10th April 2012 – In Kalpa (Kinnaur)

Friends,

As soon as I woke up after a comfortable nights rest I ran down the stairway to check the visibility of the mountains. The CH is situated at almost 2900 metres above MSL; it was cold and the views were not clear enough to identify the Kinner Kailash and the ‘Shivling’ atop it. However, I walked around and took a few pictures till Sharma brought me a double tea in a glass tumbler. Late last night a few people had checked into the CH. One of them came out and I got talking to him. Mr. Acharya worked with HIMFED. He was part of a team that was on tour to probe complaints from farmers about the quality of a spray that was supplied by IOC through HIMFED.

Interacting with the officials of the government, the caretaker and my contacts produced a wealth of information about the local customs, practices and the changes that have come about in the recent past in Kinnaur. An interesting social custom is that all brothers marry one lady. This is unique to HP and is still prevalent. The adverse sex ratio had something to do with it in the past but it arrests property division and the wealth remains within the joint family. The lady is all powerful controlling the finances and the men work in the orchards.

Households are licensed by the Excise department to ‘manufacture’ their own liquor for private consumption and fairs. It is not meant to be sold. A variety of local hooch is prepared using apricot, cherries, peaches, etc. However, the apricot distillate is said to be the best. I have to tap my contacts here to try and get a sample. The products that are supposed to be the specialty of the region are wild apricot oil, apricots, chilgoza, walnuts, rajma and black jeera, apart from apples, of course. Chilgoza is an expensive dry fruit – it is obtained from stubborn pines that grow on sheer rock faces.

HP is known for apples and the Kinnaur apples are considered to be among the best produced in the country. The local people consider the Kinnaur Golden to be superior to all other varieties of apples produced in the region. Since the external demand is not so high the superior variety sells for much less than the more sought after ‘Royal’. The Golden apple keeps for about 8 months in the Kinnaur climate. The ‘C’ grade variety of the apples is procured by HPMC and HIMFED to support the farming efforts. These apples actually go in for processing – there is a prevalent view that the apple juice that is on offer from the HPMC outlets is not what it should be for the juice is prepared from the most inferior variety of the apples produced in the region. In the recent past certain companies have stepped in to the apple business such as Jindal Agri and Container Corporation of India. They buy the best variety directly from the farmers and use a network of temperature controlled warehouses to withstand seasonal variations. This ensures that the apples are available round the year. But all is not hunky dory with the government procured apples. Lack of proper warehousing facilities takes their toll during seasons of bumper crop – it is reported that 8 lakh bags of 60 kgs each were rotten and destroyed in 2010.

The recent past has seen lot of money in the hands of the locals with the development of power plants and roads. The compensation is large and through protests and organized demonstrations they manage more. The entire Kinnaur district has tribal status which gives it protection from ‘outside’ influences. For instance, ‘outsiders’ cannot buy land in Kinnaur. The only way out is to marry a local! In HP ex-servicemen have a direct quota in civil administration and attached offices. This is because of a large number of people from the region join the armed forces. It is said that the Kargil war brought home this fact, poignantly though, with the steady arrival of coffins. However, the government jobs have improved the purchasing power of the people and mushrooming residential construction is a direct offshoot. To survive the harsh winter all items are dried - meat, fish, vegetables, et al

After a heavy breakfast of aloo parathas I took a bus to Rogi, about 8 kms from the CH. The magnificent sights on the way confirms the great natural beauty of the place. It makes one believe in the local legend that the area with all its charms fell from the heavens as a gift from the gods. The drive is exhilarating as the road is trickily carved out of sheer rock faces. The village is pristine with apricot trees in full bloom and apples getting ready for the new fruiting in August. Along the way the simle village folk wish you and a few of them even stopped to enquire if I liked what I saw. There are a few houses in the village that claim to be the last house in the village, beyond which is sheer vegetation and forest. However, there is lot of new constructions taking place and most new constructions have a garage for parking vehicles too. After spending an hour in the village soaking in the clean air and the divine sights I decided to trek back to the CH. The walk back made me appreciate the glorious views of the mountains, the orchards, the greenery and the peculiar rock formation and even designs on them. The deep gorges can make your head spin. In fact, the ‘suicide point’ is a favorite among visitors to appreciate the precipitous rock faces.

