Mall Road, Shimla

Mall Road is the main street in Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh, India. Constructed during British colonial rule, the Mall road is located a level below the ridge. The offices of municipal corporation, fire service, and police headquarters are located here. Automobiles, except emergency vehicles are not allowed on this road. For this reason, locals and tourists are often found strolling on this road in the evenings.

Mall road has a number of showrooms, department stores, shops, restaurants and cafes. A Himachal emporium that offers handicraft products of Himachal Pradesh like locally designed woolen clothes, branded clothes, pottery items, and jewellery is also located here.

Scandal point is where the Mall road joins Ridge road on the west side. The name arose from the commotion caused by the supposed elopement of a British lady with an Indian Maharaja. The story goes that the Maharaja of Patiala had eloped with the daughter of the British Viceroy. This had led to the Maharaja being banished from entering Shimla by the British authorities. He countered the move by setting himself a new summer capital – now famous hill resort of Chail, 45 km from Shimla.

. The most prominent feature of the point today is a statue of the Indian freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai (no relation to the scandal). Next to Scandal Point is the General Post Office, Shimla.

Gaiety Theater, located on the Mall, was opened on 30 May 1887. Many popular film personalities have performed on its stage.
Today, the Gaiety is primarily known for its social club. Schools in Shimla use this theater for performing arts. The theater has been renovated with the original structure untouched to keep its heritage preserved while making it more attractive.

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Wikipedia