Andretta, Himachal Pradesh

Andretta is a village and an artists' colony in Himachal Pradesh. The artists' colony was established in the 1920s, when Irish theatre artiste and environmentalist, Norah Richards, shifted here from Lahore. Near Palampur in the Kangra District, with Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas as a backdrop, Andretta over the years has attracted many noted artists, theatre practitioners, painters and more recently potters. Two of the people who became associated with it early on were painters Sobha Singh and B. C. Sanyal.

Norah, an actress originally from Ireland, married Philip Richards, who was a professor at Government College, Lahore. She arrived in Lahore, an important cultural centre, in 1908. She later became vice-principal at Dayal Singh College, Lahore.

In the following years, she played a pivotal role in establishing modern Punjabi theatre, staging plays with Punjabi themes. After the death of her husband, she went back briefly, only to return in 1924, when she made Andretta, a village near Palampur, her home. She built a traditional Kangra-style mud house, known as ‘Chameli Niwas’, employing local style and material, using mud, slate and bamboo. She also built a makeshift proscenium and invited Punjabi theatre amateurs and professionals to perform plays.

In 1935, the District Commissioner of Kangra gave Richards 15 acres of land, and the Woodland Estate came into existence. She started a school of drama, and in time the village was known as "Mem-da-pind" (Village of Memsahib).

In its early days, travel to the village was not easy. It took a 12-hour train journey, followed by a bus ride, and the last nine miles from Banuri (the nearest village) were covered on foot. Even so, it started attracting artists from all over, especially Lahore.

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