Mohammed Muslim got down from the bus that I had taken to Rogi. Disarmingly he asked me, “Uncle, where are you from?” He guessed that I was from UP. He is part of a large group of boys from UP, mainly Sitapur District, who visit various towns and villages selling cheap carpets, thin mattresses and the like. He confessed that the profits from the sale are substantial. Some numbers he mentioned had my head reeling. He has been in the business since the age of 19 and has been touring Rajasthan, J&K and HP for the past 14 years. He claims to foot it to most of the villages in HP. His knowledge of the local customs and practices were indeed interesting to listen to. He virtually abandoned his work for the day and struck to me throughout my tour of Rogi. He claims to have only one meal a day, and that too mutton biriyani in the evening – walking the mountainous areas on a full stomach is not possible. Muslim gave me information about places to visit and when to visit them. He even invited me to a meal at his residence, a rented place where four of them stay together. Sale is normally over by 2 PM and then it is TV, cooking and eating for the rest of the waking hours.

I took a few short cuts through the forested roads and reached Kalpa village – must have walked at least 12 kms from Rogi – and took a bus to Peo. There I had lunch at the Punjabi dhaba, a small and not clean eatery. But it served hot food. I ordered for rotis and dal fry. The excellent dal fry made me oblivious to the surroundings. Thereafter, I went to a provision store and sourced apricots, oil, chilgoza, almonds, walnuts and rajma. I returned to the CH after making arrangements for a visit tomorrow to the Sangla Valley and Chitkul. It was not a minute late for me to reach the CH as the heavens opened up, as it were. With such heavy rains the prospects of any outdoor activity seemed bleak.

9th April 2012 – Leaving Shimla

Friends,

I could not get sleep after 4.30 AM. And I had so much time to kill before taking the 9.15 AM bus to Reckong Peo. Then an idea formed in my head. Why not get ready early and try my luck on the road to get me to the ISBT for an earlier bus? The inner voice goaded me on and I left the guest house before 5.30 AM. It’s about 6 kms to the ISBT. Technically I stood no chance of walking to it. I waved frantically at all passing vehicles. In the dark no one cared. I started wondering if it was a good idea to do this at all. Nevertheless I labored on. Many more vehicles swerved and drove on. With loud prayers on my lips I kept walking and flailing my arms. Just when I thought that I should park myself on a kerb till the buses started a Maruti Alto stopped. Fortunately, the passengers in it were also bound for the ISBT. I reached the ISBT in time for the 6.15 AM service to Peo.

Just as the bus took its appointed place in the stand I clambered on and tried to accommodate the back pack in the luggage rack. It would not fit and the driver insisted that it should be carted on top of the bus. I pleaded with him for the first seat on the bus, next to him. He agreed and I could put the luggage comfortably next to me. The only inconvenience was that the leg space was restricted. It was a small price to pay. I will have to find ingenious ways of relieving the pressure on the knees.

I need not have worried about it for there were numerous stoppages en route. Though it is a long distance service it also served short segment passengers. There were many stoppages for tea, food and meals. All these, in their own way, contributed to frequent leg stretches. Even then, the 11 hour ride took its toll on the knees. The Rampur HRTC bus stand should surely rank among the best locations for a bus stand in the country. Overlooking the Sutlej river and with tall mountains on the other side, the bus stand is a picture post card beauty. Apart from the advantage of parking the luggage close to me the seat also offered me lovely views of the State on the way – mountains, rivers, trees and above all, ever smiling people. Without exception the road condition was bad

