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RAKKH PATRIKA

29th March 2021

 5 MINUTES

BR O UG HT TO Y O U BY R A KKH R ESO R T HIMACHA L PR A DESH

Historical promience of
Palampur: Tea Gardens and

Beyond

Nestled in a verdant expanse of pine forests, cradled by the
Dhauladhar mountains, rolling hills playing with lovely valleys as
the streams and rivers bubble with joy, aromatic tea slopes
looking at t hem , eponym ous t o t he land full of wat er, Palam pur
in Kangra district is an ancient town, as old as it is beautiful.
Little wonder that it was preferred by wave af ter wave of settlers
from prehistoric times to the shepherds from Rajasthan, the
Gaddis, from artists such as the revered Sobha Singh who made
Andretta his home to the recent wave of T ibetan settlers
headed by none other than the Dalai Lama himself.
Although now famous among the travellers, not many know of
the rich history of the Kangra region. Here we explore
particularly the history and landmark events and personalities of
Palam pur. At Rakkh Resort in Palam pur, we are proud of hist ory,
culture and heritage, wanting to showcase it to the world. T his is
one humble attempt at it .

Palam pur is an im port ant t own locat ed in Kangra Valley, a
popular hill station amongst holidaymakers, many of who love
Rakkh Resort in Palampur for its 360 Degree offering, including
adventure, relaxation, cultural immersions and culinary
indulgence. Palampur was once a part of the Jalandhar kingdom.
T he town of Palampur itself came into existence when Dr
William Jameson (shown above), Superintendent of Botanical
Gardens, introduced the tea bush from Almora in 1849 . T he
British were in search of locations in India where they could grow
the Chinese Tea owing to the volatile political situation in China.

T he tea bush introduced from China thrived at Palampur and so
did the town. T hus becoming a focus of the European tea estate
owners. One im port ant except ion t o t his was t he fam ous Wah
Tea Est at e, owned by Nawab Muham m ad Hayat Khan of Wah
Kingdome, now in Pakistan and his descendants, until 1947. Since
then, the Kangra tea of Palampur has been known
internationally. But let us have a closer look at the tea gardens
that flank the mountains all around Rakkh Resort in Palampur.

Af t er Dr Jam eson successfully cult ivat ed t ea at Palam pur, t he
tea estates grew in success, profit and popularity from the 185 0s
onwards. A labour-intensive enterprise, this motivated more and
more immigrants from all over the state and beyond to settle in
Palam pur. Not just labourers, but engineers, bot anist s, expert s in
tea growing and processing also made Palampur their home. T he
rapid grow th of Palampur prompted its elevation as Tehsil
Headquarters from Bhawarna previously. One of the notable
settlement of immigrants is that of Nepali Gurkhas at Tota Rani,
giving it the title of Little Nepal. 

T he growing wealth and population with tastes and needs
beyond just simple survival prompted the authorities to vastly
improve the infrastructure building schools, colleges and
hospitals. St Paul’s Senior Secondary School at Palampur built
then still stands tall , educating generations of Himachali
st udent s.
When the earth shook, shattering many dreams…

When the earth shook, shattering many dreams…
In 19 05 , a massive earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale
lef t a trail of destruction in its wake. T he ensuing landslides
destroyed most of the tea gardens which were washed away in a
torrent of flowing mud. Within a few minutes, once verdant
slopes stood bald and barren. Post this, a period of lull followed
with no grow th or development with even reverse migration. But
the authorities woke up to the challenge and started other
development activities building not just offices, schools and
church but also a major hydro-power project at Joginder Nagar in
19 2 7. Soon the railways followed opening up new avenues of
industry and development .

Palampur gained enough prominence for even the first prime
minister of independent India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to have
visited Palampur in 1941 when it was still British India. T here is a
Nehru Chowk in Palampur to commemorate this event .

Post-independence, India was infused with new energy, a
renewed youth of an ancient country. T his translated into a
vigour in the art world with many landmark artists and art
schools mushrooming all over the country. One such important
artist who has come to define the art heritage of Kangra greatly
af ter the miniature paintings of Kangra , Sardar Sobha Singh, a
well known contemporary painter in 1947 moved from Punjab to
an idyllic village of Andretta, his muse for the rest of his life. A
museum and his home still exist here giving us a peek into his
life and works. His rendition of Sikh gurus has come to define
their visuals. An Irish actor and playwright , Norah Richards
settled in Andretta too making it the hub of art , music, poetry
and interestingly pottery. Even today the pottery school at
Andretta in Palampur is the go-to place for clay aficionados.

Not just the world of art but the world of science also made its
im pact felt at Palam pur, wit h t he se t t ing up of C S IR Inst it ue of
Himalayan Bioresource Technology, known for its pioneering
work in rejuvenating water resources in Meghalaya and the
Horticultral Research Center recently in news for helping
farmers in Spiti valley to grow Asafoetida, a major cash crop
which is going to bring a new wave of prosperity to this frontier
region.

O ver the years, all this and the salubrious weather of Palampur
has attracted millions of travellers to Kangra. Responsible and
sustainable tourism ventures such as Rakkh Resort in Palampur
are instrumental in showcasing the region true spirit , conserving,
preserving and showcasing the rich heritage of this region.

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