SHIMLA, INDIA – 2

Part 2

The wide Ridge, clean and with no through vehicular traffic, is where all tourists and locals with nothing to do but people watch spend their time; sitting on tiered benches all around or standing about chatting, snacking and, of course, people watching. At the end of the Ridge and where the old mall begins are horses for hire.

Horse for Hire

Children and a few adults get to sit on horses that are led up and down a short stretch. The horses do foul up the mall at times but sweepers are quick at hand and immediately clean up.

Here too are Monkeys.

Indifferent Model

Monkeys in the whole of Shimla range from tiny babies to many as large as medium sized fluffy dogs. It is interesting to see many residents caged in by bars and barbwire fencing, keeping inmates safe in and monkeys out. The monkeys on the Ridge are a cheeky and daring lot but seem harmless. They dislike people pointing cameras at them; they make faces, scold threateningly baring their teeth or turn away.

Most leave you alone, but a few snatch bags, sunglasses and food from unwary tourists and vendors.

Veering off and going down the path of any slope brings one into a warren of activity. Shops, stalls, restaurants, temples and dwellings balance precariously, built and supported on slopes and narrow steep ledges. They line the rocky and very narrow crowded pedestrian paths. A big pleasure of walking through the crowded lanes and stopping at times to admire and feel the scene is that no one tries to sell you anything. There are hardly any beggars pestering one unlike in other big cities of India. In the time we spent there we encountered only three disabled beggars.