The Changing Tourist Gaze in India’s Hill Stations: Vignettes from the Early 19th Century to the Present - Tourism and Visual Culture: Theories and Concepts - page 18

gaze (Urry, 2002) could be taken further (Crouch,
2002), as visitors engaged with the environ-
ment, participating in the peaceful existence of
the hills. Their impressions of the hills, be they a
refl ection of gaze or embodiment in the environ-
ment were recorded in sketches and paintings
(Price, 1908; Kennedy, 1996). Images produced
were picturesque, focusing on the beauty of the
landscape rather than the harshness of life faced
by either Indians or Europeans. Scenes such as
those from Ooty and Conoor refl ected gentle,
rolling landscapes, unthreatening and remi-
niscent of the temperate West (Price, 1908).
Figure 1.7 shows St Stephen's church in Ooty,
set against a background not dissimilar to the
English Downs. Wending their way to church is
a small family, more typical of a European than
an Indian family, portrayed with a sentimental-
ity that evokes the European's pride in their
conversion of Indians to Christianity. As with
Fig. 1.6, Fig. 1.7 also exudes paternalism, peace
and safety - something that would have
attracted visitors. Similarly, images of the Hima-
layas represented the sublime, awe-inspiring
magnifi cence of the mountains at one extreme

and gentle beauty of the landscape with its ani-
mal and bird life at the other (Pradhan, 2007).

The Tourist Gaze at the
End of the 19th Century

By the turn of the century, most hill stations
were much larger and more established. Visitors
intent on work, rest and play included members
of the Administration, their wives and families,
and inevitably, the army. Access had improved.
Unmade roads were now much more than
tracks, though they frequently fell into bad repair
in the rainy season. To improve the reliability of
access, railways (Fig. 1.8) were constructed by
the British (using Indian labour) at Darjeeling,
Simla and Ooty. For most other hill stations,
visitors would begin their journey on horseback
or in a horse-drawn cart where the road was
not too steep. Once the road became too steep
the horses would be taken back to the plains
and the journey continued on foot or, for
women and children, in a sedan chair, which

Fig. 1.7. Ootacamand St Stephen's Church. Source: Price, F. (1908) Ootacamund: A History . Asian
Educational Services, New Delhi. Reproduced with permission from Asian Educational Services.