Himachal’s temples offer spirituality and more; they offer relative solitude, pleasant encounters with simple people and unparallelled joy.
The Joy of Himachal Temples is a visual celebration. The joy of the temples, the people, the landscape and the legends.
Samatva
Byte Sized Travel Stories
people, places and stories.
nothing else.
just the trivial things.......
that make travel interesting....
and memorable
Next series .... Not so common places
One of her kind, Bhimkali at Sarahan
Sun Temple of Sutlej Valley, Nirath
Hatkoti, on its own
The pleasure of doing nothing at Ki
Coming out of Mud, Dhankar
Variety of Manikiran
Everyday life at Kali Bhari, Shimla
Philosophy at a glance, Kardang
Hanumanji at hilltop, Shimla
When the whole town is a temple, Kullu Dussehrah
Land’s end at Bharmour
Lake placid at Renukaji
Harmony lived each day, Triloknath
The perspective of Buddha, Langza
Perfect setting for the soul. Baijnath
Mataji, Mountains and Maggi, Dainkund


Everyday life at Kali Bhari, Shimla
Kali Bhari at Shimla. Temples of Himachal …10.
There are grand temples, there are popular temples and there are temples at great locations. Then there are some that are part of everyday life.
Kali Bari temple in Shimla is a part of the daily life. It is an interesting blend of native history and migration. Kali as Shyamala represents what is native, giving the city its name; and as Kali, gives identity to the Bengalis who accompanied the British into the city in its early years.
It is at the western end of the ridge, a few hundred meters after Scandal point where most tourists stop. My client in Shimla has a habit of walking to the temple every day, and I have accompanied him a few times.
The temple is grand because of this routine of its devotees. One June, we were at the temple when it had started raining heavily, The chill was unbearable and bare feet were making it worse. I took a glance from within the temple outside.
There is a small but open courtyard and you can look at all of Shimla from there. A bench if you are tired of the walking, a tiny oil lamp on the wall, shielded from the rain and snow; which must have been here since 1845. Then the sight of modernity – a solar lamp post. The sight of the bells in the background of dusk, create serenity. The locality is nothing such, but faith does create an oasis.
Everyday life at Kali Bari temple, Shimla