All through the route it was warm till the bus reached Reckong Peo. Somewhere along the way I dozed a bit. The driver immediately woke me and told me that I should shift to a seat at the back in case I wanted to continue with my sleep. He told me that he would get distracted if I slept in the seat next to him. Thus, for the rest of the journey I had my eyes wide open. I got down at the Peo bus stand and called my contact in Peo. He soon appeared with a couple of other guys and escorted me into a car. We drove to about 13 kms to Kalpa, where my accommodation was arranged in the Circuit House. As we drove into the compound of the CH I was treated to the most fabulous views of the snow clad mountains. One among them is the Kinner Kailash and I told myself that I had enough time in Kalpa to discern the various mountains in the range. Though there was some confusion about my booking in the CH it was soon cleared up and I was comfortably lodged in a suite room. At the time I was the only occupant in the CH. Sharma, the caretaker, made an excellent cup of tea to start the proceedings in the CH. Later, he made me a simple fare of dal, vegetable curry and rice for dinner. I do not know if I was thankful that there was no TV in the room or even in the lounge. But I did not miss it.

8th April 2012 – In Shimla

Friends,

After a couple of heavy ‘Mooli’ parathas with pickle I left the guest house with the intention of visiting the railway station. I managed to catch a bus to the old bus stand. The bus was overfull, but towards the end of the ride I even got a seat to park my corpulence. As the bus got to the bus stand I asked the lady sitting next to me for directions to the railway station. She showed me a short cut to get to the railway track and told me to follow the track for about a km to get to the station. I found that though there were warnings not to trespass the railway tracks it was popular ‘thoroughfare’. I later learnt that the track I had walked on led to the railway goods shed, where in the past potatoes and such other agri produce were loaded for distribution in the plains. With better road access and the reluctance of the railways to carry smaller parcels of business such goods sheds died a natural death.

I had come to the railway station with the twin objectives of meeting the Station Superintendent and making a reservation for my return to Delhi. The two bus journeys from Delhi to Shimla had taken their toll and I was convinced that rail journeys are any day more comfortable for long distances. The SS was not in office. I tried to contact him at his residence through the SM, in vain. I wanted to give him a copy of the Yatra book. He was of immense help when I travelled to Shimla in December 2010 and stayed in the Railway officers’ rest house. Since I could not contact him I left a copy with the SM to be handed over to the SS. Then I went to the Reservation Office and made bookings from Shimla to Kalka and from there to Delhi on the 15^th instant. The Shimla railway station, built in 1903 and maintained exceptionally well as a heritage, is a charming building with adequate facilities for the travelling public.

Then began the inevitable walk to The Mall. The old Railway Board building, the Post Office and the Audit & Accounts Office are all buildings of the old Raj. Reading inscriptions of the history of the town and that of its many buildings take the strain of the steep walk. However, in between this, I espied a glass counter full of yummy cakes. And they looked huge portions for Rs. 30. I asked for a banana date cake. When the lady retrieved a portion it looked half the size of what it was in the counter. I think it was a magnifying glass and not a plain one that encased the counter. Though extremely disappointed with the helping I enjoyed the fresh cake.

It being Easter Sunday only a few shops were open and there were not many people around either. It was getting hotter by the hour. Extra protection was discarded to avoid discomfort. I found people going in and coming out of the Christ Church. I walked in too and found the Mass at its fag end. I attended the balance of the Hindi service and wished the priests a Happy Easer before exiting the church.

I decided on seeing a movie to kill time in the afternoon. Houseful 2 was on show in Shahi theatre. I reached it on the way to the Old Bus Stand from The Mall. There were plenty of seats available. The movie hall is a relic of the old days. Nothing much has been done to refurbish it, except perhaps a rehash of the audio. The movie was a lousy effort at comedy.

I managed to just about get into a bus for Kalini, the place where I stayed. The bus carried a super dense crush load, to use a terminology used to measure crowds on the Mumbai suburban system. Every inch of space was used up. The only space in the bus, it seemed to me, that was not taken was the shadow region of my belly. It also helped me from people stepping on my toes!

I have the option of either taking the 6.15 AM or 9.15 AM bus to Reckong Peo tomorrow. I was all for the early morning service so that I reached the destination when it was still day. However getting to the ISBT posed the biggest challenge. There would be no local buses at that time and the taxi guys demanded usurious fares. I went to bed reluctantly accepting the 9.15 AM service.

