Andretta, Himachal Pradesh

Near Palampur in the Kangra District, with Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas as a backdrop, Andretta over the years has attracted many noted artists, theatre practitioners, painters and more recently potters.

[1] Norah, an actress originally from Ireland, married Philip Richards, who was a professor at Government College, Lahore.

After the death of her husband, she went back briefly, only to return in 1924, when she made Andretta, a village near Palampur, her home.

This included painter B. C. Sanyal and professor Jai Dayal Singh, a pupil of Philip Richards from Lahore University, through the 1940s.

Sanyal started organizing painting exhibitions to fund the Norah Centre for Arts and a resort.

Noted painter, Sobha Singh, most known for making Sikh religious painting, moved in and stayed here till his death in 1986.

They set up a Central Government Rural Marketing Centre with a grant of Rs 1,35,000 to provide assistance to potters.