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The tale goes that the couple eloped together in 1892 after meeting
at Scandal Point. More dramatic reincarnations of the story told by
enthusiastic tour guides tell that the young women was kidnapped by the
Maharaja from Scandal Point. This either kidnap or elope did not go
unnoticed by the British Viceroy (Lord Kitchener) who with his power or
influence could have had the Maharaja severely punished.
The punishment he choose was only to expel the Maharaja of Patiala
from Shimla, where upon the Maharaja constructed his summer capital
50miles away in Chail.
Parts of the tale are true while others sadly are not. Bhupinder Singh
became the central character to the tale as he had a justified
reputation as a womanizer and extrovert who married many wives. It is
also true that the Maharaja did infuriate and even enrage Lord Kitchener
who forced him out of the summer capital of Shimla. In an act of
defiance the Maharaja relocated his summer capital to the small town of
Chail in 1891.
There is doubt of Bhupinder Singh's age at the time of the scandal
some records indicate that he was only a baby at the time of the kidnap.
One interesting side note which is possibly the origins of the story is
that Bhupinder Singh's father, Rajindra Singh, had an English wife. The
place at Chail also has the inscriptions of RS indicating Rajindra Singh
had the building constructed. The truth of the story has been lost over
the time so all that remains is more scandal over Scandal Point.
Getting There
Shimla is
well-connected by road. National Highway 22 (NH 22) connects Shimla to the
nearest big city of Chandigarh. Shimla is connected by road to all the major
towns. HRTC (Himachal Road Transport Corporation) runs 24 daily bus services
between Delhi to Shimla (including 7 luxury Volvo services). Buses from
Chandigarh to Shimla are available round the clock.
The Kalka
Railway Station and the Chandigarh Railway Station are the two closest broad
gauge railway stations from Shimla, the Kalka Railway Station being the
closest one. Both the railway stations connect all the major cities in
India.
Nearest airport to Shimla is
Shimla Airport,
located at Jabarhatti, around 22 km to Shimla. The airport currently not
provided any scheduled flight. The nearest domestic /
international Airport from Shimla is
Chandigarh International
Airport at
Chandigarh, roughly 3 hours 30 min (113.8 km) drive via NH5 from
Shimla. It is well
connected with major cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and
Mumbai etc.
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