By IANS,
Shimla : The Peterhoff Hotel here, which will host senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders during their three-day ‘Chintan Baithak’ or introspection meet starting Wednesday, is not just another state-run guest house. It was home to viceroys during the British Raj and housed the Punjab High Court before it was gutted in 1981.
The hotel with 34 suites, of which 10 are reserved for state guests, stands on the charred remains of the earlier building that was gutted in a massive fire Jan 12, 1981.
“During the brainstorming session, the party leaders will get a chance to taste Shimla’s glorious past. During their stay, they will spend every moment in the midst of grand monuments constructed by the British,” state BJP chief Khimi Ram told IANS.
Most of the party leaders are staying in Peterhoff, which had served as the residence of at least seven viceroys and governors general during the British rule.
Peterhoff was first occupied in 1876 by the Viceroy couple, the Lyttons. At that time it developed a reputation for its hospitality, particularly for the quality and quantity of the exotic drinks served there.
After independence, Peterhoff housed the Punjab High Court when it witnessed the trial of Nathu Ram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi. The case was finally decided June 21, 1949 against Godse.
Later, the building was turned into the governor’s residence.
During the 1981 fire, then governor Aminuddin Ahmed Khan managed a narrow escape from the flaming building. He lost all his belongings and was left with only the clothes he was wearing.
When it was burnt down, Barnes Court was made the governor’s residence and continues to be so.
The Peterhoff was rebuilt in 1992-93 and converted into a state-run guest house-cum-hotel.
A senior BJP leader said special arrangements have also been made for party leaders to visit the other imperial buildings that were once institutions of power when this hill town was the summer capital of British India.
The ‘Queen of Hills’, as Shimla was fondly called by the British, has 91 British-era heritage buildings in typical Tudor style — all wooden frames and shingled eaves.