The Retreat Building is the official retreat residence of the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

at Chharabra,

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

, in the state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

.Official website of the President of India
Presidential retreats. Retrieved 11 February 2022."The Retreat, a treat for India's Presidents"
''The Tribune'', 21 June 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2022. The President stays at the building for at least two weeks during summer and conducts official business. It is located 13 km away from the city Shimla and is a thousand feet higher than the Shimla Ridge Top, which is part of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. The other presidential homes are

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, and Rashtrapati Nilayam in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

History

The building was originally constructed by the then Medical Superintendent of Simla, whose name is not known (referred to merely as Mr. C____ in ''Simla Past and Present'' by Edward J. Buck). The Retreat was taken on lease from Raja of Koti by Lord William Hay. During this period, the local population called it "Larty Sahib Ki Kothi", i.e. house of Mr. Larty, as Lord William Hay was named by locals. The lease deed contained stipulations that: the two roads from Simla and Mashobra village should, in the interest of native population of Koti State, be open to the public; no trees should be felled; and no cattle be slaughtered on the grounds. The lease of the Retreat was then taken by Sir William Mansfield, Commander-in-Chief, and then By Sir Edward Buck in 1881. In 1896, Raja of Koti used his right of preemption and took the possession of the estate. Thereafter the Retreat was consigned to the government on permanent lease by Raja of Koti. The Earl of Elgin was the first

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

to have used the Retreat as a viceregal residence. Lord Elgin secured use of the Retreat for future viceroys and constantly spent his weekends there.Edward J. Buck, ''Simla Past and Present'', Thacker, Spink and Co. (1904), pp. 177-180.

Design

The architecture and the picturesque surrounding of the place make it a major tourist attraction in Shimla. The outstanding feature of this building is that it is purely a wooden structure with dhajji wall construction. This building has an area of .

References

Official residences in India Presidential residences in India Buildings and structures in Shimla {{India-gov-stub

History

Design

See also

References