Rashtrapati Niwas
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On the Observatory Hills of Shimla,Himachal Pradesh, is located the Viceregal Lodge. Also known as Rashtrapati Niwas, it was formerly the residence of the British Viceroy Lord Dufferin.This is the most beautiful building in Shimla. It houses some of the most ancient articles going back to the times of the British rule.
The Viceregal Lodge was designed by British architect Henry Irwin and built in the Elizabethan style during the regime of Lord Earl Dufferin. Its construction started in 1880 and was completed in 1888. Lord Dufferin occupied the lodge on July 23, 1888.[1]
You can see the splendour and grace of the colonial era in the Vice regal Lodge. Rashtrapati Niwas, the former secondary residence of India's Governor and the official summer residence of the Viceroy was built in 1888.
[edit] History
The summer capital of the imperial masters of India was of little use to the President of democratic republic who visited it only for a few days in the year, if at all. Professor S.Radhakrishnan thought of putting it to academic use. The Rashtrapati Nivas Estate was transferred to the Ministry of Education to be handed over to the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.The C.P.W.D., the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and the Himachal Pradesh University were allowed in due course to use some of its buildings but the bulk of the Estate, including its well kept lawns and rich glass-house, has remained in use for the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.[2]
