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Colonial shimla's pot pourri had some vital ingredients.
There were 'Grass Widows' - unattached ladies spending a 'season' at
Shimla while their husbands sweltered it out on the plains.
Then there were members of the 'Fishing Fleet' - young women who sailed
out of England, usually chaperoned, in search of husbands. No dance was
considered complete without numerous, cunningly devised 'Kala Jagahs'
(dark places). In these nooks, one could sit with one's partner on a small
sofa or even on a single armchair, and no word of criticism would be
uttered.
But of all the clubs and societies that were unique to Shimla, the most
enigmatic was the 'most noble order of the black hearts', only men were
eligible for membership and they too could not commit the offence of "living
in open matrimony." More staid were the Annandale Gymkhana Club and,
the Amateur Dramatic Club - the latter still exists.