach Shimla from Chandigarh by road. The nearest major airports are in Chandigarh (113 km away) and Jubbarhatti (25 km away, but with limited flights from Delhi).