Shimla riding on White Christmas hopes

SHIMLA: Tourists and hoteliers are dreaming of a white, white Christmas in Shimla this time, after a long gap of 22 years. The forecast of snowfall on Sunday and Monday has buoyed their hopes further, and fuelled a Christmas rush to the hill towns.
It was in 1991 that Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh received ample snow on December 24 and 25.Since then, thousands of tourists have been coming here every year in the hope of enjoying a White Christmas, but only to return disappointed.
“Twenty two years is a long wait,” says Karan Nanda, a businessman in Shimla as the 'Queen of Hills' gets all decked up for the big day.
In 1989, Shimla had received snowfall from December 22 to 24; in 1995, from December 21 to 22 while in 2013 on December 23.
Manmohan Singh, director of meteorological centre, Shimla, said, “It all depends on the western disturbances. Right now, there are all indications that tourists will not be disappointed. One or two spells of snowfall are expected before Christmas, on December 21 and December 22.''
Hotels in Shimla have witnessed a surge in bookings following the forecast of snow on December 25 and many in the plains have begun making plans for enjoying the quintessential Xmas experience.
Shimla-based hotelier Atul Gautam said hotels are almost packed to capacity as people have made advance bookings for Christmas. “Though Christmas trees and Santa Claus are permanent fixtures, snow is like the icing on the cake.”
It was during the British rule that Christmas celebrations started here and Shimla’s similarity to European conditions gave currency to the term “White Christmas”. It was 1822 that the first European house was built in Shimla and by 1881 the hill town had a population of 4,803 Europeans.
Shimla-based historian Raja Bhasin said, “Senior British officials and others used to congregate at Christ Church at the Ridge amid the snow for celebrations which started the trend of White Christmas.”
The season's maiden snowfall at Shimla and surrounding areas on December 13 and 14 has revived the hope in a million hearts of snow on December 25 — the first time since 1991. “We're praying for snow on Christmas day,” says Nanda.