19TH CENTURY PHOTO-THE MALL-SIMLA TOWN, INDIA-NO INDIANS ALLOWED DURING DAY TIME. Even in leisure the British were now increasingly obsessed by only one social distinction; the superior white sahib and the inferior black native.British colonalism intruded administratively into new public and private spheres but retreated culturally from indigenous recreational arenas where it had been active. In this period of cautious retreat into the exclusive and invincible colonial ghettos - the barricaded cantonment and civil lines, the picturesque hill resorts of Shimla and Mussorie - Britishers not only demarcated clearly their leisure spaces and forms from those of the vanquished "colonised," but also identified these divisions in racial terms.

Shimla provided an escape not only from heat but also from the native culture of the plains: its atmosphere was that of an oversized English club. No Indians were allowed on the mall except for some hours at night. The mall became a premier promenading area. Durga Das, a noted journalist and editor in Shimla, observed: "The mall was a special European preserve. No load carrying porter was permitted to use it, nor any ill dressed Indian either - the rule was relaxed at night when middle class Indians strolled along the mall, gazing alarmingly at the show windows of European shops." Again, Annandale, a flat semi-circular amphitheatre emerged as a play and recreation ground for the British population in Shimla. It became the site for countless balls, dinners, picnics, flower shows, hack races and even rickshaw races. By the beginning of the 20th century the ground had been enlarged and it was possible to hold gymkhanas, polo, cricket and football matches here. As exclusive, British elan resorts like Shimla proliferated, the complex relationship between the Indian and British leisure spaces receded into oblivion.

THERE WAS NEWS THAT THE MALL  HAD A NOTICE BOARD "NO INDIANS "[SOME PEOPLE SAY THE NOTICE INCLUDED THE BAN "NO DOGS"]




Mall now