Surreal Edifice

(ISO 80, f/4.6, Shutter Speed 1/500 sec)

Location : Vice Regal Lodge, Shimla

Located on the Observatory Hills and also known as Rashtrapati Niwas, ViceRegal Lodge was formerly the residence of the British Viceroy Lord Dufferin. This rambling Scottish baronial edifice was designed by Henry Irvine, architect to the Public Works Department of the colonial government in India.

This was the venue of the Simla Conference in 1945. In 1947 , the decision to partition India and carve out the states of Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) , was also taken here. After independence, the Lodge remained the summer retreat of the President of India. In the early 60s the President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, a leading philosopher and writer, and the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to make it a scholars’ den where the best minds would find an ideal retreat. That’s when the Indian Institute of Advanced Study moved into the Lodge in 1965.

Post Processing : Orton Processing to give a painting look !!