7th April 2012 – In Shimla

Friends,

The ISBT in Shimla is a modern multi-tiered structure. It is spacious and has facilities for private car parking and pick up by local buses. It is a terminal for not only inter-state but also intra-state services. After alighting from the Manali bus I went to the counter to book for the Reckong Peo travel next Monday. I was told that there is no advance booking for the buses to such destinations! This means I will have to reach the terminal quite in advance to get a proper seat and that too for the 6 AM service.

Within 10 minutes I got a local mini bus to go to Kalini, where the Forest guest house was booked for me. It was just a ten minute drive and it turned out that the guest house is a house that belongs to a top police official. All the rooms were occupied and was asked to wait for a while to ‘check in’. The rough ride from Manali had deprived me of sleep almost throughout the journey. Hence, I had thought of resting a while before doing the rounds of the town. As it turned out I had to wait for more than three hours for the appointed room to be vacated.

The accommodation at Kinnaur, in Reckong Peo, has been arranged by Srikant Baldi, the Principal Secretary, Finance, GoHP. His PA has been constantly in touch to reassure me that a room in the circuit house has been reserved for a five day stay. I was keen to meet Srikant in person to personally thank him for the help. I had the option of taking two buses to the Secretariat or to foot it for about four kms on steep, winding roads. I chose the second option only because the buses were overcrowded and I may have been asked for double the fare to carry my bulk in a packed bus. I thought it a good way to burn the calories tucked in via the ‘aloo parathas’. The walk tired me; the knees and the ankles protest quite strongly for the weight that they are being made to cart around. I caught my breath in the officer’s room waiting for him to return from a meeting. On his return I thanked him and handed him a copy of the Yatra book. His PA gave me the contact details in Reckong Peo and told me that the best suite in the circuit house has been allotted me. Srikant assured me that all help would be extended by the contacts in Reckong Peo.

I was told a walk to The Mall would not be tough on the legs. As it turned out it was a lovely walk through a wooded portion of the town and most of the roads were devoid of vehicular traffic. I did have to make numerous stoppages on the way; an indication of the poor state of lungs. However, when I reached the Sher e Punjab Hotel fatigue was replaced by a sudden ‘attack’ of ‘food deprivation’. While waiting for the boneless butter chicken and the rotis I met two young engineers who were on a short holiday from their work in Delhi. I asked them to guess when they showed a keenness to know where I hailed from. The closest they came to was Karnataka!

From The Mall it was The Ridge. As I hit the Ridge I thought that I as in the midst of another Anna protest. The Ridge was full of school children and others with banner proclaiming ‘For Annadale’. Later I came to know that the protest was organized to pressurize the government into allocating the area for sporting facilities. There was even a banner which read “Help us to discover the Tendulkar and Dravid in us’. A Blood Donation campaign filled up any vacant space there was on the Ridge. I could not resist a four-colored softy despite the heavy lunch. The last time I was in Shimla was on Christmas day in 2010 on my All-India trip. Then I was pursued by photographers who promised a picture in local attire. Today not a single photographer approached me. I suspect they were worried that they did not have the clothes that would fit my large bulk.

Finally, the body was winning over the spirit. I had to head back to the guest house after checking out the Mass timing on Easter Sunday. The Christ Church is the most predominant structure on the Ridge. I was disappointed that the church was closed and more disappointed to see a notice stuck on the Church board that the Mass for Palm Sunday and Easter would be held together at 11 AM. I was told that the notice was put up last week - which meant that Easter had come early to Shimla!

I found a short cut to walk back to the guest house. My feet were dead tired. Keeping the feet immersed in hot saline water put fresh life into the legs. Then the yawns widened and early dinner was on the cards.

6th April 2012 – Leaving Manali

Friends,

I had to take a call on bus booking to Shimla – there was uncertainty about the Himachal Tourism coach on the 7^th morning due to poor booking. I reached the Tourism office in time to be told that the service for the 7^th has been cancelled. Himachal Road Transport Corporation operated two services in the morning and two in the evening/night. It would be difficult to reach the bus stand from the rest house at 6 AM. The 6 PM bus would reach Shimla at 4.30 AM, which was unearthly to locate a rest house that was not familiar to me. Thus, I zeroed in on the 9.30 PM service. The ever smiling, elderly gentleman at the HRTC counter produced a ticket with some effort for the internet connection died on him. Finally, he issued a hand written one and gave me a seat in one of the front rows.

