Chail Palace

Have you heard of a hill station created out of vengeance and a severely hurt ego?

A Maharaja in 1891 got banished from Shimla, India because of his dalliance with British Commander-in-Chief. He went on to create his own summer capital at an altitude higher than Shimla. Interesting, isn't it?

The hill station is called Chail in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh (HP). 
Ghumakkad visited Chail as part of a Navy Reunion in November 2019.

Chail has many places to see. Am sharing a brief write up on Chail from a popular travel site.

Chail Wildlife Sanctuary

Previously a hunters' reserve for the royal residing in Chail, this area was declared a wildlife sanctuary by the Government in the year 1976. This sanctuary has a large species of birds and animals.

Palace Hotel Chail

The Palace Hotel in Chail was constructed way back in the year 1891 by the Maharaja of Patiala as his summer palace. Later, it was purchased in 1972 by Himachal Tourism Corporation and converted into a heritage hotel. Counted in the list of the most well-known heritage hotels in India, this hotel is spread over 75 acres.

Chail Cricket Ground

Since Maharaja Bhupender Singh was a cricket enthusiast, he built a cricket ground here on top of a hill. Chail is the proud home to the highest cricket ground in the world.

Sadhupul Village

Sadhupul is a dainty little village based around the hill river Ashwin, between Chail and Solan. You can actually sit in the river on the benches and enjoy local food from the vendors present at the spot.

Glimpses of our visit to The Palace follow.

Those not familiar with the location see the map below. Chail is about 25 kms east of Kandaghat. But the altitude difference is about 3000 feet. Therefore, the drive takes more than an hour. Chail at 7400 feet above MSL has a salubrious climate and is known for virgin forests.

The palace has many artefacts brought from various parts of the world. Although the collection at Chail is miniscule in comparison with the Nizam's collection in Hyderabad; but we need to remember that carting any loads to Chail at 7400 feet above MSL posed a different challenge as compared to Hyderabad's location. Few pictures for you.

Buddies from L to R: Parvathy, Neelima, Rani, Neeta, Vijay, Gopu and Asokan. Baljit not in the picture as she was in the library. Harsh behind the lens!

Few fallen leaves on the lawn reminded me of Rumi's famous quote "Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop". Here is a PQ- picturesque quote superimposed on Ghumakkad's picture of the lawn and the leaves.

On one of the benches in the Palace Lawn, I noticed the insignia shown below. Google search revealed it as Regional Grand Lodge of Northern India (RGLNI). It appears that Chail Palace had some connection with the Freemasons as well. In all probability, this association would have happened after 1961 when Grand Lodge of India was set up. Any of the readers may educate us on this aspect.

Get a feel of the Maharaja Suite in a short 30-sec video clip below.

It was time to embark on the return journey to Kandaghat. The road is pretty winding. Those prone to mountain sickness, should occupy front seat in a car and take preventive medication.
But the view during the drive is simply breathtaking! See the picture of Ashwin River valley below.

We end the story with a quotation by Roosevelt who said "The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future". Here is a PQ- picturesque quote- superimposed on the picture of Chail Palace.

Special thanks to Vijay Bal for organising our Reunion single-handedly. More stories of our Himachal trip will follow. 

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     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 29th Nov 2019

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