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| Saturday, January 22, 2000 |
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THE cemetery of Subathu is totally different from the graveyards shown in horror films or serials.
The Britishers conquered the Subathu Fort while capturing General Amar Singh Thapa who preferred to swallow his diamond ring than to surrender. Cannons were used in the fierce battle, which resulted in heavy casualties , in 1814. The soldiers were buried 2 km away from the fort which is now the present graveyard. |
| Shimla was discovered by Captain Kennedy
during his sojourn at Subathu and the town remained the
summer capital of the country for a short time. The then
Viceroy was put up in Viceregal Lodge situated on the
highest peak of this cantonment. Currently, it houses the
14 Gurkha Training Centre. The British Army operated from
Subathu. Soon, the space for burials fell short. New
locations were found — one on the Solan road and the
other on the Kasauli road near Naya nagar. The former was
used by Catholics and the latter by Protestants. The
beautiful architecture, artistic designs, eye-catching
engravings and verse on the epitaphs attracted passersby.
But few tombs on graves have survived since 1814. Spread on a vast slopy expanse, this beautiful locale attracts not only the tourists but artistes from Bollywood too. In 1960, Ivory Merchant shot his famous English film Shakespearewallah with Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer in this graveyard. Later G.S. Channi used it for his serial Bandhak based on Kashmir problem. Recently, a full-fledged love song of a Punjabi film Honeymoon was picturised here at midnight. This area finds a prominent coverage in the annual issue of the magazine brought out by Lawrence School, Sanawar. Lawrence’s daughter who died in 1841 in Subathu is buried here. A beautiful sketch of this burial ground by a Bengali artist, R. Mitra, adds colour to the school’s magazines. The vast area of the graveyard has plenty of wild flowers and herbs which attract research scholars of Botany. Medicinal herbs like banafsha, rasont, brahmi and karonda grow in winter and rainy season. It’s an enthralling experience to spend some moments in and around this graveyard that bestows solace and tranquillity with fresh whiff of pine resins and fragrance of herbs and flowers. One can reach Subathu in 90 minutes from Chandigarh, covering a distance of 70 km. A forest resthouse and two hotels in the town offer accommodation. Another on the banks of the Gambher river, provides a beautiful locale for picnics, excursions and shooting of films. |
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Situated on the ‘Cheel Chakkar’
road, adjacent to the bungalow of Late G.D. Sondhi, the
first Indian Principal of Government College, Lahore, it
is the oldest cemetery in Shimla hills which have the
graves of many British veterans. The cemetery in Subathu
was built soon after the British defeated the Gurkhas
here.