The day was reserved for local sightseeing. The auto driver I had teamed up with was nowhere to be seen and I had lost his mobile number. Looking forward to the prospect of having to haggle I approached a few autos. The rates were too steep for me to haggle ‘decently’. I moved on and came to an auto driver who mentioned a rate lower than what I had estimated. I jumped in after ascertaining the places he would take me to. The first visit was to the Hadimba Temple. The temple is set in sylvan surroundings in a deodar forest. An observation about the temples in these places is that they are very simple as compared to the temples in the South and other places. Santosh Sivan, the celebrated cinematographer, had set up a set at the entrance to the temple and there were a few onlookers gawking at the film personalities. I gathered that the lead actors were debutants. In close proximity to the temple is an ‘entertainment’ area where photographers offer their services with goats, rabbits and yaks and in the traditional Kullu dress, local art is showcased for sale and games of skill and fun are organized. The legend attached to the temple itself is fascinating. Hadimba had married Bhim through the union of which was born the warrior Gatotchaka, who played a decisive role in the war with the Kauravas. After the war Hadimba did not relocate with Bhim and stayed on here, in whose memory and sacrifice the temple is dedicated. Inside the temple is the form of a huge foot, which is worshipped along with other idols. There is also another temple for Gatotchaka; it is merely a tree adorned with various religious artifacts. A stone throw away from the temple is a Museum. The lady at the entrance to the Museum was surprised when I asked for a ticket to go into it. Possibly the visitors are few and far between. The Museum is a snapshot of the life of the people of Kullu area as it has evolved over time, the art, culture and their simple lifestyles.

The Manu Temple is in Old Manali and the last mile is approached by walk as the road is under repair. It is on the Manali-Solang Valley trek route. The display at the temple clearly states that the exact place where Manu’s ark landed after the great deluge is not a matter authenticated by indisputable evidence. The idols of the temple are ancient; they were reputed to have been discovered in “Deo Ka Ghar” from where it was removed and installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the present temple. The interesting stories of Manu in the guise of a sadhu getting a calf to yield milk and getting rid of ‘Tundi’, the rakshas add ‘mystic value’ to the temple and “Deo Ka Ghar” Another observation about the temples here is that they are modified with elaborately carved deodar panels. The chungi is an innovative blanket, reportedly made from the finest wool without causing harm to the animals that yield the fur. One side of the blanket is meant for use in the winter and the other in the summer. More innovative is the marketing technique – they give five gifts along with the blanket (most of them are useful in cooler climes), give a 50% discount and offer to collect the blanket back after 5 years, in whatever condition, if you want to part with it then. The English Bakery is a cozy little eatery on the way to the Manu temple, which offers pies, tarts and the like. The thin crusted, humongous portion of the pie and a generous helping of the ‘real’ (as opposed to instant) coffee served as lunch.

The Clubhouse is meant to be another local ‘must visit’. It is a vast entertainment area, primarily for kids, and eateries. Avoidable if are not with kids or are short of time. The Vashisht Temple is about 4 kms from the Manali bus stand. The ancient temple has in its vicinity temples dedicated to Lords Vishnu and Ram. There is also a bathing tank with hot water sulphur springs with curative properties. The surroundings and the temples are infinitely cleaner than those in Manikaran. The rest of Good Friday was spent packing up and settling the bills of the rest house.

The auto arrived as appointed to take me to the bus stand for the bus to Manali. The condition of the bus, the road and the skills of the driver made for a heady cocktail for the night. Any thoughts I may have entertained of sleep vanished the moment the bus rolled out of the stand. Self preservation took its place. The glass windows rattled frighteningly and the fact that it held together without cracking is good advertisement for the manufacturer. It was also a kind of a hop on hop off service for those breaking off from shift work. Hence, it stopped wherever people put out their hand on the road. However, it was a matter of comfort though that the bone shaker arrived into the Shimla ISBT in time in the morning.