Samatva

Perfect setting for the soul. Baijnath

Baijnath, Temples of Himachal…16

Timeless, grand, picturesque, popular, clean and peaceful. Very few temples have the perfect mix that Baijnath has. It is the setting for the soul.

It is perched 50 meters high from the undulating Palampur fields. The river Binduka cuts a shallow valley along the edge of the hills. The temple has a recorded and verified history of 800 years; and possibly a timeless one before that. Shiva is worshipped as the Lord of Physicians in Baijnath.

The temple is about fifty feet tall, very grand for this region. The architecture is impressive, with several elements of temple design integrated. Unlike most other temples of Himachal, it also has two balconies at the ground level.

The sculptures are a delight. They are richly carved; and the style and proportions of the sculptures are very uncommon. A standing Nandi and a slightly kneeling Ganpati are wonderful. A dash of hibiscus on the Ganpati; that sight alone captures the joy of idol worship.

It overlooks the entire Dauladhar range that rises from 500 odd meters to almost 5000 meters in a single vertical span. In between is the shallow valley with a gently flowing Binduka. There are only a few temples that can match the setting, like Kedarnath, Mahabalipuram, Tiruchendur, Somnath..

It is maintained by ASI, so there is a nice clear grassy perimeter; and photographs are allowed. The temple excels in cleanliness even for Himachal standards. The  calm of the temple is incredible even though it is on the highway.

For a complete temple experience, Baijnath is one of the places to head to.  

I first went to Baijnath in Himachal with my in 2013. I have been there twice since then, once for gratitude and the second time with son; and there will be more times.

The region around has so much to offer; the grand paragliding experience at Bir, the tea estates (overrated) of Palampur, the calm of Kanbari ashram, and the temple stretches of Chamunda and Kangra. It is an endless list.

Then the incredible views of Dhauladhar hills from Andretta. Then there is the Barot valley and its funicular which I hope to see one day. The piece de resistance is the toy train that runs from Joginder Nagar to Pathankot. The train travels through unparalleled (and totally underrated) variety of landscapes overlooking lakes, rivers, gorges, snowclad mountains. It is actually a train that transports, without the touristy character of other hill trains. 

If you have a chance to spend two or more days out of Delhi, head to Baijnath region. Gaggal airport of Dharamshala is 50 kms from Baijnath.

A short beautiful drive through tea gardens; and then you are at the perfect setting for your soul.

The pleasure of doing nothing at Ki

Ki Monastery. Temples of Himchal …13.

Ki Monastery forms the grand trio of Spiti monasteries with Dhankar and Tabo. Ki is a 1000 year old. It appeared much larger than the other monasteries, in size as well as the number of monks. It looks like a building pinched out of worn out rock and mud face. White and dark brown stick out of the mountain face and it takes the form of the rock face and is constructed over several levels sliding down.

I kept going back to this place over two days for some reason or other. There was a Thai national negotiating a monastery stay (was allowed only three days), an Indian, killing time waiting for the single bus in the evening that would take her to the next destination,  monks chatting. Then a monk opened a special room for me whose significance I have forgotten. I gazed at the monastery from the north, from the south.  I went across the Spiti river to take a look at it from far. Heart’s content.

I watched several rounds of monk volleyball; a round of chanting; lunch serving. I was roaming around Spiti in a scooty which wasn’t a common thing then in Spiti. They borrowed it and went round and round a small square with absolute glee. I dont remember a single fact about the monastery, but each hour of idle at the monastery is kin of etched in mind.

The pleasure of doing nothing at Ki Monastery

Coming out of Mud, Dhankar

Dhankar. Temples of Himachal….7.

Spiti is sparsely populated. It is part of a district that has 3 people per sq km that makes up for less than a percent of India’s density. I was sold on this area by one of the earliest outlook travellers books on Himachal. It had a trek called Spiti left bank trek. I stepped out with an ambition to do it solo.

Once I reached Spiti, I quickly gave up on the trek idea. The heights, landscape and desolation scared me off the solo idea. The trip became a slow travel over ten days or so. Dhankar was one of the stops.

It is a monastery on a ridge line and makes for spectacular views. It is on a mud cliff, all sides and edges ragged by raging winds; and then snow that drags the mud down every season. It looks like a giant termite mound as a result. The location overlooks the confluence of two great rivers, Pin and Spiti, which eventually become the Sutlej.

I reached by afternoon and then ran into a small group of very serious young photographers from Karnataka. They use only the morning and evening sunlight and were maniacal in their attention to detail.

Next morning, they decided to climb up the mountain further to get an early morning shot of the monastery and I went along with them. The monastery itself is at about 12500 feet and we went some bit higher. The Sun slowly crept up on the ridge line and the shadows receded, lighting up the monastery.

Dhankar has other distractions, a short hike to a mountaintop plateau with a lake. An abandoned Santro car, since towing it to Manali is not worth the salvage value, a really cost monastery hostel, budding monks and great food.

I also realised that Hrishikesh Sagar, one of the serious photographers, is a wonderful wildlife enthusiast, and his photos are a pleasure to see, everytime.

Coming out of Mud. Dhankar Monastery, Spiti, Himachal Pradesh