Samatva

When the whole town is a temple, Kullu Dussehrah

Kullu Dussehrah. Temples of Himachal …11.

Kullu has long decoupled from Manali.

The thin riverside town doesn’t look pretty with narrow streets and its general untidiness is a misfit with the rest of Himachal. It has its glory though, for a week every year during Kullu Dussehrah. Kullu excels in the tradition of Devtas. Each village was a small kingdom with its own Devta and the tradition continues till today. The devtas resemble a vertical plate – all gold we hear. The Devtas advise and mediate; and fix every joy and address every sorrow. People say even elections are decided before polling by the Devta, with a sacrifice of a goat.

Raghunathji in Kullu is the presiding devta, with a legacy tracing back to Ayodhya. Each year, Raghunathji invites all the Devtas to Kullu, for a week. Even today, the District Magistrate writes a formal letter to each Devta on behalf of Raghunatji, inviting them to Kullu. The Dussehrah starts on the day it ends in rest of India, on Vijayadasami, and continues for a week after that.

The deities arrive on foot to Kullu, carried by villagers, around 225 each year. They visit Raghunathji and make their way to the large ground in Kullu. Each Devta has a designated area; and the villagers live, cook, eat and celebrate with their deity for a week.

I first saw the last day of Kullu Dussehrah in 2017 for a brief while; and then resolved to come back. Last year, I managed a whirlwind trip to see the opening day. The festivities are remarkable; the stream of Devtas and pilgrims paying respect to Raghunatji; then march their way through narrow and steep alleys to the ground. The joy and revelry at the ground in the evening. Women dressed in Kullu fineries. Children awestruck at the chaos which no You Tube can show.

If you want to live a festival with no center of gravity, think of Kullu., the coming together of 200+ deities in one place. There is raw festivity, colours, noise, crowds and celebration.

After all, these seven days, the whole town is a temple.

Hatkoti, on its own

Hatkoti, Temples of Himachal… 5.

Shimla is over visited, so is Dehradun-Mussourie. Surprisingly, the region between Shimla and Dehradun is not. There are several routes, some as short as six hours.

Hatkoti is in one of them, a 100 odd kms east of Shimla. This is the start of the Yamuna river territory. Every drop of water that falls on this side finds its way to Yamuna and eventually to Allahabad and Varanasi and Bay of Bengal. The road passes through Karapathar: a hill station that Himachal tries to hide for its own good. You can see all the snow you want, and also leave behind the crowds of Kufri and Shimla.

The Hateshwari temple is at Hatkoti, where the road meets the river Pabbar. At Hatkoti, Pabbar opens up into a wide valley and the temple overlooks the valley and the rice plains.

On an idle day, there is so much to do around. You can wander in any direction and into any field as guests are assumed to be non threatening. There was a dam under construction and I even slithered up the spillway without anyone objecting.  The depth of knowledge in the chit chat within the temple; the extent of their global awareness stunned my assumptions.

The route from Hatkoti towards Dehradun is bliss. It snakes along the Pabbar river at level; jumps over the confluence of Tons and Pabbar; and then runs along the Tons for several miles. There is not an outside soul and no Gujarati, South Indian, Chinese Vaisnavi Dhaba. I stopped at the riverside and was served fresh milk tea, by a Gujjar family.

Temples, rivers and hospitality, Hatkoti, Himachal Pradesh

Sun Temple of Sutlej Valley, Nirath

Sun Temple of Nirath. Temples of Himachal …3.

Depending on the source you rely on, there are 2 or 4 or 12 Sun temples in India. Konark takes most of the mind space, deservedly. Nirath along the banks of Sutlej in Himachal hosts one of the small and quaint Sun Temples. I was biking back from Chitkul, which is marketed as the last village in Indian territory. I know a 80 year old lady who has incredible travel spirit and she suggested stopping by Nirath. So, I went.

The town is a sliver of settlements between the Hindustan-Tibet (yes) highway and the Sutlej river. The temple is tucked away and you would miss it if you just stick to the highway. It has its own Goshala and a tiny grazing ground and in fact, a calf was lounging by the dining area when I paid a visit.

It was almost noon and there was no one around. The temple was locked, but there was a way to jump in. By the time I was ready to leave, someone came and opened the gate, and pointed out a mobile number scratched on the wall — a contact for the Pandit.

Nirath is small but the journey has its own rewards. Two hours from Shimla and the road drops by 7000 feet to reach the Sutlej valley, a spectacular drive by itself. In and around Nirath, you can see the magic that the Sutlej weaves, especially in monsoons. The drive is also along the apple country that eventually leads to Kinnaur.

Sun temple, Sutlej and apples… Nirath.