By IANS,
Shimla : Vice President Hamid Ansari is all set for a two-day sojourn in this Himachal Pradesh hill town beginning Wednesday. His trip will include a visit to his alma mater St Edward’s School.
Ansari, who spent some of his childhood years in the summer capital of British India, will get a glimpse of the legacies of the Raj era and will also lecture at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), officials said.
“During his visit, Ansari will get a chance to taste Shimla’s glorious past. The visit has been planned in such a way that he spends every moment in the midst of grand monuments and buildings constructed by the Raj,” state hospitality and protocol director K.R. Bharti told IANS.
“The vice president will visit the historic Barnes Court, the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies and his alma mater St Edward’s School,” he said.
Barnes Court is where the Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan was inked after the 1971 war. It is now the residence of Governor Prabha Rau. Constructed in 1832, this elegant building was the residence of former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab Sir Louis Dane.
“Ansari will spend the night at Barnes Court April 15. He will return to Delhi the next morning after delivering a lecture at the IIAS,” Bharti said.
According to Bharti, Ansari’s visit was earlier spread over three days. “On the advice of the vice president’s office, his visit has been rescheduled,” the official clarified.
The vice president will deliver a lecture at the IIAS that is housed in the century-old Viceregal Lodge. Built during the viceroyship of Lord Dufferin, the Viceregal Lodge is among the most impressive buildings built by the British here.
“Vice President Hamid Ansari has been invited by the IIAS to deliver the 13th Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Memorial Lecture,” said IIAS’s public relations officer A.K. Sharma.
The vice president will also visit his alma mater St Edward’s School, a prominent boy’s school that has been imparting education since March 9, 1925.
“The vice president will spend some time in the school where he had studied during 1949-51,” said principal Father John Bosco.
He said Ansari would interact with students, staff and take a round of the historic school buildings.