Samatva

Mataji, Mountains and Maggi, Dainkund

Dainkund. Temples of Himachal… 6.

There are several temples in Himachal on hilltops. Although they are neither grand nor popular, the location makes up for it.

Dainkund is one such temple. At about 9000 feet height, it is near Dalhousie, itself lesser visited than Dharamshala or Shimla. It is a nice family hike, not too strenuous for anyone; It offers a 180 degree plus view of Himalayas, if you are blessed with a clear day.

Dainkund is a hilltop drive from Dalhousie till a fork, after which the road is controlled by armed forces. My guess is a radar station and missile defence. That makes it a perfect location for the Himalayan vista too.

Each morning a defence vehicle comes down the hills and clears the start of civilian traffic. It is a snaking drive up to another spot where all traffic is stopped. Then you start walking: a sharp climb to a ridge and then walk on a narrow ridge top. It snows heavily and the repeated tourist flow melts and hardens the snow making it slippery to walk. After about 45 minutes or so, you reach the temple. Like most of the traditions of Himachal, this is a Devi temple, for Phaloni Devi.

Dainkund gives you early snow, a short family hike, a great snowcap view, ridgewalk, and picture book maggi.

Mataji, Mountains and Maggi at, Dainkund, Dalhousie, Himachal

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

Variety of Manikiran

Manikiran. Temples of Himachal …. 8

Manikiran is a pilgrimage for Sikhs.. and the area around is bewildering mix of experiences. Manikiran is above hot sulphur springs. The small sarovar within the Gurudwara is always comfortably warm; and there are elaborate arrangements to stow away your shoes and clothes before the bath, including small plastic mugs. The Langar is cooked in the hot springs and needless to say, the Kitchen is always on.

Manikiran is on the banks of Parvati river which hints at its antiquity. The river cuts a narrow, deep valley; and for most of its length till it meets Beas at Kullu, it is hardly even visible from the road. People say that large parts of the valley don’t see the sunshine at all.

Kasol is nearabout and is a mecca for Israelis, if you can overlook the oxymoron. When I had first seen this area in 2013, I couldn’t believe you could have Hebrew menus deep in Himachal. It is a favourite jaunt for Israelis after their mandatory defence service.

That also made the nearby Kheerganga popular. There is term that a traveller friend of mine, Jitaditya Narzaryuses; Kasol Kids, who look for packaged adventure and selfies. So much so there have been murders and camping is no longer allowed.

It has one of India’s first private hydro plants, with water scavenged at mountain top and brought down 800 mts through a tunnel in the mountains. The project built a road. In 2013, I took the chance to drive up what was still a Kacha road for construction trucks. I had to sign a no liability declaration before the power plant would let me up the road. The road brought the legend of Malana closer to civilisation.

Malana is a settlement at 8000 feet. The villagers of Malana believe they are descendants of Alexandar, left behind by the war. They practice true social distancing from outsiders and you may have to pay a fine if you lean on a wall in the village. It is left by the Government to its own laws and grows the truly world famous Malana cream, cannabis. The neighbourhood is famous for constant rave parties.

This area has a bewildering variety, tough israelis fresh from service; weak kneed Kasol Kids; inbreeding and wary villagers of Malana; Delhi kids coming with a single aim of getting stoned; unspoilt kids of Parvati valley itself; trekkers to the Pin Parvati pass; and power plant engineers. Amidst all, Manikiran is still true to its antiquity, a pilgrimage. That is what we did on my second trip in 2017, with Virendra Dhir on his birthday.

The variety of Manikiran, Parvati Valley, off Kullu, Himachal