3 Review(s)

The summer capital of the Raj, Simla came to be known as “the workshop of the Empire”. A visitor awed by this hill-town wrote, “Every pigeonhole contains a potential revolution, every office box cradles an embryo of war or death”. The heady mixture of mountain air, political power and social snobbery attracted all manner of people to Simla: ambitious careerists, calculating matrons, enigmatic adventuresses, bored wives, and dashing roués, often with disastrous results. A letter home lamented “the pure atmosphere and foul rumors, ruined prospects, guilty passions, frivolity, intrigue...jealousy, madness…remorse unmitigated...” About the Author Raaja Bhasin has published five critically acclaimed books and several commissioned booklets. Around 1500 of his articles, stories and reviews have appeared in various publications in India and overseas and he writes regularly for several leading magazines and newspapers. He has handled assignments for the United Nations Development Pro gramme (UNDP), the Government of India’s Department of Tourism and Culture, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, various departments of the Government of Himachal Pradesh (especially Himachal Tourism) and various hospitality chains like the Oberoi Group of Hotels. He has also associated, in various capacities, with several television networks including the BBC and Channel Four.