India, May 15 -- The Ladies of Mahabaleshwar

Have strawberries for tea.

And as for cream and sugar,

They add them lavishly;

But Poona! Oh, in Poona,

Their hearts are likely to break

For while the butter's melting

The flies eat up the cake.

Mahabaleshwar was the summer headquarters of the Bombay government. The rolling spurs of the hill station, crowned by flat-topped summits, commanded magnificent views of deep valleys and possessed natural advantages surpassed by few.

During the season (March to June and October), Mahabaleshwar received an influx of Europeans as well as rich Indians from Bombay and Poona, considerably increasing its resident population. Even if Matheran was closer to Bombay and Panchgani was better connected to ...