Scandal Point
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Tags : Viewpoint
Timings : Monday - Sunday 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Time Required : Less than 1 hour
Entry Fee : No entry fee
Scandal point, Shimla Overview
Scandal Point sits where Mall Road meets The Ridge, with an open view over the surrounding hills and pine forest. It's one of the more lively parts of central Shimla, with pony rides, food stalls (hot maggi is a local favorite here), and arcade games, making it a good stop to combine with a Mall Road walk rather than a destination on its own.
The Scandal Point is one such attraction in Shimla whose enthralling scenic beauty stands as a testimony to the city's stellar reputation. This point is a mountain lover's haven because it enjoys a picturesque and unobstructed view of gigantic mountains covered in a blanket of dense fir and spruce.
The attraction rests on the intersection of the city's most roads- Ridge Road and Mall Road. On this intersection, there also lies a statue of our revered freedom fighter- Sri Lala Lajpat Raiji.
It is a year-round magnet where people come to relax and rejuvenate amidst the view of the soaring mountains. One can opt for a horse ride at this point, enjoy some hill station Maggi and play some arcade games in the small shops that surround this point.
Read More on Scandal point
Why is it called Scandal Point?
Lord Kitchener was on good terms with the Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh and the king would often visit the viceroy's abode. There, he met the Kitchener's daughter and immediately fell in love with her. Both, the king and the viceroy's daughter, got well acquainted with each other. They started meeting more often and spending more time together, and eventually, fell in love. When Kitchener found out about this, he was infuriated. The couple wanted to get married, but this was not acceptable by the British Viceroy. He ordered his daughter to stop seeing the king and tried to break them off. Both the lovers could not stand to be apart from each other, and they decided to elope.
The couple met at, what is now the Scandal Point, and ran away together in 1892. This remained the talk of the town for years and went down in history as one of the first alliances between the British and the Indians. Enraged by their misconduct, Lord Kitchener swore that he would ruin the king's life and expelled the Maharaja from Shimla. However, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was confident in his love, and he constructed the summer capital of his kingdom from scratch in Chail, only 50 miles away from Shimla.
Story of Scandal Point
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was popularly known as a charismatic womaniser. He was a smooth talker who would easily woo women he was interested in and had been married quite a lot of times. They say that there was, in fact, no involvement of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh in the scandal and that his name was only dragged into this because of his marred reputation.
The timeline and sequence of events suggest that Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was only twelve months old when all of this supposedly happened! It is true that Lord Kitchener had banished Bhupinder Singh from Shimla who then built his summer capital in Chail, but the reason for banishment is not certain. The initials on the summer capital in Chail read RS- Rajinder Singh, Bhupinder Singh's father. Rumour has it that Rajinder Singh secretly had an English wife, which was probably from where all these stories were created.
Best Time to Visit
Months between July and September experience the seasonal showers. Shimla experiences heavy rainfall and occasional landslides during monsoons. However, the monsoons bring out the lush side of this hill station and make it all the more beautiful and alluring.
The winters start from October and go on till February. The climate is biting cold, and the temperature goes as low as -2 degrees Celsius. This may not be the best time to visit the Scandal Point.
