Culture & Society

No Scandal At Scandal Point

This was the time when the soon-to-be-famous, Rudyard Kipling came to the 바카라˜summer capital바카라™ of India and its glittering social swirl. Well over a century and a half, after he first put pen to paper, part fiction, part fable and part reality, he created a world whose images are still with us.

Winter evening at Scandal Point
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Colonial power was at its height and in nineteenth-century Shimla, flocked dashing young men were seeking their fortunes. Here came 바카라˜Grass Widows바카라™, married ladies escaping both the heat and their husbands 바카라“ and quite amenable 바카라˜to a little something바카라™ and 바카라˜a someone바카라™ to keep them entertained. The finer specimens of the 바카라˜Fishing Fleet바카라™ wound their way up the narrow mountain paths in search of husbands. There was the enigmatic club of 바카라˜Black Hearts바카라™ whose members could not commit the offence of 바카라˜living in open matrimony.바카라™ Whiffs of scandal floated as freely as Shimla바카라™s mists. It needed a warehouse to contain all this; along came 바카라˜Scandal Point바카라™. 

This was the time when the soon-to-be-famous, Rudyard Kipling came to the 바카라˜summer capital바카라™ of India and its glittering social swirl. Well over a century and a half, after he first put pen to paper, part fiction, part fable and part reality, he created a world whose images are still with us. In 1888, Kipling바카라™s story, 바카라˜The Education of Otis Yeere바카라™ was first published. Two characters of his creation appear in the story. There is Mrs Mallow and, the formidable Mrs Hauksbee who, 바카라œ바카라Šwas sometimes nice to her own sex,바카라 while she had, 바카라œThe wisdom of the Serpent, the logical coherence of the Man, the fearlessness of Child and the triple intuition of the woman.바카라 It is in this story that the phrase 바카라˜Scandal Point바카라™ first appears in print, 바카라œYour salon would become a glorified Peliti바카라™s,바카라 says Mrs. Mallow, 바카라œA 바카라˜Scandal Point바카라™ by lamplight.바카라 From this moment on, this line from Kipling바카라™s pen enters perceived reality and steadily gathers more stories. 

Going by the popular tale, recounted time and again with supposed authority, a Maharaja of Patiala carried off a British Viceroy바카라™s daughter (or wife), from this spot on Shimla바카라™s Mall. The Maharaja in question may have had numerous affairs and kept a substantial harem, but at the time of the supposed incident, he wasn바카라™t born and if he was, then he would have been an infant. Years ago, as now, little or large gatherings have sorted out the world at this crossroad and exchanged gossip. Within the course of a conversation, governments have risen and fallen on Scandal Point. There is hushed talk of 바카라˜who ran off with whom바카라™ and 바카라˜who would like to run off with whom.바카라™ In a word: scandal.  

The Patiala connection probably stems from the fact that the Patiala durbar had a 바카라˜Vakil khaana바카라™ in the Middle Bazaar, just below the so-called Scandal Point. Here, employees of the Patiala durbar worked and conducted the sundry matters of this influential princely state. In 1929, ten disgruntled citizens of Patiala drew up a list of charges against the Maharaja. The British Viceroy of India, Lord Willingdon cleared the Maharaja of all charges. Employees at the 바카라˜Vakil khaana바카라™, like many others would probably sun themselves and air their views to anyone who would care to listen. With this incident, the Maharaja has passed into urban legend as a figure of notoriety and has left his stamp on the spot. And the only scandal of 바카라˜Scandal Point바카라™ is that there wasn바카라™t a scandal and still isn바카라™t.  

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